Hello!

It totally depends on the geography and the tenure. 

In some geographies (US) you have quite a say on your staffing, in others (mostly Europe) you have zero say. Of course, the higher the tenure, the more control, across geographies. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

This is an insightful question and one you might want to ask during your interview process (as it demonstrates that you are already thinking about how to succeed in the role).

I can give you views based on my ex-firm. 

In terms of staffing process - ultimately it is about demand/supply matching. On the demand side is sold projects with needs for particular seniority / skillsets / experience / location / visas / language. On the supply side are consultants with their own unique skills but also with expressed preferences for what they want to work on. The science of it is matching the available skills that are available with the projects available, the art side of things is ensuring consultant preferences are taken into account. There is a bit of give and take involved here and you may be expected to occasionally do a project you don't like, but also expect that occasionally staffing will help you get on a project you do like.

How far you want to stretch yourself will depend on where you are at in your career. For example:
- If you have just started you may want to be staffed on a project you are confident with in order to create a great first impression and positive momentum
- If you are pushing for fast progression you may want to be stretched 
- As you become more senior you will be looking for projects that relate to your area of expertise so you can focus on building a coherent story / business case across projects

Hope this is helpful! 
Kurt

Hey there,

Depends on the firm. In McKinsey, you are flexible to chart your own path and select your engagements based on fit, interest, etc.

You are always able to reject a new engagement for whatever reason. Of course, if you are a low-performer and rejec 5 projects in a row, you might run into issues :-))

1. In McK, the first project is usually assigned to you since you are new in the company, have no network, no idea how to navigate the firm, etc. From then on, it's like an internal job market, where most studies are staffed informally (via your network, recommendations, etc.). It's really an organic process. From my second project on I was able to select only what I wanted to work on and had some help along the way (e.g., a Partner I worked with previously pushed back to staffing - even though he was not involved in it - since they wanted me on a project in Germany rather than another project offer I had in a different country,…).
2. It's really organic. Every project comes with new challenges from various sources (new team, client, industry, location, function, always increased responsibility). and whenever you start somewhere new, you start basically from scratch. You might know the industry, but the topic might be different and you would automatically assume much more responsibility.

Cheers,

Florian

From the perspective of Bain:

Q1 - This is approached from two angles. The business need and your professional development need. The business need obviously dictates the possible cases that are available for you to be staffed on. The Professional development is what you need to check off or improve on your skills tracker to get to the next level. This is a conversation with staffing to select your next case 

Q2 - It is a broad mix of both and you will need to improve on your development points and demonstrate that to at least a hygiene level to get promoted. Just by doing really well in one or two aspects will not get you the promotion. 

A third element I would also look out for is the people. Look to work for a manager who has a track record of coaching and invests time into their teams development as well.   

Hi there,

I would look at it this way (very generalized so take with a grain of salt): 

• Low tenure: When you're new to the firm and consulting in general, you will get plenty of guidance from your mentors, Personal Development team, etc. They can influence staffing to some degree. However, you generally have little influencing power and staffing will assign you based on overall projects needs and your fit.
• Experienced: Once you get a few projects under your belt, get to know your interests and strengths, and make meaningful connections with Partners and other key stakeholders, a certain dynamic will unfold that allows you to influence staffing a bit more. Your biggest asset is always a strong pull from project teams that really want you.

Hope this helps a bit! Best of luck!

It's a very personal choice where as you say, it also evolves with tenure.  Most offices at McKinsey give you a lot of choice for you to pick and choose but there is an expectation that you are ‘utilised’ where you are encouraged to take your best pick amongst what is available at the time of staffing as well as in the interest of your local office/practice.  Your point around trade offs is spot on where for many, the common denominator becomes people which is correlated with professional development, type of client work, promotion, lifestyle, etc.

Hi there,

This is going to vary across companies.

In some companies you have minimal say in the matter (staffing tells you), in others you have input (you get to select preferences or networking/building up a reputation gets people to vouch for you and select you) and in others it's all on you (you have to push hard to get yourself staffed).

It's going to be dependent on firm/office so make sure to google a bit for each one and network with them to better understand.

When staffing is in charge they're going to put you on projects that match your existing skillset/experience. They will also listen to Partners/Principals/Project Leads who request to staff you. Ultimately, whatever they say, they don't actually care that much about you and are going to optimize for timing + experience (which is why you need to “fight” for projects you want).

In terms of managing that trade-off, this is a personal decision! You need to decide to what extent you want to expand/grow versus stay in what you're good at - everyone is different here!

hi there, 

it depends on the position you apply for and the office's needs. At least at BCG usually fresh grads can choose type of the cases as they want to have maximum variety. If you come with a specific experience they will likely leverage your industry experience. 

Lucie

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