Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offers!

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• First of all, 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.
• Still, in order to answer your question, my personal perception of the two companies is that BCG beats Roland Berger on all objectively quantifiable dimensions. Moreover, Roland Berger's slightly rougher corporate culture does not seem to fit well with everybody compared to BCG's smoothly polished, heavily US-influenced culture.

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

(editiert)

Hi there,

congratulations on your offers. You seem to have a luxury problem with this.

Your considerations so far seem valid. If your target region is Germany in the long run, then I would dare say that reputation wise there is not too much of a difference, particularly in the restructuring segment. If you are looking outside of Germany, France and China, BCG pretty much beats RB in terms of reputation.
However, I worked for RB both in Germany and the US. While it's two totally different environments with a different weight of the brand name, it was also a different kind of experience I got which I personally enjoyed (e.g. established player vs. high-growth start-up).

RB is definitely trying hard to increase its female quota, particularly in senior positions. But I doubt that this is unique compared to other consulting firms. And if you are just getting started at an entry level, it will be years before it becomes really relevant.

I would also tend to think that all consulting firms are impacted by the economic situation. Not sure what forecast you have seen, but if this is a forecast a consulting firm is communicating, it is likely a marketing angle and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Long story short: I would ask myself the following questions if the salary is already comparable.

• Who of the two seems to be more interested in me signing with them?
• How is the interaction with partners at the firm? Are they approachable and do they actively try to win me over?
• Do I want to go into restructuring specifically or do I want to try different things and decide later?
• Do I have plans to work abroad in the future (particularly outside of consulting)?
• How does my compensation package compare if I factor out the company car? Would I even choose to get a company car?

Best of luck

BCG hands down for your first consulting role. The reality is that if you want to leave the industry it is 100 times easier to do so with BcG on your resume vs Roland Berger. 
 

Theres nothing wrong with joining Roland Berger but since you have the option to join BCG I would strongly suggest going with that and then after two years if you want a change you can always find a consulting role in a different firm. 

Hi there,

Pros and cons lists don't work!

They're overcomplicating things.

How did you get these offers? You frameworked effectively :)

So, use frameworking to solve this problem!

You need to figure out the things you value, and then determine which company meets that.

===================================

Look, I'm going to a bit against my typical advise and take a risk here. I think you should pick BCG. I would pick BCG. The brand/prestige, L&D, and just generally career jump opportunity BCG presents is light years ahead of RB. 

I also think your pros/cons are really really specific and missing the forest for the trees.

If the #1 thing you value is culture/team/workplace  *and* think RB beats BCG here, then pick RB.

In most other scenarios (valuing your career, future financial positioning, etc.), you should pick BCG (at least, I would).

Hi!

I believe your economic assessment is heavily biased by statements given to you, but from what I am seeing not necessarily very robust. 

But what I can tell you is the following: I am currently working with several current RB consultants in Germany and Europe who are aspiring a move to BCG or McKinsey. All of them do this for better long term career growth and opportunities. So from that angle, I believe the message is clear.

Cheers, Sidi

_______________________

Dr. Sidi Koné 

(Former Senior Engagement Manager and Interviewer at McKinsey | Former Senior Consultant and Interviewer at BCG)

Hi there, 

congrats to receiving 2 offers with 2 great firms. Adding a few thoughts.. 

1. What's your long-term goal? Always start with this - based on where you see yourself in 5+ years, which firm will get you there more directly? If restructuring is that area you want to be in, RB is a valid choice, for most others BCG will have a significant edge.
2. Staffing situation: would not worry too much about macroeconomic factors impacting short-term staffing. In the long-run, these firms are quite effective at managing the staffing pyramid & HC numbers, so this won't really impact you in the grand scheme of things. If you're worried about long-term momentum, BCG would typically be the safer bet (more diversified, proven growth CAGRs outpacing most others in the industry).
3. Culture: all other things equal, I'd always choose a firm where I have better chemistry with the people - this trumps everything in a people business. In consulting you often spend more time with your colleagues than with your own family, so if you don't get along culture-wise, you're wasting your time and it also will negatively impact your development. 

Hope this helps.

Regards, Andi

I'm not so sure about the validity of the other answers. First and foremost, it depends what you want to do? 

For restructuring, performance improvement etc. Roland Berger is THE number one firm in the DACH region. BCG has its “Turn” platform which, among the MBB, is probably the next best shot at RX (besides specialized houses such as Alix, Andersch, etc.) 

I don't see such a quite straightforward answers as the other posters. What RB is great is that it places you into the respective groups automatically. That is you are guaranteed to only do restructuring related assignments. RX is also by far the greatest competence center at Berger thus there will be a lot of work. 

Not quite sure how that is at BCG. 

I'm working now for McKinsey (which again has a completely different staffing model) but I've did a Berger internship and solely from the content of the work, I much prefered RB. Why? I did only assignments that I found truly interesting. At McK there are projects that fall under “restructuring” (more like transformations) but these are much more higher level strategy projects than “real” nitty gritty restructuring. I chose McKinsey solely for the brand. I would just tell you to be careful what you chose for. Esp. in Germany I don't see the big brand delta between BCG and RB. Between McK and RB the delta for sure justifies going to McK. 

Good Luck anyway!

Your assessment is relatively correct. I think it would be helpful if you considered what would be the ideal job / long term career objectives as that way it may be easier to provide you additional information.