MBB to ACN Strategy - Thoughts?

Question

Dear community, hope everyone is safe and well.

I'm a post-MBA consultant at an international MBB office. COVID has struck my office pretty bad - from 17 post-mba consultants joining the firm 2 years ago, 15 were let go last year because of the weak project flow. I was one of the two survivors, but I was told I will not be making to Manager in the next promotion cycle - I was unstaffed most of the time this year and unfortunately could not develop certain areas. So, according to the up/out policy I gotta go. It sucks.

I recently got an offer from ACN Strategy to join as a Manager. I'm not sure what to do: I enjoy consulting but I have not found many info on ACN Strat - from what I researched, it seems like a steep downgrade. But I enjoyed talking with the partners on the recruiting process, and comp-wise is pretty similar to an EM/PL/M would make - possibly the gap will increase in the future.

Apart from ACN Strategy, tech is also an avenue I am exploring (local unicorns/FANGs/Uber).

Any (candid) advice here on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. Also, any materials on ACN Strategy is also greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Hello!

Sorry to hear about the situation. On the other hand, congrats of being one of the two survivors!

Honestly, I do agree with the opinion that seems kind of a downgrade from MBB. Is this office in the same region? Because then I don´t see either how different can the circumpstances be.

Another option that you don´t mention is a transfer to another MBB or even inside your MBB to another locaiton, have your considered that? Sames goes for getting international staffing -I know for instance in the US there are hands needed atm-.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 2

Sorry to hear about the promotion that is tough.

I am also surprised to hear about the work because in the US offices they are desperate to get more staffing currently.

Here is my honest opinion

If you want a good exit option and are able to then stick to MBB - the brand name carries weight and you will be able to leverage it accordingly
If you are truly unhappy and can't bear the thought of one more day at the company then quit. There is no point carrying on in a role that makes you sad. Life will always work out in the end and there are so many possibilities as to where your career may take you
A third option is to transfer out - like I said, in the US they are truly understaffed so if you can I would encourage you to transfer here to get staffed on projects

Best,

Udayan

Answer 3

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the issue with your current company.

On Accenture: if you are not convinced about the brand, before moving there you may also try:

Other MBB
Tier 2 (OW, Kearney, S&, RB)

On Accenture vs Tech: it really depends on what you would like to do 5-10 years from now. If you want to target partnership in consulting, Accenture could still be interesting. If you want a more entrepreneurial culture and move to tech, this could be a nice moment for a transition.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Answer 4

Hi,

I have provided a lot of information previously on Accenture in the Q&A forum. Check out this and embedded threads for the information you need:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/ey-parthenon-vs-accenture-9952
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/accenture-strategy-consulting-9886

Its not a downgrade by any means and Accenture is beating even MBB in key markets, geographies and capabilities. All information is in the threads above.

All the best.

Answer 5

Hi there,

My honest advice is to take this ACN Strategy offer.

It's a brand downgrade, but it's also a promotion...which it what you need/want...which is not a downgrade. I think this is a fantastic offer to not be taken lightly.

Now, if you had time to search for other options, I'd say do that, but clearly this MBB up-or-out has caught you off-gaurd a bit.

Work at ACN Strategy, and, in the meantime, search for the other opportunities! No harm in taking the role for now, but jumping ship if it's not great and/or you get an offer from a firm you prefer.