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London Consulting Industry after Brexit

brexit consulting europe international projects London management consulting UK western europe
New answer on Apr 18, 2020
5 Answers
2.4 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Feb 14, 2020

Hello everyone. I am a continental European who will be starting a job in strategy consulting in London after uni. I have studied in the UK and was really excited about working in London, thought it was the place to be in Europe with the most diverse workforce, exciting projects, etc etc. However I am afraid Brexit may change all this and London will become a somewhat more regional office and less prestigious. It is particularly disappointing thinking of how hard it was to secure a job here. Also, the pay, already not the best in Europe because of how expensive London is (rent, living, etc), is now somewhat even worse relatively because of a weakened sterling.

I was wondering what your thoughts are on how Brexit will change the consulting scene in London in terms of interesting projects, type of people, prestige on your resume, compensation.. And anything else you can think of? Does it still make sense to choose London over other European offices? Is there any benefits? Will the London brand help me transition to other offices should I wish, or actually become a liability due to recent political events?

Thanks a lot,
A concerned European

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Best answer
Luca
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Feb 29, 2020
BCG |NASA | SDA Bocconi & Cattolica partner | GMAT expert 780/800 score | 200+ students coached

Hello,

I wouldn't worry so much about it, London will be still one of the most important business center in the world at least for some years. More over, if you are gonna to join a big and prestigious consulting company, you won't have any problem to change your office or your company if you will want to.

Finally consider that you could do an MBA after 2/3 years that will give you even more chances to change everything again.

Best,
Luca

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Vlad
Expert
replied on Feb 14, 2020
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

1) The pay is already much lower compared to the other regions, so no change here I guess

2) The projects will be the same, since there were lots of local projects (FS, Retail, Healthcare)

3) Prestige is the brand, no one cares about your office

4) It did not make sense to choose London before, because of a much lower salary and tough competition (lots of candidates). So again no change

5) Again - your personal brand will help you in the transition to the other offices, not the London office. If you can legally work in Europe - you can still work there and make the connections with relevant partners

Best

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Anonymous A on Feb 14, 2020

Thanks a lot for your answers, very comprehensive. A follow up - if it makes so little sense to work in London (even before Brexit), why are so many people applying there instead of their local/national office in your opinion?

Vlad on Feb 14, 2020

Because there are so many people there already (schools, FS industry, etc)

Vlad on Feb 14, 2020

Also there is another side - London is one of the best places to live in (and easy for internationals)

Thomas
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Apr 18, 2020
150+ interviews | 6+ years experience | Bain, Kearney & Accenture | Exited startup| London Business School

Hi there,

As some of the others mentioned it is unlikely to impact the consulting industry there too much. However, on the flip side, I would say there is a lot of incentive to work for offices in high growth regions. Both the salary (living standards) and career progression tend to be faster due to continues business growth.

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Antonello
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Feb 14, 2020
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

I would not worry about the short period (e.g. the first 2 years up to your MBA sponsorship). After the MBA you can go to whatever office you want.

Best,
Antonello

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Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Feb 14, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

London is one of the most difficult locations in terms of number of applicants, which has made it historically a taugh office.

Furthermore, high living costs make your overall "neto" lower than other european locations. As you said, the GBP devaluating does not make this any better.

This said, I don´t believe Brexit will change much, given that we are talking about multinationals, whose prestige is not based in the ones of single offices, but the brand itself.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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