ZSers reflect on MBA internship experiences that led them to ZS

This past summer, ZS’s North America offices were home to 119 interns – 32 of which were MBA interns. ZS’s MBA internship program provides a unique opportunity to experience the life of a ZS consultant by working directly with clients to make an impact. At ZS, we view our internships as apprenticeships that will hopefully prepare interns for full-time positions with our firm.

Hear from former ZS MBA interns turned current ZSers about their intern experiences and what made them choose careers at ZS.

After interning at ZS’s Evanston office in 2016 during his MBA studies with Duke Fuqua School of Business, William accepted a role with ZS and is currently a strategy insights and planning consultant.

It was a great opportunity to gain real-world experience as a consultant in the healthcare industry. Even as an intern, I added valuable contributions to my project team and client and networked with several principals and managers throughout the summer.

My favorite ZS moment was planning and facilitating a day-long training and networking event for other ZSers in the Medical Products & Services space. I was thrilled to present important content relevant to our space and clients, and coordinate working sessions to allow the team to learn and practice skills that are relevant to our work. It was also a wonderful opportunity to learn and network with fellow ZSers.

I love ZS’s culture. ZS is a relatively flat organization where everyone is committed to our core values – getting it right, treating people right and doing the right thing. It creates an environment where all team members, both senior and junior, are encouraged to voice their ideas, engage in healthy debate and develop innovative approaches to solve tough problems.

While pursuing her MBA at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, Daniele interned with ZS in 2017 and joined ZS full-time in 2018. Today, she is a strategy insights and planning consultant in our Princeton office.

My favorite moment is the gratitude expressed by the clients when a project ends. On multiple occasions, clients have genuinely thanked the ZS team for their hard work, insights and impact we had on their business.

ZS is about the people and culture. Any ZSer is willing to listen when I have questions and ensure I have what is needed to do my work. ZSers put a lot of time and effort to help me develop in my career and provide meaningful feedback to help me improve.

During my internship I worked as a consultant on an interesting segmentation and a dashboard project. I attended client meetings and felt like I was a true part of the team. There were many opportunities to connect with interns in different offices and with ZS senior leaders, so I could learn more about strategic priorities, culture and long-term vision of the firm.

Sandy joined ZS as a strategy insights and planning consultant in our San Francisco office, after interning in 2018 during her MBA studies at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

I am excited by the team culture and non-hierarchical nature of ZS. I felt that I was able to contribute immediately as an intern, and I wanted a place where I could feel comfortable expressing ideas and learning alongside my colleagues. As everyone says, ZS is all about the people – and it’s true! I’m constantly amazed by the humility of ZSers. In addition, I am intrigued by ZS’s breadth of work in healthcare – I knew I wanted to focus on healthcare – and having the ability to do so across many different types of work was important to me.

I loved working with a team of collaborative, incredibly intelligent and caring people. I was able to completely immerse myself in a project and contribute from day one, and I learned a lot about the biotechnology industry overall.

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