McKinsey: Prestige differences based on office location?

Hi,

Answers to the questions you asked below

1. In general, you will be most desirable for a location that you have worked in. So if you work at MBB in London, then firms in London will see you more favorably. 

2. It is easier to move from MBB Morocco to MBB Europe than to move from MBB Casablance to a different job in Europe. So you can do 2 yrs (or how many ever years) in Casablance then move to Europe and then recruit for a new role 1-2 yrs after that

3. It is not 'easy' to switch from one office to another, but it happens all the time. To do so it helps if you have expertise/knowledge in something they also seek - for example if you are an expert in Finance and the London office clients are mainly in Finance then the move is a lot easier. Ultimately you need partners in Europe to want you to come work there (by saying they will staff you on projects). This requires networking, relationship building and expertise in a desirable area.

Best,

Udayan

Hi! I will share an opinion on the second part of your question - a move is possible but generally requires 12 months of work in the starting office and is performance-based. Strong personal (for e.g., if someone's partner has been transferred to another location) or professional reasons are meaningfully considered by firms as they want you to be in an environment where you can thrive. Moves to certain offices are likely to be more 'in demand' and might therefore be more competitive i.e., many people looking for internal transfers to a particular office with potentially limited headcount availability. This also depends on the growth in that particular office - if it is fast-growing and expanding, transfers might be very welcome by the incoming office. 

First of all, you actually don't have that many options. You can go for offices with which you have some sort of connection (you worked there, are from there, you studied there) or you risk being screened out at the beginning of the process. 

Meaning that if there are differences in prestige between offices, you can't really control for them anyway. And these differences are subjective anyway, since those who know how a firm like McKinsey works know that the staffing model is international, so even if you are part of an office, you will still be working on the same type of projects with the same type of people as somebody from London. 

Relocating though, is a different question. What I did notice when in the firm is that sometimes it seemed easier to move from a 'big' office e.g., London to a 'smaller' office than the other way around. Why? Simply, demand. Lots of people want to go to London, not that many want to go to a smaller office. So if you want to work in Morocco for a short duration, it might actually be easier to start in London and get a temporary or permanent transfer there. 

Best,
Cristian

There's some difference in prestige. Locations with higher prestige (New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, ...) will carry higher prestige. Although the industry focus has a weight on that... i.e., if you want to work for O&G, having Houston or Riyadh works better than San Francisco.

Still, having worked for Mckinsey you will be assigned to global projects... and Mckinsey is an amazing brand. People will respect it and weight it more than they weight the location. 

Switching office location... possible, not easy. But the longer you are at the company the easier it becomes.

Hi there,
McKinsey is McKinsey. The brand travels. You do not lose prestige because your badge says Casablanca. What changes is exposure and network depth. Smaller offices can skew toward regional and public sector work and you will know fewer people in PE or tech than in London or Paris. Employers still read the name first. If you want Europe later, get in, perform, then move internally. Transfers happen. Build a strong reputation, grow your network across partners, and watch for rotations and short stints that lead to a full move. That beats trying to game office choice from the outside.

Hi there, 

Congrats on the interviews! Working at MBB in Casablanca still carries strong brand value as what matters most is the firm name on your CV, not the office location. That said, larger offices like London or Paris might offer broader project exposure and slightly more visibility for certain exits, but the difference isn’t huge, especially early in your career.

As for transfers, both McKinsey and BCG are quite open to mobility. Once you’ve built a solid track record (usually after 1–2 years), moving to a European office is definitely possible. 

I think the McK brand name is generally recognized where it needs to be in terms of exit opportunities

i.e. Your corporate recruiter is not really going to care that you went to McKinsey Casablanca instead of McKinsey London, i think the McKinsey brand name is still going to be strong. BUT there will be a question of relevance and local knowledge if that is required

In terms of ease of transfer - that does happen but is not a guarantee. Quite a bit of nuance there.. happy to have a chat on this and share examples once you already have landed the job. Drop me a DM then.