What are some datapoints we have for timeline from hiring to beginning of work?

For the experienced hire / off-cycle route, 2 other points also influence it:

1. Business demand
   • If there is overwhelming demand but not enough supply, firms will want to hire asap because not having enough resources means not being able to start on cases and generate revenue
   • If you are being hired for an industry/practice area, sometimes there are more defined timelines (i.e. I have known people hired to start work specifically by a certain date so they can start on a specific case)
2. Orientation / new hire training dates
   • This is less critical/significant than point #1 above
   • However when supply is not constrained, sometimes HR will propose that you start together with the next available orientation/new hire onboarding
   • This is to try and avoid the situation where you go for ‘new hire orientation’ or onboarding 6-9 months after you join (it can happen for various reasons) and therefore it becomes a waste of your time

Hi there,

1) I'd like to ask if anyone can share, for MBB, what are some timelines you've seen from the decision to hire till the actual start of the work? 

I think the shortest I have seen was a few weeks and the longest 1.5 years after the offer. Usually you have a few months.

2) What factors are leading to these differences?

Usual factors include:

• Needs of the company. If they are short of staff for that position they will ask to start earlier. If the position is very specific, it is more likely they have an immediate need
• Your needs. Most of the time you have some flexibility with the starting date. A common factor for delays is if you are completing a degree. For junior positions, the starting period is usually in batches to align with the initial training.

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

I completely depends on your recruiting channel!

If you're an experienced hire, you might start in just a few weeks. If you're an MBA candidate then you won't start for a full year or even 1.5 years!

Hi there,

This can be as fast as 2 weeks up to one year. For instance, McKinsey offers are usually valid for one year and people choose to take a bigger break or travel before starting in MBB generally.

You can usually start at the beginning of each month except for December in some regions.

Cheers,

Florian

It really depends on:

• Whether you're applying ‘on cycle’ (e.g., as part of the graduate recruitment process) or not. If you're applying on cycle there will be more formal interview and start dates
• How many start dates the office is having - which is often a factor of how large the office is
• What role you're applying to - some want to bring people in on a rolling basis and others don't

So for example, I applied off cycle in June and started in October. If I had applied on cycle I would have applied the previous October and be offered start dates in September, October or January. 

So unhelpfully, it all depends. I recommend speaking with the recruiting team to see what start dates they're considering.