Bain or BCG in DACH

Bain BCG DACH MBB McKinsey
New answer on Jun 30, 2023
9 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on May 15, 2023

Hi

 

I am in the super fortunate and grateful situation to be able to choose between Bain (AC) and BCG (Assoc) in DACH to start my career post-MSc.

 

As consultants would say, I do not exactly know what I am trying to solve for. Instead just trying to get an overview and any pointers, or even hot takes.

 

Some preliminary thoughts:

 

  • BCG seems to be significantly more established in DACH
    • A more comprehensive array of industries
    • More institutionalized support systems
  • Better Perks at BCG (Business Class for all flights, only above 3/4h at Bain)
  • Bain super strong in PE and FS
  • Bain is more of a Fratty/Bro-ey culture - BCG is more of a Diverse, Team of Individualists.
  • BCG seems to be branching "downwards" a lot (potential to be staffed on "bad" projects, dilution of the brand?) - Bain appears to be still doing a lot of the "sexy" strategy (adjacent) work
  • BCG in the US seems to have grown a bit unsustainably and is now letting many folks go - more than McK and Bain - is this the same in DACH?

 


 

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Best answer
Francesco
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Content Creator
replied on May 16, 2023
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

Congratulations on the BCG and Bain offers! 

I haven’t worked in the DACH area so I will give the general guideline I recommend in this situation:

  • Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? Look for the company that can help you to achieve that goal faster. You can check LinkedIn for that (see below). If you are not sure, the BCG brand is still stronger in most countries.
  • 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) who worked in the two companies (bonus if they worked for both companies). You will learn more in a 30min call with them than with any online research you might do.

Best,

Francesco

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Maikol
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Content Creator
replied on May 17, 2023
BCG Project Leader | Former Bain, AlixPartner, and PE | INSEAD MBA | GMAT 780

BCG is a better choice, much larger in Dach and with a much better reputation.
The fact that Bain is stronger in PE is not true - BCG does much more in transactions (i.e., DD) and way way more in portfolio work. 

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Anonymous A on May 17, 2023

Do you have any Data to back this up? First time I hear this - even BCGers admit that Bain is head and shoulders above anyone in PE and BCG is trying to catch up. Or as one BCGer had put it, "Bain will already have stuff in their proposal that we'd come up with in week 2".

Cristian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 30, 2023
#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

Hi there, 

Realistically, both are great options. You can't go wrong. 

Realistically speaking, regardless of all the frameworks you want to create to think through this decision, there are so many things that you can't control, that it's hard to know which option would be best for you. 

I'd honestly go for the one that gave you the best vibe throughout the recruitment process. It's likely the one that's the closest to your way of doing things. 

Best,
Cristian

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Sofia
Expert
replied on May 17, 2023
Top-Ranked Coach on PrepLounge for 3 years| McKinsey San Francisco | Harvard graduate | 6+ years of coaching

Hello,

Congratulations on your offers! These are both terrific options. I have not worked in DACH myself, so will just offer you my two cents regarding things to think about when making this decision. Bain and BCG are both top of the field, so you will have incredible opportunities at both. I would think about where you see yourself several years down the line (e.g. you mention the PE focus for Bain - is that an area you want to go into?), and which firm seems like a better cultural fit. Talk to people at both offices to assess this.

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Anonymous replied on May 16, 2023

Dear candidate,

 

BCG sounds great, choose not just by office but also based on how you want to live. You can also really talk through with peers from BCG on Preplounge and you can talk through with consultants in the offices what is best for you. It might be more about where you like to work.

 

Best regards, Pope

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Ian
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Content Creator
replied on May 16, 2023
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

Congrats on both offers!

Look, you can't go wrong here.

Ultimately, if you want to do PE/FS *and* you get along with Bainees more (better fit, you see the mentorship/growth potential, etc.), that would lean you more Bain.

All else equal though BCG is, in general, going to get you the strong career/earnings growth (bigger, stronger brand, more global brand, more types of projects/offshoots, etc.)

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Anonymous B updated the answer on May 15, 2023

I might be biased but the answer for me would ALWAYS be BCG!

BCG DACH vs Bain DACH? BCG!

BCG North Korea vs Bain New York? BCG!

BCG Somalia vs Bain Dubai? BCG!

BCG on malfunctioning low Earth orbit satellite vs Bain London? BCG!

BCG on the Titanic vs Bain Singapore? BCG!

BCG Chernobyl vs Bain Paris? BCG!

BCG on the event horizon of a super-massive Black Hole vs Bain Silicon Valley? BCG!

 

(edited)

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Clara
Expert
replied on May 16, 2023
BCG Consultant (4y)| Received offer from McKinsey | Very familiar with MBB interviews

Hi there,

Congrats on your offers!

All your points are valid, but I think you forgot a very important one: the people!

Based on your interviews/recruitment events, where did you have the best fit? Where did you feel the most comfortable? In which environment do you project yourself the most? 

This was a key factor for me choosing BCG, a choice I don't regret 4 years in!

Hope this helps,

Clara

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Anonymous C replied on May 15, 2023

I recently faced the same choice as well and decided to go with Bain. My main reason for this decision was that I have a Finance Master and also did many internships in Banking. Therefore my main interest is in M&A/PE but I also find FS interesting. Bain's not so well known reputation compared to BCG and smaller footprint in DACH is therefore not so important to me in terms of broad exits.

In addition, all my interviewers at Bain were really super friendly and courteous to me. I felt like I was part of a big family.

Since I haven't started yet, I can't say if it was the right decision.

Ex-post, I might add that I have the impression that BCG has grown much more than Bain. Therefore, when I look at US forums, it makes me think that Bain is handling the current lull in projects a little better. However, these are just opinions of a student who never worked in consulting.

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Francesco gave the best answer

Francesco

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