The summer before you start the MBA program, you may be focused on wrapping up your previous job or taking a break – or thinking about how to gain additional work experience to prepare for your future career. The pre-MBA internship is not an essential part of the MBA experience, but it can help you build experience, confidence, and a network in a particular area of business in preparation for your MBA internship. MBAs may also want to consider participating in a pre-MBA program, and opportunity to learn more about a company or industry, often through learning activities and networking.
- Pre-MBA Internships – pre-MBA internships allow you to explore a new area of interest, or practice a skill set you know will be necessary for your next career step. These are more traditional internship experiences where you add value to the organization. They are student-sourced and often found through networking at early-stage and startup companies.
- Pre-MBA Programs – these programs are often found in large companies and while a company may use these programs to interview and extend early offers, students typically don’t have a typical internship experience that includes doing work for the company. It’s more of a “day in the life” and “get to know us” style of event/program. Students may participate in several of these programs if they’d like as they tend to be shorter than an internship. Details on many programs are listed below and posted on the AdMIT website.
Step 1. Identify What Experience You Want to Gain and What Skills You Have to Offer
Knowing what you want and what you have to offer is critical for the pre-MBA program or internship search. In cases where the company will be creating an internship around what you offer, you must be able to speak to what the company needs and how you can add value.
Step 2. Update Your LinkedIn Profile
If you are seeking a pre-MBA internship, we encourage you to update your LinkedIn profile to reflect your admittance to MIT Sloan.
Below are some actions you can take:
- Update your Headline to read: “MBA Candidate, MIT Sloan School of Management.”
- Add MIT Sloan as your current employer with the title of “MBA Candidate.”
- Add MIT Sloan to your Education section (include expected years of attendance, ex: 2024-2026).
- Keep your profile up-to-date by adding an end-date to your pre-MBA employer. This will also let companies know you are available to work.
Note: You can remove months from your employment dates.
We also recommend any updates to your profile to ensure it positions you well for the types of role you are seeking. Note: This can be an iterative process.
Pre-MBA Internships are not part of an existing job market; they are often unpaid opportunities that a candidate creates through proactive networking and relationship building. Recent MIT Sloan MBAs have created pre-MBA internships at early-stage and growing startup companies. Over the last two years, students completing pre-MBA experiences have found opportunities in: financial services, mobile payments/payment systems, software development startups, ecommerce, automation, AI, cleantech/energy, real estate, consumer healthcare, agtech, social ventures, digital media, and venture capital/private equity.
If you are targeting startup or growing companies, reach out to your personal, professional, and alumni contacts – including the MIT Sloan Alumni Network on LinkedIn – who are working at firms of interest to you. Let them know you’ve just joined the MBA program at MIT Sloan and would like to learn more about their experience at the company, and whether their organization has ever offered pre-MBA internship opportunities. Again, be sure you have a strong pitch for you can contribute to their organization.
Pre-MBA Programs and Events are listed below and you may find additional programs highlighted on the AdMIT website. The industries most likely to have pre-MBA Programs are consulting and finance, although opportunities also exist in other industries at companies with robust recruiting programs, such as large consumer products companies.
Important: If your pre-MBA experience results in an internship offer for Summer 2027 that you are being asked to accept or decline before career advising begins in Fall 2026, please contact us at mbacdoadvisors@mit.edu before making any commitments. A career advisor can help you consider your options for responding to the offer.
Typical Pre-MBA Programs
The following companies have offered pre-MBA programs in the past. They typically open their websites for applications each Spring. We will update this list with links when they become readily available.
This is where you will find information about pre-MBA programs, workshops, and events hosted by companies.
While opportunities vary every year based on company needs, companies hosting events in previous years include: Bain, BCG, McKinsey, LEK Consulting, PwC, Deloitte, EY Parthenon, Harris Williams, Kearny, Accenture, Amazon.
Once companies announce events, we will expand this section, including companies, dates, and website links where you can learn more about the activities.
Conferences
Career Conferences offer a unique opportunity to build community and belonging by connecting with other MBA program participants and engaging with employers of interest.
National Black MBA Association Conference: www.nbmbaa.org/conference
Reaching Out MBA Conference: www.reachingoutmba.org/romba-conference
MBA Veterans Conference: www.mbaveterans.com
Forté Women’s Leadership Conference: www.fortefoundation.org/mba/events/leadership-conference
Tech Week: www.tech-week.com
