Hi Anonymous,
The choice you are confronted to is very important and at the same time very personal.
Surely there are some subjective and objective elements to take into account.
From the subjective side, It can really help you thinking where do you see yourself in the mid-term (in term of job - do you still see in consulting in a few years from now?; in term of location - what is your willingness to stay abroad and adaptability? ; in terms of industry knowledge you want to acquire based on type of projects you will be likely to be exposed - are there specific sectors you would love to learn about?). Depending on these factors, the weight of the brand vs the type of projects might differ!
I was confronted myself with the same doubt, when I had the choice to continue with a career in a MBB in Italy or move to Big4/strong regional player in Australia.
From the objective side, there are some of the things that I took into account to compare the companies:
• Brand
• Office location (e.g. international offices, offices locations)
• Size of the firm and the office
• Availability of resources (e.g. to perform research)
• Generalist vs. Specialist approach (i.e. when do you begin to specialize. Also includes the number of projects you are typically staffed on at one time.)
• Type of work
• Type of client
• Specific expertise
• Work/life balance
• Staffing model
• Compensation
• People/culture
• Performance evaluation (frequency and metrics, upward feedback on
managers and partners)
• Client exposure and interaction with client
• Interactions with Partners
• Training and development, mentorship
Try to gather as much information as you can from Interviews and people working in those offices. Hope it helps and happy to discuss further,
Best
Riccardo