NERA application deadlines 2027: intern roles post in the winter, not the fall

Winter postings, reviewed as they arrive

NERA offers a limited number of ten week summer internships to undergraduates working on a BA or BS, and posts available internships during the winter months on Marsh and McLennan's recruiting website.1

That winter timing makes NERA a genuine outlier. Economic consulting broadly opens September to November, but NERA's intern postings land later, which means a candidate who checks in October and sees nothing has not missed anything.4

The firm reviews applications as they come in and contacts candidates directly if there is a fit.2

Recent Research Associate postings covered New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, White Plains and Chicago at $90,000 plus performance incentives and full benefits, hybrid, with econometrics, finance and coding preferred.3

Three documents, sometimes four

NERA requires a CV, cover letter and transcripts, and depending on the position some candidates may also be required to submit a writing sample.2

Because NERA is part of Marsh, the application process directs you to the Marsh job search site rather than a NERA-branded portal.2 That trips up candidates looking for a dedicated careers system.

The interview is about data, not frameworks

NERA's interview process differs from MBB in a specific way: the focus is less on your ability to solve problems and more on your ability to manipulate data.1

Interviews are also largely up to the individual interviewers rather than standardized globally, which suits a firm of roughly 500 people where the hypothesis is that good people can identify other good people.1

Practically, that means you cannot prepare for one canonical NERA format. Prepare instead to discuss your own quantitative work in depth and to handle data manipulation questions without a scripted structure.

Where NERA sits, honestly

NERA is a boutique consulting firm focused on litigation and compliance, with roughly 500 people, and it does not appear on lists of the top 20 consulting firms.1 That is worth saying plainly rather than overselling it.

What it does have is a strong position in a specific niche and a place in the standard economic consulting competitive set alongside Analysis Group, Cornerstone Research and Bates White, which candidates routinely consider together.5

An estimated 80 percent or more of NERA recruits come from campaigns at target schools, with roughly 18 percent from employee referrals and only about 2 percent from online applications.1 If NERA does not recruit at your school, a cold online application is a low-probability route and networking matters disproportionately here.

The internship functions as a test drive: the expectation is that strong interns receive offers, and roughly 80 percent of top performers are locked in before peak senior recruiting season.1

What to do this week

1. Do not panic in October. NERA posts intern roles in the winter, later than most economic consulting firms.
2. Choose a writing sample now. Some positions require one and it is the slowest item to prepare well.
3. Apply through the Marsh job search site, since NERA routes candidates there.
4. Prioritize networking if NERA does not recruit at your school. Online applications account for a very small share of hires.
5. Apply to Cornerstone, Analysis Group and Bates White in parallel. Same competitive set, earlier calendars.

Frequently asked