How do you choose between two very different offers as a 26-year-old with 3 years of experience?

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offer(s)!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• 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., personal growth, 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.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

Congrats first of all!

Both are (or in this context "would be") great offers.

My thoughts (and some questions you need to answer for yourself) besides the points you have already mentioned.

• What location would you like to live in more short-term, medium-term, long term?
• Where are your family and friends?
• While you work a lot in the Middle East, Spain has one of the worst working cultures globally for top-consulting firms. I'd guess you will work longer hours there (at a 4-5x lower salary...)
• Consider the implications of working and developing your career in a high growth region vs. slow growth/degrowth region of the world
• What location would provide you with more freedom and opportunities long-term?
• How were the people in the recruiting process? Which culture did you enjoy more?

Just some ideas to think about.

Reach out for more personal guidance and help! :-)

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

given the huge difference in compensation and comparable working hours, I would choose the Tier 2 offer in ME. Even if you did this just for two years, you would be so far ahead financially compared to working in Spain. 

MBB also hires consultants from Tier 2. So if you don't like it in ME longterm, you will still have gained valuable experience that would make you an interesting candidate for MBB down the line if that was still of interest to you.

Unless you have a very compelling reason to be in Spain (e.g. personal/family), I'd say "follow the money"-

Good luck

Hi friend, 

Unless you have any strings such as family (kids, siblings), I think the decision here should be: 

Do you already have a powerful brand in your resume (other MBB, top 2-4 names of the industry you want to be in, such as Google for tech)? If the answer is no, go to Bain. After putting a solid brand in your resume, you will be respected differently anywhere you go, which means you will always have space to show what you know. 

 If you already have that type of brand in your background, and your focus is on money, like you said, then the Middle East sounds like a glove to you. Without taxes, you may be getting over three years ahead on salary. 

Good luck with whatever your decision is! :D

Both would be good options, so congrats first of all! 

If the second option becomes a real option, it is indeed hard to choose. 

Answering the following questions might help you:

- do you already have international experience?

- do you want to do an MBA in the next years and want sponsorship?

- what kind of job/role do you imagine to do in 5 years?

- do you really need the additional money in the short-term?

If you desire to be an entrepreneur in the future, maybe following the money will be wise. If you plan to work for a corporate in Spain in a few years, probably option 2 would be better (assuming you get it).

Feel free to reach out for a personal conversation or any help needed with the preparation for your upcoming interviews.

Think again about your priorities.

Your priorities are not aligned with your 2 options so you can:

1) Challenge your priorities to decide what it is more important for you. Think if the priorities would be the same in 5 or 10 years from now. Don't take a decision like that with a short-term framing

2) Look for other options that are aligned with your priorities (e.g., applying to an MBB in ME)