OK, so I knew that I had readers from a variety of age groups, but I just got an email from a high schooler…it’s amazing how early people are starting to think about their careers nowadays. I was SO behind the curve when I was in high school as compared to how kids get down now. Here’s the email I got:
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Tom wrote:
“Hi Marquis,
I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and I really enjoy your helpful advice. I am a senior at a German Gymnasium, the equivalent of a high school but much more difficult, and I want to gain some work experience in consulting before I enter college this fall. So far, I’ve been accepted at quite a few top UK universities, including the LSE (for econ) and Imperial (for math), but
I will hopefully get a few acceptances from US colleges as well, since I’ve applied to many top colleges there, such as Stanford. Since I’m not eligible to apply for an internship, I was wondering whether I could at least get some sort of work experience job? Nothing fancy, just some sort of lower work such as call-center? I believe that if I actually got a chance for an interview, I’d be able to convince them that I’d be a good choice, but do they automatically filter everyone out who’s not already at college? If there is in fact a chance to gain some work experience at, say, McK, how do I go about acquiring such a position? I couldn’t find anything on the website. Thank you very much in advance.
Best wishes,
Tom”
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My response:
Thanks for checking out my blog and I’m glad that you’re finding it useful. Your question about getting work experience is a good one and it’s surprising that you’re thinking forward this early on…I’m impressed. Getting “lower work such as a call-center” is an option, but you may be able to find a job that would give you a much richer overall experience. Trying looking for jobs that are in an office environment, so you can get used to a more professional atmosphere, similar to what you’d be seeing in the future. A position as someone’s assistant could be a fantastic way to learn about what their job entails and get some additional career guidance.
As for getting work experience at a consulting firm like McKinsey, I think you’re still a few years away from being able to do that. There are summer Business Analyst positions, but, as far as I know, they only take applications from college juniors for those positions. There might be a chance that you could get a job at an investment bank after your first year in college, but the best option for you might be to get a job at the lower levels in a corporation during your first college internship. This will allow you to get some good resume content in preparation to apply for summer positions at the consulting firms after your second year of school. The process of applying for the McK internship will likely depend on the school you attend because I believe the recruiters have different processes, depending on the school they’re working with.
I hope this helps. Take care.
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Tom wrote:
“Hi Marquis,
I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and I really enjoy your helpful advice. I am a senior at a German Gymnasium, the equivalent of a high school but much more difficult, and I want to gain some work experience in consulting before I enter college this fall. So far, I’ve been accepted at quite a few top UK universities, including the LSE (for econ) and Imperial (for math), but
I will hopefully get a few acceptances from US colleges as well, since I’ve applied to many top colleges there, such as Stanford. Since I’m not eligible to apply for an internship, I was wondering whether I could at least get some sort of work experience job? Nothing fancy, just some sort of lower work such as call-center? I believe that if I actually got a chance for an interview, I’d be able to convince them that I’d be a good choice, but do they automatically filter everyone out who’s not already at college? If there is in fact a chance to gain some work experience at, say, McK, how do I go about acquiring such a position? I couldn’t find anything on the website. Thank you very much in advance.
Best wishes,
Tom”
———————–
My response:
Thanks for checking out my blog and I’m glad that you’re finding it useful. Your question about getting work experience is a good one and it’s surprising that you’re thinking forward this early on…I’m impressed. Getting “lower work such as a call-center” is an option, but you may be able to find a job that would give you a much richer overall experience. Trying looking for jobs that are in an office environment, so you can get used to a more professional atmosphere, similar to what you’d be seeing in the future. A position as someone’s assistant could be a fantastic way to learn about what their job entails and get some additional career guidance.
As for getting work experience at a consulting firm like McKinsey, I think you’re still a few years away from being able to do that. There are summer Business Analyst positions, but, as far as I know, they only take applications from college juniors for those positions. There might be a chance that you could get a job at an investment bank after your first year in college, but the best option for you might be to get a job at the lower levels in a corporation during your first college internship. This will allow you to get some good resume content in preparation to apply for summer positions at the consulting firms after your second year of school. The process of applying for the McK internship will likely depend on the school you attend because I believe the recruiters have different processes, depending on the school they’re working with.
I hope this helps. Take care.
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