I am in a dilemma in deciding between boutique opportunity and waiting for MBB interviews.

Question

I have received a corporate consulting offer with ok pay, amazing work life balance and high quality colleagues (Almost all MBB) but the title is not high from Country A

I am interviewing for final round at MBB in Country B (high compensation and low tax)-they have a hard time scheduling interviews because they are very busy (even after I told them I have offers)

I am interviewing for the first round at MBB in Country C (high tax, high cost of living, core global office)

I am interviewing for a fast growing boutique within a large org in Country C (final round)

The boutique in Country C is talking about visa processing right now and ask for my info but I haven't even finished the final around with them (which is coming soon)

Living environment: C>A>B

Post Tax Salary: B>A>C

Cost of Living: C>B>A

Company brand and probably? exit oppoutnities: C(MBB)>B>A>C(boutique-niche but hot function)

I personally wont mind doing MBB at B to save some money for ~1.5 years and then move to C to live as I prefer living at C.

Of course I can move to C and apply for MBB in Country C later but the Country C office is one of the most competitive in the world and I am not sure I can get an interview/get in and it costs at least a year.

How can I push back the boutique and make the process for MBB in Country B faster?

Answer 1

Hi there,

This is truly tough - I don't envy your decision, even if it's a good one to have.

You have a few options:

Flag to the boutique that you need extra time. Just say that you need to take some time to think through the decision and talk to friends/family. Do not mention your other interviews.
Re-flag to MBB that an offer has been made and that if they can accelerate the process you would really appreciate it.
Sign with the boutique and cancel later if you get MBB (not good etiquette, and I personally always avoided doing this, but this is an option that you need to evalute against your principles)

Best of luck!

Answer 2

Hi there,

Q: How can I push back the boutique and make the process for MBB in Country B faster?

I think Ian is spot-on on this. If you could do 1 and 2 that he suggested (postponing the final with the boutique + followup with MBB again), you should hopefully be ok and get enough time.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 3

Since you like living in Country C, let's fix that and zoom-in

You can take the following paths:

Join Boutique, stop the process for MBB, and live normally
Join Boutique, stop the process for MBB, and reapply 1-1.5 years later
Join Boutique, let MBB process continue at slow-pace, if you make it through then quit Boutique asap and join MBB. This may not be ideal if your experience at Boutique is too less.
Join Boutique, let MBB process continue at slow-pace, if you make it through then negotiate for a later joining date that gives you a reasonable time at Boutique to consider it as a proper work experience.
Try to push the joining for Boutique, try to push MBB to accelerate, and then try to make it to MBB. If you can't then join Boutique. However, psychologically this will be a defeat since you will be labelling Boutique as a “second choice” in your mind.

HOWEVER, try to also do a cost-benefit and NPV analysis of the net pay difference in C vs B (post-tax) - and see how much difference that would make over the course of next 10 years.