Approach a networking call on potential office transfer with partner

Hi there,

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 not to misuse the coffee chat with the partner to inquire about this rather administrative yet sensitive topic since chances are high your initial reach out for this coffee chat will be seen as a cover-up.
• Instead, I would advise you to schedule separate meetings with first your current office head and then your potentially future office head, and discuss with both of them your request for a permanent office transfer due to personal reasons.

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

(edited)

Hi there 

Try to be nuanced about this - it's fine to bring up the topic, but don't be too agressive. Rather express your interest and ideally combine the messaging with discussing opportunities to work on the content topic.

What you want to achieve is that the Partner gets the impression that you're “staffable”, which helps him with his own agenda. When that is achieved, he might be helpful in terms of transfer matters in the medium term. Creating both push and pull is critical to success.

Myself, I did transfer into different geographies during my BCG career. Feel free to reach out via PM, if you'd like to share more about your context and want tailored advice.

Regards, Andi

What you can do is to leave it to a second conversation, which you would have a couple of months after the first one (in that case you would ask for just a few minutes and say you though about the input you gained and given your personal interest in moving and in that practice you want to move there and want to know if they're open to that and how to make it happen)

Hi there,

During your call with the partner, I would suggest focusing on the discussion of the practice area first and foremost. Once you have established a good rapport with the partner and feel comfortable, you can mention your interest in potentially transferring to the target office. It's important to frame it in a way that shows your continued interest in the work and the practice area, and explain how the personal reason for the transfer would not affect your work performance.

Overall, be honest and transparent about your intentions, but also keep in mind that the focus of the call should be on learning more about the work led by the partner. Good luck with your call and potential office transfer!

Hi there,

I agree with Francesco here. The whole point of this call is to try to work your way to the office transfer.

Don't wait until some 2nd call (which likely won't happen) (sorry Pedro!)

You need to let this topic come about naturally though. Don't charge in with it.

You need to establish the ethos, logos, and pathos in persuasion.

Get a good flow going, get the Partner to “like” you so to speak, and then broach the topic.

If it's that important to you, you might hire a coach to help you approach this conversation optimally.

Hi there,

I have 1st hand experience with this from McKinsey (in addition to 2nd hand experience…), where I also tested the waters in a similar fashion.

I think your strategy is clever; setting up a call to learn about the practice you're targeting (Partners really like this in my experience), which already implies an internal move, and then bring up location, which merely ‘extends’ the move. If you just called about location, your case would be significantly less strong.

My advice would be to approach it like this; lay out your plan for “making your own McKinsey” by joining a practice as your primary driver, combined with relocating to the “best location” for that practice (unless that comes off as an unreasonable claim).

Hope this helps a bit. Best of luck!

Moritz