MBA Internship Search

It is arguably the single most important element of one’s MBA education…that highly coveted summer internship. It is now mid-January, and the MBA internship hunt is in full force. It is indeed true: a hunt. Thousands of intelligent, determined, and highly-ambitious MBAs all over the world are hunting down for the “perfect” summer internship. The stakes are very high, since landing the right summer internship is crucial in terms of future employment for an MBA student. Why? It is simply a matter of economics: supply and demand.

Studies show that it is actually harder to land a MBA summer internship than it is to land a full-time job after graduation, because firms generally hire a very small amount of summer interns. Moreover, firms generally select the bulk of their full-time MBA hires from their summer intern pool, hence we can look at the summer internship as a 10-week interview where both you and the firm size each other up to determine if this is a good relationship. Now, what is a young MBA student to do, to distinguish him/herself from the pack? Here are my suggestions:

• Handle yourself professionally - As young MBA students, we will be regarded to even higher standards than our peers, because we need to prove to the recruiters that we are professional and mature enough to handle the rigors of a MBA summer internship. This part includes the e-mails as well, as they are very important and can make or break your internship opportunities. Always proofread your e-mails.
• Network, network, network - I can’t stress this enough. Alumni are your best source to start your networking efforts, but you will need to branch out eventually. Do NOT concentrate your networking efforts on one firm only. Get in touch with all the major firms in your industry in order to get different perspectives. This will help you tremendously during the interview process, when a recruiter asks you why you are interested in her firm. You can go ahead and talk about the differences you have noticed after talking to many professionals in various firms.
• Don’t be a company-sucker - What do I mean by that? Many MBAs (inevitably) go after a firm mainly because of the brand name of the firm. While it is true that some firms are better “resume-builders” than others, I highly recommend that you pick an industry/business function and follow all the firms that operate in it. If you are applying for a job in Company X only because of the firm’s overall reputation, it will show during the interview process and you will be eliminated. Your interest in the industry and the other firms in it show Company X that you are serious about being in this business.
• Don’t give up - Many alumni & recruiters will try to talk you out of it. They will tell you that you might not be cut out for this type of business because you don’t have enough experience. What they are actually trying to do is to see how you will react. If you have talked to enough professionals in the business, you will have encountered at least one person who comes from a similar background as you do. So, tell the recruiter about them. Tell them: “If he/she can do it, so can I.”

Remember to have your “story” down, and make it interesting. Recruiters interview many similar MBA students, and you want them leaving your school with only one interview in mind - yours!

Disclaimer: This post has also been featured on YoungMBA.net