McKinsey: Prestige differences based on office location?

Question

Born and raised Swiss citizen with Moroccan origins, currently interviewing for a BA role at two MBBs in their Casablanca office.

I want to start working in Morocco for personal and professional reasons, ideally for a short-term stay (up to 4yrs), and eventually come back to Europe.

My questions are the following: First, how much difference in prestige or exit opportunities can I expect comparing an experience at an MBB in Casablanca vs a more "classic" office e.g. London or Paris?

Second, how easy is it to switch office location once you get into McKinsey or BCG? Would it be easy to operate a move from Morocco to Europe while staying in the firm?

Thank you in advance for your answers!

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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