Kearney MBA Bootcamp Summer Associate 2026

Job Description

Intern/Trainee 

[Americas]

[Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington D.C] 

---

Program Overview

We are excited to invite you to apply to the Kearney Consulting Boot Camp in our Chicago Office on Thursday, June 26 - Friday, June 27, 2025! The Kearney Consulting Boot Camp presented by Black @ Kearney and co-presented by Hispanic Origin and Latin American (HOLÁ) Network aims to provide newly admitted MBA students, starting in the Fall of 2025, with two days of learning about the firm, networking with Kearney consultants and other incoming MBA candidates, and participating in practice case interviews. This will feature speakers from Black @ Kearney and HOLA Network. Any newly admitted student enrolled in their first year at a competitive MBA program is welcome to apply. Select Boot Camp participants will be invited to interview for 2026 Summer Associate positions. Submit your cover letter, CV, and academic transcripts (.doc or .pdf format only) via our website before Sunday, May 18th at 11:59pm CT.  

Key Dates 

Intro Webinar: May 9, 2025 

Case Prep Webinar: June 12, 2025 

Bootcamp (in-person in our Chicago office): June 26-27, 2025. 

Interviews will be held in mid-July 

Job description  

The Kearney Consulting Boot Camp can lead to an invitation to our interview process for 2026 Summer Associate positions. As a Summer Associate at Kearney, you will work alongside a dedicated and diverse set of people for 10 weeks and contribute to consulting project teams as we offer honest advice and practical guidance to our clients.  

With the freedom to be yourself and recognition for what you bring to the table, put your purpose into action this summer and join us as we help build a future that works for everyone, everywhere—as a Kearney Original.  

What to expect  

-  Gain unique hands-on experiences as you broaden your knowledge and experience in an open, agile, and collaborative environment.  

-  Ensure the success of project workstreams by completing tasks such as gathering and analyzing data and conducting competitor assessment studies.  

-  Support in the creation of recommendations and implement co-created solutions for clients across a range of industries and service practices.  

-  Take advantage of structured learning and development opportunities, including a dedicated mentor who will provide guidance throughout your internship.  

Qualifications

Who you are 

After nearly 100 years, we know this business is fundamentally about making connections—between facts, figures, insights, strategies, tools, technologies, and above all, people. That’s why we look for collaborative, insightful, and inquisitive problem-solvers who do not accept the first thing in front of them and who are always unapologetically themselves. 

We want to hear from you if you are: 

–       Ready to share your ideas and contribute as soon as you join a team 
–       Analytically inclined and enjoy solving problems 
–       Able to prioritize and are a doer by nature 
–       Experienced 5-10 years in your chosen field 
–       Enrolled in your first year in a competitive MBA program
–       Fluent in English

Practice Preferences 

You are eligible to apply for the practices below. During your application, you will have the option to pick your ranking of the practices. 

General Practice: Generalist role with no practice alignment. The Associate role is our post-MBA level consulting position and will work across industries and functions without specializing. All consultants are expected to specialize by the senior associate/manager level.   

Digital & Analytics (D&A): As technological shifts continue to disrupt industry, our clients face challenges that demand pragmatism, innovation, and a relentless focus on results. Our recently combined Digital and Analytics practice is uniquely positioned to address these challenges by helping clients think better, build better, and scale better. In doing so, we aim to become the leading digital, data, AI, and analytics firm for strategic operations, the trusted partner for CEOs, COOs, CIOs, CDOs, and CTOs for their most important digital and technology-driven transformations, and the consultants of choice in an AI-enabled world.

Product Excellence and Renewal Lab (PERLab): PERL fuses world-class product design with Kearney's operational expertise to transform product portfolios. With a deep knowledge of consumer insights and design, PERLab improves profits, reduces complexity and costs, streamlines the supply chain, and helps companies achieve their sustainability goals. Our PERLab is located in Chicago, IL.

Strategic Operations (SOP): Consultants who join the Strategic Operations team will work across industries.  Candidates with a strong interest or background in operations (plan, make, source or deliver) should consider this role. Strategic operations associates will have the chance to work across all 4 towers production, plan, source and distribute.

Private Equity and Principal Investors (PEPI): Consultants who join the PEPI team will work throughout the entire end to end M&A cycle: deal strategy and screening support, diligence (commercial, operational, ESG, IT), pre and post close planning and execution, divestitures (from TSA creation through the entire carve out process), CXO corporate transformation and strategy. Candidates with a strong interest in mergers & acquisitions, transformation, and corporate strategy should consider this role. 

Mobility, Defense, and Advanced Industries (MDI): The automotive, aerospace and defense, transportation, travel, industrial products, and infrastructure practice integrates all the capabilities of the end-to-end mobility value chain. From innovative product design to complex engineering infrastructure, our industries represent the backbone of the global economy.

Strategy, Growth & Organization Transformation (SG&OT): The SG&OT practice deals with a vast number of topics ranging from the structure of organizations, the processes they run, and how they engage their people, focusing on general and administrative (G&A) processes such as finance, accounting, and human resources.

Healthcare and Life Sciences Practice (HLS): The HLS practice teams with companies across biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, distributors and pharmacies, payers and providers, and consumer health to address their strategic and operational issues.

Communications, Media, and Technology (CMT): The telecommunications, media, and technology practices combine high-impact service offerings to boost the competitiveness of our clients, working with them along the entire value chain - from strategy, product development, customer interaction, and digital enablement to operations, procurement, large-scale cost programs, transformation, and supply chain.

Consumer Industry and Retail Practice (CIRP): Today's consumer industries retail market presents extraordinary opportunities for companies to transform their operations and gain unprecedented competitive advantage and market share.

Energy & Processes (EPI): Energy and Process Industries is a dynamic and growing practice that powers every industry and sector. We partner with practices across the firm to build compelling perspectives and offerings to our clients and work on cutting-edge projects that directly impact our way of life. Candidates with a strong interest or background in Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Utilities, Metals & Mining, or ESG/Sustainability should consider this role.

Apply Now

Submit your cover letter, CV, and academic transcripts (.doc or .pdf format only) via our website by Sunday, May 18th.

Interview Process

Selected candidates will have two rounds of interviews held virtually the week of July 14, 2025. If you are invited to first-round interviews, you will receive a notice from a Kearney recruiter to schedule your interview.

Read more about how you can make your mark, your way at Kearney.com/careers.

Equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination

Kearney prides itself on providing a culture where our employees belong and thrive equally, which means our people feel comfort, confidence, and joy as they do great things for our firm, our colleagues, and our clients. That’s why Kearney is committed to building a diverse workforce and inclusive environment. Kearney is an equal opportunity employer; we recruit, hire, train, promote, develop, and provide other conditions of employment without regard to a person’s gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other differences consistent with applicable laws. This includes providing reasonable accommodation for disabilities or religious beliefs and practices. We encourage everyone to apply, including those who may not feel historically represented in consulting. 

Language Requirements

N/A