Quick Facts
Heidrick & Struggles internship · at a glance
Roles open and close throughout the year. Check Heidrick & Struggles's careers portal for what is live today, and apply in the first week a role posts.
Before you applyWould your profile get you in?6 questions, under a minute. Compared with real interns who landed similar roles.Check my oddsAlso in this guide
Put real project work on your résumé, with the HP Tech Ventures Deal Sourcing & Startup Analysis Externship or the Amazon Fulfillment Center Operational Strategy & People Analytics Externship.
Explore all externships →All quick facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where to apply | Executive Search Summer Internship posting on the Heidrick & Struggles Workday board, linked from the careers page. Apply only through that board; the firm warns about recruitment scams using its name |
| Application window (2027–28) | Summer 2027 internship, open now: current posting dated September 25, 2026; the same listing was circulating on job sites from about mid-August 2026. No closing date. Summer 2028 internship, expected: around August to September 2027, projected from this one cycle |
| Rolling? | Yes. The posting has no deadline and no end date |
| Eligibility | University students entering their final year of an undergraduate or graduate degree. No major or GPA is specified; sponsorship isn't addressed |
| Duration | Starts June 2027, full time. The posting doesn't state a length |
| Compensation | $25.00 to $26.50 an hour, one range for all listed offices |
| Return offers | "Successful interns may be considered for full-time employment." No conversion rate published |
| Locations | New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston, San Francisco, Boston; plus Toronto |
| # Programs | 1 US internship (executive search). Student Analyst roles in Milan and Paris are separate European postings |
Last updated: October 2026
Heidrick & Struggles has one US internship, and it's open now. On October 12, 2026, the firm's Workday job board carried a single Executive Search Summer Internship posting covering New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston, San Francisco and Boston, plus Toronto. The posting says the "internship will start June 2027" and publishes pay of $25.00 to $26.50 an hour. It states no closing date. Job sites list it once per city, but it's one posting, not seven.
In plain words: you apply during 2026, you intern in summer 2027. There's a catch on eligibility. The role is only for students "entering their final year of undergraduate or graduate education," so for summer 2027 that means you graduate in 2028.
What Is a Heidrick & Struggles Internship?
A Heidrick & Struggles internship is a paid, full-time summer role on an executive search team, the group that finds chief executives and other senior leaders for client companies. The posting says interns "explore all facets of the Search execution life cycle from candidate identification, job specification development, industry and company research, to candidate assessment and placement." Heidrick & Struggles was founded in Chicago in 1953 and its careers page counts 2,000+ employees across 50+ locations. Vault ranks it #13 on its 2026 list of the Best Consulting Firms for Human Resources Consulting. One update the job posting hasn't caught up with: the firm has been privately held since December 10, 2025, when investors led by Advent International and Corvex Private Equity completed a take-private deal. The posting still shows an old Nasdaq ticker.
When Do Heidrick & Struggles Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?
This cycle gives one dated data point. The live posting for summer 2027 carries a Workday date of September 25, 2026. A copy of the same listing, with the same June 2027 start and pay range, was on outside job sites stamped August 15, 2026. So the internship was first advertised between mid-August and late September 2026, about 8.5 to 9.5 months before the June 2027 start. We couldn't recover a posting from an earlier year, so last cycle is known only from candidate interview reports, which describe interviews for earlier classes between October and January. On that basis, applications for summer 2028 are expected around August to September 2027.
Applications for the summer 2027 Executive Search Summer Internship are open right now: one posting, six US offices plus Toronto, no closing date. It's limited to students entering their final year.
Interviews for summer 2027, if this cycle follows earlier ones. Candidate reports for past intern classes describe interviews in October and in January, with one process taking about four weeks.
The summer 2027 internship starts. The posting says only that the "internship will start June 2027"; it doesn't give an end date or a number of weeks.
The firm's entry-level Executive Search Analyst class begins in the same seven offices, according to its current full-time posting. That's the role successful interns may later be considered for.
