Confused between 2 offers - Paris boutique vs Dubai big 4

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offers!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

I would highly advise you to opt for the option that better aligns with your professional (and maybe even personal) mid- to long-term goals. In order to make an informed decision, I would advise you to do the following:

• Weigh the different criteria that are meaningful to you independently of the current options (e.g., prestige, culture, international exposure, compensation, location). After that, score the two options based on your criteria and their weighting, resulting in two scores. This way, you have covered the left-brain perspective.
• Critically assess your initial reaction to the outcome of the scores. For instance, if you feel the urge to tweak the numbers, this is a solid indicator that you do not want this decision to become reality. This way, you have covered the right-brain perspective.
• By doing so, you will be able to integrate both parts of the brain into the decision-making, guaranteeing a higher chance that you will still be happy with it years later.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi - 

I agree with Ian that the decision is yours. Being an Indian passport holder I can give you a bit of perspective from that angle as well. 

First thing - If I were you, I would think through prioritising the goals that you want. The way I read it is that moving to the US in the mid to long term is crucial and then a strategy consulting career is a close second. 

Thinking about moving to the US, a French passport is not a huge help, however, better than an Indian passport in the H1B lottery. 

Keeping that in mind, the best way to move to the US would be to move through an internal transfer on an L1 visa and then apply for the lottery every year till you eventually get an H1B. By that logic, if I were you, I would take the job at Deloitte. Spend a year there and then move to the US on the L1 visa. Deloitte also has a huge strategy consulting practice in the US and you would be able to kill two birds with one stone. 

I would be deloitted to give you a free consultation and talk through your decision if you like. ;)

Hi there,

I'm really sorry, but we can't tell you what to prioritize! 

This is your life - you know you best. Some people on a Q&A who have never met you are ill-placed to tell you what you should care about!

Ultimately, you need to pick the 2 or 3 things that matter most to you (prestige, working for MBB, living in Seattle, doing generalist vs. life sciences, pay, etc.). You also need to determine your threshold for short-term pain for long-term gain.

Simplify your decision.

If your goal is MBB and career progression, Deloitte will likely help you more than a boutique. If you want to Settle in the US, neither Paris nor Dubai are going to be substantial more or less helpful.

Hello!

The most important consideration is what you want to do in the longer term. 

For what you mention in the message, MBB and international mobility to go back to the states, I would go with the Big4, as a trampoline to MBB. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Hi there,

agree with other coaches - think about which of the 2 ambitions matters more to you and then back-solve accordingly. I'll add thought, that once you get into MBB - global mobility, can be fairly high, so you may want to consider prioritizing that.

If the case, then Monitor Deloitte will more likely get you into MBB - brand is better and the firm is known to be a feeder into top tier consulting firms. As simple as that.

Hope this helps. Wish you good luck!

Cheers, Andi