How I Got My Dream Internship at #DeloitteIsrael Last Summer
After attending the trip of a lifetime to Israel in June 2018, I knew that I wanted to go back to Israel the following summer and intern in Tel Aviv. As a then-rising sophomore in the business school, however, I honestly did not know what I could do for work in Israel, nor did I know how I could get there. That is when I started my research.
Early-on in the school year, I learned about management consulting and Deloitte from an upperclassman. I did some research, talking with both recent graduates and more experienced workers in the management consulting industry. I was intrigued and almost instantly became interested in the prospect of working in management consulting at Deloitte. This aspiration of mine, however, did not come without problems. First of all, most management consulting companies in the US do not typically hire rising juniors; these companies instead focus on hiring rising seniors and recent graduates for summer internships. Secondly, I wanted to be in Israel for the summer. How could I reconcile my two aspirations, while also considering the risks and mitigating the problems?
Step 1: Set a #SMART Goal & Start Early
I did some research on LinkedIn and on the internet. I discovered a variety of internship programs that I could participate-in in Israel. I narrowed down the prospective internship programs in Israel into three categories: Birthright Excel, GW TAMID, and Onward Israel. Each program had its pros and cons, but I concluded that if I could be accepted into at least one program, my chances of receiving an offer from Deloitte Israel would increase astronomically.
By September 2018, I could confidently say, “I want to work at Deloitte Israel in Tel Aviv next summer, and I am going to accomplish this goal by networking with people and working with career coaches to improve my resume and to sharpen my interview skills.” My goal was hefty and quite different from many other sophomores in the business school. Nonetheless, was still SMART because it was:
M- Measurable: I will either receive an offer or I will not receive an offer
A- Attainable: I have an action plan and strategy to attain this goal
R- Realistic: I am qualified and am capable of receiving an internship offer as a sophomore from Deloitte Israel
T- Time-Bound: I have more than enough time to prepare for this goal and a schedule to keep me organized
Step 2: Networking
I was greeted with laughter and smirks by my peers at what they thought was a ridiculous goal. My academic counselors and career coaches were delighted by my passion and big dreams but were uneasy by what appeared to be a challenging goal to conquer. I took all feedback with a grain of salt but did not let the pessimism stop me from reaching for the stars.
The next step in my “masterplan” was to begin applying to each of the internship programs that I had thoroughly researched. I first applied to GW TAMID, which is an incredibly competitive program to be accepted into. I was unfortunately rejected early-on in September 2018. I then applied to Birthright Excel, which was an even more competitive and more elite program than GW TAMID. By November 2018, even after networking with alumni of the program, I had once again been rejected. The rejection hurt, but I did not let these growing opportunities stifle my hope and passion. In December 2018, I applied to Onward Israel and was accepted into their internship program at the beginning of January 2019.
Step 3: More #Networking
Onward Israel is an incredibly large and diverse umbrella program, with many different cohort groups and specialties. Therefore, it was much easier to be accepted in an Onward Israel program than into TAMID or Birthright Excel. This is both a strength and weakness of the program. Because the program is so large and caters to such a diverse group of people, Onward Israel does not have the same professional connections and networks that Birthright Excel and TAMID have. In other words, students in TAMID and in Birthright Excel have a streamlined process and will typically be connected by their programs to various desirable companies in Tel Aviv, such as Deloitte, EY, Facebook, etc. Onward Israel does not have this luxury, so I had to work a bit harder to connect with Deloitte Israel.
Even though I had been rejected by Birthright Excel, I developed an authentic relationship with some of the alumni and leveraged these connections. I then reached out to one of the managers in the operations division at Deloitte Israel that had previously managed one of the alumni in January 2019. I had asked my manager if we could connect, as I was interested in learning more about Deloitte Israel and management consulting. I also sent my resume. The manager was delighted to hear from me. The manager was quite busy, so we set-up a time to talk in March 2019. At some point between our initial contact and our meeting, the manager had asked if I was interested in being considered for a position at Deloitte Israel on their team. Of course, I told the manager that I was interested.
Step 4: The #Interview
My moment of truth: the interview. I had been preparing for this interview for what felt like the entire academic year by this point. Not only had I participated in so many other interviews, only to be rejected in the end, but I was now also an active member of the Undergraduate Consulting Group and a student in two different consulting courses at my university. I was raw in my interview and did not hide who I was. I excitedly shared my breadth of experience and passion for consulting with the manager. After the interview, I sent a sincere and detailed thank-you note to the manager, further reaffirming my interest in the position and expressing once more why I felt I was a qualified candidate for this position.
The following day, I was extended an offer.
Closing Thoughts
First of all, Thank you to the advisors, mentors, and peers that helped me achieved this dream of mine at GW. Secondly, thank you to the amazing people at Deloitte Israel who helped me grow this past summer. Lastly, a tremendous thank you to my manager(s) for giving me the opportunity to make an impact that matters and to be a part of something special last summer.
This is a story of failure, resilience, passion, and what Israelis call chutzpah. I knew what I wanted, and I had somewhat of an idea of how I could achieve it. To many around my prospects seemed unlikely and dreams unreasonable. The failures and rejections hurt, but I did not let it stop me from achieving what I knew in my heart was possible.
If I can do it, so can you.
No dream is too big.
Originally published at www.therainbowzionist.com on January 20, 2020
