angelfire213 wrote:
Has anyone done this? The summers are so long that I was wondering if it was possible to fit in 2 internships?
Obviously I know you couldn't squeeze two consulting internships or to BM internships... but say consulting and something in entertainment? I'm not sure which path i want to take - so hoping to hear someone has made this happen
There are a lot of rising 2nd year MBAs who complete 2 internships in 1 summer, but there are important things to consider about this strategy.
Most US banking/consulting/general management official internship programs are 10-12 weeks long. Because employers typically have interns from many different MBA programs (including Stanford, which lets out really late vs. Wharton, which lets out earlier), these internships are usually smack dab in the MIDDLE of most MBA summers. If you want to do one of these "traditional" internships as a rising second year, your 2nd internship will necessarily be shorter. You could, of course, ask the banking/consulting/general management employer if you could shorten your internship with them, and they might oblige, but that may make you look less serious as a full-time offer candidate and thus may be sub-optimal. Shortening your internship also cuts short the amount of impact and work product that you could produce in your summer, which may also be costly for you from an offer-probability perspective.
For a traditional employer in the banking/management consulting/general management industries, "getting the offer" is really important (even if you realize during the internship that you don't want to return in a full-time capacity). This is because when you back back 2nd year to recruit for other opportunities, many of those employers will ask whether you landed an offer for full-time employment out of my summer internship. You want to be able to answer "yes" to this question, even if you don't want to return to your summer employer.
One way to de-risk trying to do 2 summer internships is to pick a 2nd internship that is naturally shorter. Some of the consulting firms offer 6 week internships at the very beginning or end of the summer in international locations like Tokyo or Dubai. These opportunities are easier to obtain if you have language ability and the resultant offers are generally location-specific. Another way to have a 2nd internship that won't put to much pressure on the 1st internship is if it's with a non-profit or start-up that's so happy to have you that they will work around your employment timeline. This could be a great way to dip your toe into something entrepreneurial or add some civic-mindedness to your resume.