What Do I Have To Do To Better My Chances For An Internship?

What are the steps I should take to improve my chances of an M/B/B internship (and eventual employment) as I start my MBA?

• I will be starting my MBA in a few months, and would like to have some insights and advice as to how I could prepare myself for - at the very least - an internship with a top management consulting firm.

• Answer:

  Table stakes Get good grades Join consulting club Practice cases (learn the Case Interview book by heart) with as many partners as you can get to work with you, learn to deal with different personalities/styles Talk to second years about their experiences What really matters Find influencers. Ideally, within each firm you're targeting you should have a person/persons who know you by name, can distinguish you from the crowd and will push for you during the recruiting process (doesn't have to be a partner, better to have a post-MBA/post-MBA+1 level because these people will be interviewing in round 1). How to do this: ask second years for contacts, excel in classes whose professors know alums at consulting firms (that's how I ultimately got my offer from BCG), get on the good side of career advisers who know consulting alums (that's how I got my offer from McK) Network as much as you can with these alums without being annoying - one call/interaction per target alum is typically enough, unless they enthusiastically invite you for more. Remember, you only need one true supporter to help you through