Best Companies For Internships

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BAIN SCORES WELL ACROSS THE BOARD – AND BEST IN CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Bain & Company has also seemingly mastered the student internship. The #1 firm in Vault’s first internship ranking in 2013, Bain climbed a spot to #3 in 2016 – with a collective score (9.588) that is barely a tenth of a point lower than Evercore (9.677). “Bain, like Evercore, scored very well in all five internship ratings categories,” Loosvelt details. “It’s highest score came in full-time employment prospects and career development. It scored lower than Evercore in quality of life (hours, work/life balance, culture) and that was what separated the two in the rankings.”

Like Evercore, Loosvelt concludes, Bain & Company recognizes that their efforts with interns ultimately benefit the firm, regardless of whether they stay there or not. “The firm is highly committed to career development and training, starting at the internship level. Year after year, the firm is always at or near the top of our consulting rankings for training and career development. It starts with the view that its long-term success as a business is dependent on the talent it recruits, and the firm understands that training is a critical component of that. It also recognizes that one of the best sources of future revenue is likely to be the “Bain network” – former consultants who go on to top jobs elsewhere, but who will recommend (or even hire) the firm to solve problems.”

And interns generally agree with Loosvelt’s assessment. In the 132 intern Bain reviews on Vault’s site, 118 gave it five stars, with 13 others rating it at four stars (with five stars being the highest). For one associate consultant, the supportive nature of the team made all the difference. “I am sure that I will never experience a better team in my entire life (even within Bain),” the intern wrote in an August review.” As promised, the interaction with the client was very down-to-earth, which I enjoyed a lot. [The] learning curve was significant and support from team exceptional. After receiving negative feedback in the first weeks, the entire team worked incredibly hard to ensure that I develop sufficiently in the course of my internship to receive a full-time offer. Great team events, including countless relaxing team dinners and an amazing whole-day case ending event.”

GOLDMAN SACHS INTERNS VEXED BY LONG HOURS

The Vault internship rankings also included some surprises. For one, the Goldman Sachs Global Summer Internship – ranked by students as the third-most prestigious internship, came in at just 39th overall, with a 8.540 mark that was over a full point lower than Evercore (and only .018 better than JP Morgan Chase, which ranked 40th). Despite efforts to curb its brutal work hours – including a 2013 mandate that employees take a day off during weekends – Goldman Sachs interns struggle with balancing expectations with the need to have a life says Loosvelt. “In the five different categories, [Goldman Sachs] received great scores in career development and full-time employment prospects; good scores in interview process and compensation; and fair scores in quality of life (hours, work/life balance) – this is what pulled them down and resulted in them ranking lower than other banks. In particular, many interns cited hours as a major drawback with a Goldman Sachs internship, Loosvelt points out. ”They said things like: Long hours, tough ours, number of hours, tough work/life balance. A few cited as cons: pressure, stress, culture.”

That said, Loosvelt lists “the great culture, people they worked with, and experience they received” as the major benefits to a Goldman Sachs internship. One 2015 Goldman Sachs intern, who described the experience as “The 10 Most Intellectually Challenging Weeks,” praised the firm for having people who were “very smart, driven, focused, and great mentors,” as well as offering work that was “extremely interesting and challenging.” And another 2015 intern gives this advice to students looking to spend a summer at Goldman Sachs: “You get what you put in. Individuals who are strongly motivated to work and long will be rewarded greatly.”

After Evercore, Elliott Davis Decosimo, and Bain, the best internships are rounded out by CapTech (which leaped five spots to 4th), and Northwestern Mutual. Among the top 10 firms, the biggest moves were made by the Boston Consulting Group (19th to 8th), Moss Adams (17th to 9th), and Kohl’s (which vaulted to 10th after being unranked last year).

(Go to next page for internship prestige ranking)

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