Applications for the summer 2028 internship are expected to open, projected from this cycle's mid-August to late-September 2026 timing. One cycle isn't a firm pattern, so start checking the board in early August.
How to read this page: our dates come from tracking previous recruiting cycles and daily posting data. Treat them as informed estimates based on historical patterns, not confirmed dates. The company's official careers page is always the most current source. If a role is posted there, go by that, even if this page suggests the window hasn't opened yet.
Why You Must Apply the Week Applications Open
Heidrick & Struggles' hiring here is rolling. The posting has no deadline and its end-date field is empty. One outside job site shows the listing expiring on October 14, 2026, but that's the site's own 60-day expiry, not the firm's date. Rolling cuts both ways. The posting could stay up through the winter, and candidate reports from earlier classes describe interviews as late as January. It's also a single posting shared by seven offices, and the firm publishes no class size, so there's no way to know how many seats each office has or when one fills. The listing has been circulating for about two months already. Apply now and name your office; waiting gains you nothing.
Which Heidrick & Struggles Internship Programs Should You Target?
Heidrick & Struggles posts one US internship. The other rows show what sits around it so you don't confuse them.
| Role | Focus | Location | Status and pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Search Summer Internship (summer 2027) | Candidate, company and industry research for live searches; client meetings; search strategy | New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston, San Francisco, Boston, Toronto | Open; $25.00 to $26.50 an hour |
| Executive Search, Analyst (full-time, not an internship) | Entry-level research role on a search team, starting July 2027 | Same seven offices | Open; $65,000 to $90,000 salary range |
| Student Analyst (Europe) | Student role on executive search teams | Milan; Paris | Open; separate from the US program |
| Consulting or MBA internship | None posted. No separate Heidrick Consulting or MBA intern role is on the board | n/a | Not posted |
If you're a new graduate, not a rising senior, the analyst posting is the one to read. Both US roles are on the Workday board.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
The internship posting keeps its requirements short:
• Class year: "Must be a university student entering their final year of undergraduate or graduate education at an accredited institution." For summer 2027 that's rising seniors and graduate students who finish in 2028.
• Major: none specified.
• GPA: none stated anywhere in the posting.
• Skills: professional writing, speaking and listening; "well-developed organizational, analytical, planning, and project management skills"; "proven research skills and a deep intellectual curiosity."
• Traits: "unselfish, team-oriented," proactive and self-motivated, with "a strong sense of urgency."
• Work authorization: the posting doesn't mention sponsorship either way.
Is There a GPA Cutoff at Heidrick & Struggles?
No GPA appears in the posting, and no major is required. The hard gate is class year. Sophomores and students with two or more years left don't qualify, and the posting offers no early-insight program for them. If you need visa sponsorship, ask the Talent Acquisition contact before you invest in the process, since the posting is silent on it.
Profile Match · Extern Data
Could You Get In at Heidrick & Struggles? Compare Your Profile
Based on 143 consulting interns at top consulting firms from the classes of 2025 and 2026 (public LinkedIn profiles, aggregated). Six questions, under a minute.
Which summer are you applying for?
Recruiting timelines differ by class year, so we compare you with the right group.
Which group is your school closest to?
Firms recruit on campus in tiers. We match you against admits from schools like yours.
Is your major business, finance, economics or management?
Major is not a hard filter, but it shifts how much your coursework has to prove.
How many internships, externships or research positions have you held so far?
Count anything with a real employer, mentor or principal investigator attached. Retail and food service do not count.
Has any of that experience been consulting-, finance- or research-related?
Consulting, finance, research or analyst roles at any size of firm.
Are you in a consulting club, case competition team or business fraternity?
Case competitions are where most consulting admits get their first structured-problem reps.
Aggregated from public LinkedIn profiles of people who held the internship. No individual profile is shown. Read the full consulting intern profile analysis and the cross-industry study of 2,500+ intern profiles.
