Hi,

Most of the offices right now are super competitive since they are hiring much less in general due to Covid.

The rule of thumb is that major cities are the most competitive: London, New York, San Francisco, etc

Best

Hi Chinedu,

In reality it's rather difficult to choose your office freely - let's not forget about some simple no-brainers but show-stoppers (possibly not applying to your case, but it was not clear based on your question):

• Do you speak local language? If not, unlikely you will start in that office (excepetions apply, but I would not even recommend - you just miss out on many small networking opportunities each day)
• Do you have a work permit for that office/country? If not, again unlikely you will start there.

If those 2 basics are fulfilled, you still need a solid argumentation why exactly that office if it's not one of the closest of your place of living anyway. Reason for that is mostly that w/o any ties to that location, there is just additional risk for hires which recruiters don't like (all other factors being equal) - like will you enjoy staying in this location, will it cause issues for your significant others, etc. etc.

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind to give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Hello!

The key thing to understand here is that there is not one good office "in generic" to apply to, but this totally depends on the person.

You should look for the perfect match in terms of:

• Language - most important
• Personal link to it (family, culture, background, friends, etc.)
• Industry knowledge focused on what the office focuses on
• etc.

The whole point is to find links to strenghten your fit and hence your application.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Hi there,

Choose an office with which you have a link/affinity and make sure this is reflected in the "story" you will tell in the recruitment. Applying for an office that is on the other side of the world would not make your application stand out if you have no compelling story to tell about this decision, even if this office is less competitive.

I hope this helps!

Mehdi

Hi Chinedu,

I would proceed as follows:

1. Eliminate offices where you don’t speak the local language (Middle East is an exception)
2. Eliminate offices where you can’t have a work permit
3. Eliminate offices where you don't have connections (family, friends, previous work experience)
4. Prioritize offices close to where you are now / have stronger links
5. Identify an office for the remaining list where you can find a referral. You can find more on referrals here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hey-everyonehope-all-is-well-3176

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Judging by your profile it appears that you live and study in Nigeria. In which case the Nigeria offices make the most sense for your application

Best,

Udayan

Hi Chinedu!

Strategic applications are not really a way to improve your chances. Applying to a location where you don't speak local language and have no connection to whatsoever reduces your chance. So you really only have the choice between a handful of offices at best (e.g. if you live in US). And if you're in the high potential bracket (likely to get an offer), I am not really convinced there is a significant difference in getting an offer when applying to one office vs the next.

A much more reliable way is to improve your chances is to make sure you're as well prepared as possible!