Hi there,

Q: Is it better to go with an offer as a Junior Consultant in a boutique firm or with that of a Junior Analyst in an MBB when you essentially want to start off as a consultant? 

Are you referring to an MBB Research Analyst position? If so, it is not necessarily easy to move from that position to a consultant position.

I helped a candidate in the past who was a research analyst at McKinsey and he did manage to move to a consultant role, however this was after an MBA.

In terms of the decision between the offers: it mainly depends on the brand of the boutique and your goals. If the brand is good, it could be easier to move from that position to a consultant position at MBB in the future. You can check on LinkedIn which have been the exits of the two positions to get a better idea.

As general criteria, I would consider the following:

• Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? Look at the company that can help you to achieve that goal faster. You can check LinkedIn for that (see below).
• If you consider the average consultant/partner you talked to in each company, which one would you rather be? You will spend a lot of time with your colleagues in the next years - be sure you choose a company where the people are close to the person you want to become.
• If money and prestige were not a consideration, which company would you choose? This could help you to identify additional elements to weigh you have not considered yet.

In terms of exits (for most people they are a very important factor to join a consulting company), you can check them as follows:

1. Look for alumni of the two companies on LinkedIn
2. Check how many moved to your preferred exits in your target region
3. Normalize for the size of the companies in the region

If you want to do extra due diligence, contact Alumni of your university (not current consultants) that worked in your target office (bonus if they worked for both companies). You will learn more in a 30min call with them than with any online research you may do.

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

Some good answers here already.

I'll give you some counterintuitive advice:

If your goal is to work at MBB, you might have a higher chance to start as a consultant somewhere else and then make the switch.

What I have observed in McK is that there are more lateral hires from other consulting firms than analysts moving to the consultant track, purely observational and there might be other reasons for this as well, e.g., that the analysts just don't want to switch.

Cheers,

Florian

Hi,

I'm not completely sure I get your question entirely and I am going to assume that by “Analyst” you mean a Knowledge/Research team role, and are not referring generically to a junior Consulting team role.

Is it possible to shift from the Knowledge/Research team to the Consulting team in MBB

• Yes, it is possible, but it is not guaranteed
• Those I know who have made the changed have made it after ~2-4 years → most commonly to the Senior Associate role (pre-MBA role)
• The timing and role however really depended on their performance and willingness of the partners to support their transition

Is it better to join as a Junior Consultant in a Boutique firm vs a Junior Analyst in MBB

• This one is a bit harder to answer, as it will depend on a couple of things. If I were you, I'd think about the following factors
  • The prestige / recognition of the Boutique
  • The value of the ‘niche’ or ‘speciality’ of the Boutique, w.r.t to the demand of MBB in your region
  • What you want in the short term and what kind of lifestyle you are willing to live
  • What you want in the mid-term → what do you want the ‘brand name’ for?
  • The track record of alumni from the Boutique who have made a switch to MBB or other exit options you are looking at
  • The track record of alumni from MBB Knowledge/Research team that have made the switch to other exit options you are looking at

Hope this helps!

Hi there,

Love the answers from the other coaches and there is not much I can add on that front.

#1 thing I can say is: Figure out your values/interests/goals. Keep it simple + clear. Then, figure out which of these roles makes most sense for you.

By the way, when you have 2 great options be grateful you have a “great” problem to have! You can't go wrong. Congrats!

Hello,

If by Analyst you mean Business Analyst then it is only a matter of time until you grow into the next role i.e. Associate/Consultant (depending on the firm). In this case, it really depends what you truly want - are you okay with working at a junior position for getting a better brand on your CV with potentially better exit opportunities/ MBA sponsorship.

If you mean Research Analyst, then it also depends on your long term goals here. If you don't want to be in Research, then it doesn't make much sense to be in this field. Supposedly if you do spend 1-2 years in that role, what happens next? How do you get to consulting? You maybe required to do an MBA to be accepted into consulting, are you okay with that?

Best,

Rushabh

Some very good answers already, I will just emphasise the point that if you are sure on Consulting track, then start off in a Consulting position. The switch later could add delays or complexities. 

All the best.