Boutique London vs BCG Milan

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the internship offers!

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, and contrary to what other coaches have said, I would highly advise you to rethink your motivation for MBB in general, and BCG in this particular case. Since there must have been a reason why you applied to the boutique consulting company, understanding what it was is vital for an informed decision (for further reading on boutique consulting companies, please have a look at this article).
• Moreover, please keep in mind that interning at any company in any country does not lock you in at all.
• Lastly, 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., prestige, 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 how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there, 

If you've started by now, sharing with you two guides you might find useful for your start in consulting:

• Free Guide: How to Become A Distinctive Consultant
• Free Guide: How to Manage for Lifestyle in Consulting

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offers! In terms of your question:

Q: My long-term objective would be to join MBB and leverage it to enter a more managerial corporate role (Italy or abroad). 

I am debating the prestige of BCG vs Small Boutique, and the better location of London vs Milan... Any advice? 

If your goal is MBB, I would recommend BCG for the following reason:

1. It is exactly your goal
2. The money difference long-term will be irrelevant
3. You can move to a different location after a few years (even if you cannot move short-term, you should be able to do so after an MBA anyway)

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there,

You'll see from my past Q&As that I tend to steer away from telling posters what offer to take (unless they're my candidate, I don't know them enough to help).

But…in this case…I'm really so confused as to what you're debating.

You want to work at MBB. MBB is leagues above a boutique in terms of career jump/prestige. 

The answer here is BCG….

It's an internship…worst case you can ask to change office for full-time or re-recruit for Bain/McKinsey AND this boutique, but with a BCG internship on your resume.

You’ve already got into an MBB internship so not sure why you wouldn’t take it! Lower pay now is meaningless as it’s the start of your career, the pay increase min Mbb is much greater than other places. 
With regards to moving to new geographies - as long as you’re good at what to do and fluent in English it’s very possible to move to other countries after 2-3 years. 

As your ambition is to get into an MBB organisation, absolutely take BCG Milan. A slightly lower pay (potentially, I'm not convinced it will be lower), pales into comparison with your long term job prospects. It is much easier to move location as well within a company - if you get a full time offer from BCG Milan you can then work with BCG to covert that to London if there's where you want to be. It's not straightforward but a step in the door is worth so much more than not being near that door. 

Good luck!

Tl;dr: Go BCG, convert, and never look back.


In advance: Your boutique sounds a lot like OC&C. If that's the case, other than about the brand itself, I'd personally also be worried about the culture and career progression at a place like that.

Salary: Obviously salary on paper will be higher, but please look also look at quality of life, net income post taxes and any gov. fees, and your purchase power in Italy (I'm aware is that Milan is still rather expensive compared to the rest of Italy, but nowhere near London imo.)
 

Rest: I think it is an absolute no-brainer that given you (i) perform well at BCG FT, (ii) build the right network in and outside your office, (iii) operate in an industry/function that makes “sense”, it will be way easier for you to transfer within BGC to other systems (e.g. LAB in your case) than from a boutique (OC&C?) to BCG. Worlds between those two.