Current MBB & Insead MBA apply for London office

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, to my knowledge, the current tight economic situation has led to a recruiting slowdown in London offices, making it hard for applicants to secure full-time employment at the moment.
• Still, I am wondering why you are even considering formally applying to the London office if you are currently employed by one of the MBB companies instead of applying for an internal permanent transfer. Even more so, given you have studied in the UK before, chances are significantly higher to just transfer internally than to formally apply.
• Lastly, without having a look at your resume, it is very hard to provide a meaningful answer as to whether your profile would be competitive or not. Still, as I mentioned before, I would highly advise you to apply for an internal permanent transfer, which would also make this question irrelevant.

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,

Q:  Since during my last conversation, my home office's HR team mention to me that they could only provide with me a SA equivalent role once I graduate MBA and come back Asia Office. My question is , does this background capable for applying a Consultant level in London office or my background is not so competitive?

It won’t probably be easy to move to London as it is one of the most desired offices, but it is not impossible. If you cannot do it right after the MBA, you could try after working for 1-2 years in Asia. The exact probability to be able to do so also depends on the recruiting situation (from the feedback of the INSEAD candidates I am helping, it seems London is not hiring much at the moment).

To maximize your chances you should ideally:

• Have one or more partners in your target office favoring the transfer
• Have one or more partners in your home office favoring the transfer
• Have a strong performance
• Have or be able to get working rights in your target office

It might be easier to try to target a project in the new office being based in your current one, create relationships and then do the full transfer. However, that also depends on the company and office flexibility.

If you have an urgency to move to London and you cannot relocate with your current company, the only option would be to interview with the other MBB during your MBA. This might also create leverage to negotiate later with your current employer.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there, 

Interesting context. 

In short, yes, London is very competitive and many people want to transfer there (same with NY, Singapore and a couple of other offices in the world). Plus, home offices prefer if you return to them instead of transferring once you've pursued further education. 

At this point, it sounds like what would help a lot is having more of a pull, i.e., a Partner or two from London requesting that you do this transfer because you could contribute in a very clear way to the office. Is this something you could arrange for?

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

Please remember that this is the exact point of networking. All of your questions can be much better answered by getting on a call with people closer to the situation!

I can confirm that, right now, hiring is very subdued in UK consulting, with some companies having hirng freezes. This changes by company and it also changes by role level and recruiting channel (for example, they are still always going to recruit each year from top MBA programs).

Your background is indeed good enough from a UK application (your UK Masters) but also not fantastic. Make sure you network extensively to maximize your chances.

Hi,

Based on my friends / former colleagues insights. MBB hiring (particularly at the experienced hire level) is very slow at the moment, even for internal transfer. Tier 2 firms vary a little more in terms of opportunities given the previous churn they have experienced over the last two years.

My advice: apply to all firms you'd be willing to take a role at. For the firm you are currently at, reach out to Partners you've worked with. In specific areas (e.g. sounds like you've done some sustainability / ESG work) this could be quite valuable and sought after experience so you may get some more traction there. I've worked in this space also so feel free to reach out to me and I can help guide in a bit more detail. 

For reference: As an MBA you would be the “Associate” level at McK, “Consultant” level at BCG, Bain in London, and then varying levels at other firms (e.g. “Manager" at S&)

You have a decent chance, particularly because you were in the UK before. In any case, for London, you need to stand out. 
 

A lot of people who want to work abroad tend to apply to London and makes the office particularly hard. So while your profile should be enough to get an interview, the bar goes up (to get the interview, and to get the offer).

Nevertheless, I would say that you have a good chance to get the interview for the London office for at least one of the MBBs.