What Skills Does Heidrick & Struggles Look For, and How Do You Build Them?
Executive search is a research job first. The internship posting lists "candidate, company and industry research for active client searches," sitting in on client intake meetings and briefings, and using the firm's own tools "to generate names of potential search candidates and track data in a Salesforce database." It asks for people who can "synthesize complex information with urgency" and "present information with conviction and clarity." The entry-level analyst posting, the role interns can grow into, repeats the same core: industry research, candidate identification, written candidate assessments, and managing several projects at once. Salesforce is the only tool either posting names.
What Heidrick & Struggles looks for in interns
Skills across 4 Heidrick & Struggles intern & analyst job descriptions · live postings, October 2026
Method: full-text reading of four executive search postings live on Heidrick & Struggles' Workday board on October 12, 2026: the US summer internship, the US entry-level analyst role, and Student Analyst roles in Milan and Paris. The three analyst postings share a template, so their counts move together. Only one is a US internship.
How Is Demand for Human Resources Interns Moving Right Now?
Human resources intern postings · Sep vs Aug 2026
vs 366 in August
For Heidrick & Struggles applicants: Heidrick & Struggles' board carried one US internship posting on October 12, 2026, the Executive Search Summer Internship for a June 2027 start, with no closing date. It's a research role on a search team, not a general HR internship, so apply to it directly.
Daily US job-posting counts, Sep 1–30 vs Aug 1–31, 2026. Covers under half of US postings; shows direction, not market size. Pay = median of employer-published ranges only (90 postings in September, 32 in August).
Build These Skills Before You Apply
Each skill in the posting maps to a remote Externship that leaves you with a finished project to describe.
| Skill (from real JDs) | JD evidence | Externship that builds it |
|---|---|---|
| Company and industry research | "Candidate, company and industry research for active client searches and business development activities" | HP Tech Ventures Deal Sourcing & Startup Analysis |
| People and workforce data | Interns "track data in a Salesforce database"; the firm's work is leadership and talent | Amazon Fulfillment Center Operational Strategy & People Analytics |
| Synthesis and clear recommendations | "synthesize complex information with urgency" and "present information with conviction and clarity" | Lean Startup Co. Corporate Strategy Externship Mentored by Eric Ries |
The research match is the closest. Screening and sorting companies for a venture team uses the same habits as mapping who holds a given executive role across an industry.
What Is the Heidrick & Struggles Application and Interview Process Like?
Heidrick & Struggles doesn't publish its intern interview steps. The posting plus candidate reports on Glassdoor suggest this shape:
1. Apply on Workday. One posting covers all seven offices, so pick the office you want in the application.
2. Talent Acquisition conversation. The posting refers to "your Talent Acquisition professional," and candidates describe an HR or recruiter conversation first.
3. Interviews with the office team. One intern who accepted a Washington, D.C. offer described four rounds: Talent Acquisition, a regional manager, a senior associate and the office's managing partner, over about four weeks. That's one community report, not a firm standard.
4. Expect motivation questions. Reported questions include why executive search, why Heidrick, and where you see yourself in the future.
5. Offer. The posting says "successful interns may be considered for full-time employment."
Our behavioral interview guide helps with the fit questions candidates report.
What the Community Says
Reddit has no first-hand account of this internship, so these come from dated intern interview reports on Glassdoor. They're individual reports, and we don't link Glassdoor because it sits behind a login.
An intern who accepted an offer in Washington, D.C. said they interviewed in January 2025 across four rounds, ending with the office's managing partner, and that the whole process took about four weeks.
A New York candidate said they were contacted by email after applying and had an HR interview. The questions were about motivation: why executive search, and why this firm.
Another candidate called the interview easy and conversational, with questions about why they wanted to work at the firm and where they saw themselves in the future. They didn't get an offer.
How Do You Stand Out for a Heidrick & Struggles Internship?
