ATK Engagement Manager or MBB Senior Consultant/ Associate

Hi,

Congrats! You need to look at mutual FIT. Which of the two is a better FIT for you? Please check out these recent Q&As for very similar question on choosing between firms:

• https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/lower-pay-fintech-strategy-or-stay-at-big-4-consulting-12281
• https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/altman-solon-or-accenture-strategy-12241

Have a look at this article for some guidance & tips- https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-do-i-know-which-career-is-right-for-me

All the best choosing!

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offers – that’s a great problem to have!

In general, both the lower salary and lower seniority won't be critical long-term compared to the strongest brand.

In terms of the choice, 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. If you are not sure, MBB would be better in terms of brand.
• If you consider the average consultant/partner you talked to in each company, which one would you rather be? Quoting Jim Rohn, you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. 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.
• What is your gut feeling telling you? Our gut feeling is able to catch elements we cannot initially rationalize. You may “feel” a company is better, but don’t know exactly why. Try to find out why you feel that way, do some research on that and try to understand if that point is valid.

If you want to do extra due diligence, contact Alumni of your university (not current consultants) that worked in that 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! 

This sounds like Kearney vs Bain. For me the choice would be clear pro Bain. Two reasons:

• I almost always recommend to start at the more junior position. This is setting you up for more sustainable career success - especially in strategy consulting! Starting at Manager Level is EXTREMELY tricky and not recommended in 90% of cases
• Bain (or any other MBB) has a much stronger Brand name for all sorts of paths you might envision for yourself in the future

Cheers, Sidi

Hi,

I was from Kearney and took a tenure cut when I made the switch to MBB.

Ultimately, this would depend on your personal goals and aspirations. There are many people who have meaningful and happy careers in non-MBB firms (and of course outside of consulting).

I can share a couple of key differences between T2/Kearney and MBB for your consideration.

• Prestige
  • There is a clear distinction between Kearney and MBB
  • I myself got alot more headhunters approaching me / opportunities after I switched to MBB
• Project (industry/function) exposure
  • Of course very office dependent but generally MBB has a wider and deeper set of expertise and therefore client base → this affects your project exposure and learning/growth
• Internal resources
  • Bigger firms will have better internal resources (i.e. knowledge team, capabilities → this tends to affect your ‘quality of life’ to a larger extent, and also your learning/exposure to a lesser extent
• Other internal opportunities
  • In my experience, MBB had more structured and interesting internal programs (secondments, mobility programs etc) → not a must do but good to be in a place that has that options

Hope this helps anyone in a similar situation!

Hey there,

Considering lifetime outcomes (lifetime income, exit opportunities,…) I'd definitely go with the stronger brand name.

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

It depends on what you're optimizing for. Ultimately most people optimize for their overall career arch/success, in which case you should take the brand name (MBB) over anything else.

I agree with the other coaches, but let me be the devil's advocat here.

When are the cut-off moments for the up-or-out in the MBB firm, and what is your experience. If you have no previous consulting experience and your up-or-out decision is made in just one year, you face relevant risks there. But even so, the brand value for just one year at MBB is much higher.