Professional internship report carried out at dialectica Colombia S.A.S.

Abstract

Consulting firms, private equity funds, and hedge funds require first-hand market information to make strategic decisions and advise clients. Since such information is not always publicly available, expert networks have emerged as intermediaries connecting these organizations with specialists possessing direct market knowledge. This report describes the professional internship of Nicolas Ramirez, a student at Universidad Santo Tomás and KEDGE Business School, at Dialectica Colombia S.A.S., where he worked in the Client Service Team (CST) from February 9 to August 9. His responsibilities included expert sourcing, engagement, qualification, and logistics to provide high-quality profiles to consulting firms. The report draws on the author's professional experience, including daily candidate sourcing, outreach activities, and screening processes. It also examines the industry's economic and regulatory environment. During the internship, the author recruited 23 Non-Network Specialists (NNSPs). He was recognized as the CST's top-performing intern in April and received company-wide recognition during Dialectica's quarterly All Hands event. Additionally, he proposed an improvement plan to standardize AI-assisted project research during intern onboarding, facilitating the handling of new projects and improving operational efficiency. The internship highlights the importance of information asymmetry and intermediation in a growing global industry. It also identifies opportunities to optimize internal processes through artificial intelligence, potentially enhancing productivity and improving the performance of future interns.