Kutay Gokcen
Kutay Gokcen’s first two years in Canfield BHP have been a formative experience, allowing him to take part in career development events and build meaningful relationships with alumni. Kutay’s experience helped him realize that management consulting was the right path for him, and this past year, he successfully applied for Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Growing Future Leaders internship program.
Read on to learn more about Kutay’s BCG summer internship experience and his advice for Canfield BHP underclassmen searching for internships!
1.) How has your time in Canfield BHP and McCombs helped you explore your career interests?
Canfield BHP and McCombs have been instrumental in my career exploration. Coming into college, I had no clue what career I wanted to pursue. Through the Breaking into Consulting session provided by McCombs, one-to-one chats I had with supportive and engaged Canfield BHP alumni, and corporate leadership development programs, I came to the realization that management consulting would be a good fit for me by the end of my freshman year.
2.) How did you become interested in BCG’s internship program, and what did the application process involve?
Once I determined that I wanted to pursue consulting, BCG’s Growing Future Leaders program came to the forefront of sophomore internship programs. Chatting with upperclassmen who went through the recruiting process and internship helped me gain invaluable insights about what the actual experience would entail. The application process was fairly typical—starting with a resume/cover letter submission, then a first round “fit” interview and online case, followed by a decision round of two back-to-back interviews.
3.) What does a typical day at BCG look like for you?
It’s hard to say what a typical day looks like since every day can be so different, but here’s an example of what many of my busier days have looked like. Keep in mind that it also varies greatly from case to case.
- 8:30am: Arrive at office, get settled, and individually prioritize tasks
- 9:00am – 9:30am: Check in with project leader for case updates and discuss tasks for the day
- 10:30am – 11:15am: Client working group meeting
- 12:30pm – 1:15pm: Lunch with other interns
- 3:30pm – 4:15pm: Case Team Meeting with MDPs
- 5:00pm – 5:30pm: Check with project leader to discuss what was done during the day and what needs to be done before next day
- 6:00pm – 8:00pm: Personal time (getting home, eating dinner, working out, etc.)
- 8:00pm – 9:45pm: Back online to wrap up tasks for the day
All unblocked time is spent doing individual work (e.g. preparing slide decks for client/case team meetings, Excel modeling, optimizing Alteryx workflows, etc.).
4.) What has been your biggest takeaway from your internship?
My biggest takeaway from this internship has been how essential it is to develop strong time management and task prioritization skills. Observing full-timers with years of experience, it was initially shocking to me how many of them have families and time-consuming hobbies
5.) What are your plans moving forward? Will you stay on a consulting path?
Yes, I was already pretty set on consulting as a career path before this summer, and this internship solidified in my mind that I want to pursue it full-time (at least for the first few years upon graduation!). I still want to get an MBA, and I really have no clue what I’ll be doing after that…
6.) What advice do you have for Canfield BHP underclassmen searching for summer internships?
Utilize Canfield BHP’s alumni network and all the resources that this program has to offer. My conversations with Canfield BHP alumni were often the most meaningful in my career exploration and recruitment efforts. We’re super lucky to have such an intimate, diverse, and engaged alumni network, yet few students develop relationships that could prove to be invaluable in professional endeavors.