Three moves. First, have a real answer to "Why executive search? Why Heidrick?" Past candidates were asked both. Know what a search firm does, and know the firm's news: it went private in December 2025, so don't call it a Nasdaq company even though the posting still does. Second, show research you've done. The work is company, industry and people research, so bring one concrete example, such as a market map or a competitor study, and explain how you built it. If you've used Salesforce or another CRM, say so; it's the one tool the posting names. Third, name your office and your year. Interviews run through the local team, and only students entering their final year qualify. The firm publishes no applicant count, class size or conversion rate for interns.
What Other Companies Should You Consider?
Heidrick & Struggles competes with other search and talent advisory firms for the same students.
- Korn FerryThe largest executive search and organizational consulting competitorGuide →
- MercerHuman resources consulting arm of Marsh McLennanGuide →
- Willis Towers WatsonHR, benefits and talent consulting with a larger intern intakeGuide →
- AonHuman capital consulting alongside insurance brokingGuide →
- ManpowerGroupStaffing and talent solutions at much larger scaleGuide →
Our consulting internships summer 2027 guide compares recruiting calendars across strategy, HR and specialist consulting firms.
FAQ
Can I still apply for a summer 2026 Heidrick & Struggles internship?
No. Summer 2026 is over. The internship that's open is for summer 2027: the Executive Search Summer Internship is live on the firm's Workday board as of October 12, 2026, for a June 2027 start in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston, San Francisco, Boston and Toronto.
When do Heidrick & Struggles internship applications open for summer 2027, and is there a deadline?
They're open now, with no stated deadline. The current posting is dated September 25, 2026, and a copy of the same listing was on outside job sites from about August 15, 2026. The posting has no closing date, so hiring is rolling. Applications for summer 2028 are expected around August to September 2027.
Who can apply for the Heidrick & Struggles internship?
Students entering their final year. The posting requires "a university student entering their final year of undergraduate or graduate education at an accredited institution." For summer 2027 that means you graduate in 2028. No major or GPA is specified, and the posting doesn't say whether the firm sponsors visas.
How much does the Heidrick & Struggles internship pay?
$25.00 to $26.50 an hour. The firm publishes that range in the posting, and it's a single range for every listed office, with no separate figure for New York or San Francisco. The posting says pay depends on factors such as education, work experience and skills. Housing or relocation help isn't mentioned.
How long is the Heidrick & Struggles internship?
The posting doesn't say. It states that the internship will start in June 2027 and lists the role as full time, but gives no end date or number of weeks. Ask the Talent Acquisition contact for the dates in your office before you plan housing or a fall return to campus.
What do Heidrick & Struggles interns do?
They work on an executive search team. The posting lists candidate, company and industry research for active client searches, sitting in on client intake meetings and briefings, seeing how a search strategy is built, and using the firm's tools to generate candidate names and track data in Salesforce.
What is the Heidrick & Struggles internship interview process?
The firm doesn't publish one. Candidate reports on Glassdoor describe a Talent Acquisition conversation followed by interviews with the office team. One intern who accepted a Washington, D.C. offer described four rounds over about four weeks, ending with the managing partner. Expect "why executive search" and "why Heidrick" questions.
Does the Heidrick & Struggles internship lead to a full-time job?
It can. The posting says "successful interns may be considered for full-time employment," but the firm publishes no conversion rate. The entry-level seat is Executive Search Analyst, which is posted now for the same seven offices with a July 2027 start and a salary range of $65,000 to $90,000.
The Heidrick & Struggles summer 2027 internship is open with no stated deadline, so apply now if you're entering your final year. To back up your research skills with something finished, a remote Externship gives you a project to walk through in the interview.
About the Author
Bifei Wang has spent 17 years focused on human flow and the growth of young professionals, spanning international education, career training and coaching, and recruitment process outsourcing. Over 7 years at Extern, he has had one-on-one sessions with thousands of students exploring careers in consulting, finance, tech, marketing, and data, giving him a firsthand view of how the job market has shifted for early-career professionals and what it actually takes to break in.
