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Campus Blog: Monitor Deloitte 101
By Vanesa Coltar
A Monitor Deloitte (MD) internship will begin with a week of training; part one held by Deloitte and part two held by MD. There are no expectations that you will have previous expertise however a positive attitude is essential! The most useful part of training is the MD portion so listen carefully as you will be taught how to build slides, research effectively, use excel and succeed in general as a consultant. On the last day of training, project assignments are given out. This will cause a lot of excitement as working on your first case will be one of the most rewarding parts of your internship.
One thing that you should really note is that as an intern, you will likely be assigned to a project that has already begun. You will receive ramp-up documents to gain an understanding of the industry that the client operates in and up-to-date project details. That first week is filled with learning; to put it in perspective, by the end of week one, the amount of knowledge gained is often comparable to a month at university. By the second week, you will begin to have real responsibilities like owning key deliverables for your project. Another thing you should always remember is that your opinion matters and having the analysis to back up your point of view will carry your points further. The more you do this, the more it will become second nature.
As an MD intern, your performance will be measured against that of a first year consultant, but don’t fret. The level of support you receive from your assigned buddy and coach as well as the willingness of senior consultants and managers to teach you make this goal achievable. So ask lots of questions!
Your days will vary. Some days will require more hours while others may not. That’s why no one can truly describe a typical day as an MD intern. What each day does have in common is that at the end, you feel like you have accomplished something meaningful and contributed to the challenge your team is trying to solve.
Do your best and good luck!
Vanesa is a fourth year student at Queen’s University majoring in Commerce.
