So I got an offer from an MBB firm, I can either start in July (which is too soon for me) or in September (which is great for me).
Given the current economy downtrend and layoffs starting to pop up, is there any chance the firm will cancel the offer post sign and I should make efforts to start ASAP (in July)? Or is it a done deal once the offer is signed?
Thanks.
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Hey there,
In reality, it does not matter much.
Even if you join now and the downturn will become quite bad your job at MBB and others is not safe.
For instance, during the 2008 financial crisis, new hires at McKinsey and others were sitting around for six months without getting staffed. At the end of the day, some were let go without ever working on an engagement.
Consulting spend is usually one of the first things that struggling corporations eliminate, hence bad economy → no hiring, and layoffs.
Most experts here are too young to have experienced such a crisis. So am I but I have talked to HR and affected people from 2008. It was not pretty.
All the best,
Florian
Hi there,
Congratulations on the offer!
Q: Is there any chance the firm will cancel the offer post sign and I should make efforts to start ASAP?
For MBB I don't see a real risk. It didn’t happen during COVID and I can’t see why it should happen now. Worst case, they will ask to join after September (which is what they did during COVID in some countries/companies). There is no advantage for them in canceling offers versus delaying them and there is a reputational risk.
For other companies (not MBB): I know some canceled offers during COVID.
Best,
Francesco
Hi there,
Honestly, if it were me, I would start in July. I will never ever trust a large organization to care about me.
Yes, technically MBB are “too good” for there to be a risk. But, literally 2 years ago when covid hit they pushed out some start dates by a whole year!
Lehman and Bear Sterns were “too good” and they went under in ‘08…and many others were extremely close if the Treasury/Fed/Congress didn’t save them.
We are seeing a “bank run” on crypto companies that are not backed by the FDIC which is very reminiscent of other historical contagion-based collapses (mortgage-backed securities/tranches in '08, the S&L crisis in the 80s, etc.).
This is not intended to instill fear - it's likely everything will be just fine in September. But, again, personally I would start in July and never look back (one can always take a break 1-2 years from now).
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There are three reasons you shouldn't worry:
1) Many consulting firms learnt their lesson in 2008/09 not to downsize if at all possible as it leads to capacity issues for recovery.
2) Also, many consulting firms are currently very busy despite the economic downtrend (consulting is fairly resilient as firms not doing well hire consultants to help fix those issues + also use consultants more if downsizing their own workforce).
3) Finally, as others have pointed out on here there is potential reputational risk for any firm that cancels an offer (campus reputation is immensely important to the business model of these firms that rely on capturing the best talent each year)
Starting earlier can't hurt and you may choose to do so for other reasons, but it isn't necessary
Hope this helps,
Kurt
Frankly, all consulting firms seem sold out based on my conversations with my peers. I would be very surprised if they cancel. It also looks really bad on the firms, they might reduce future hiring before cancelling.
That said, can they cancel and offer, yes.
Hi there,
It won't get cancelled post-signage - at least I never heard of it happening and it doesn't fit with the companies' values (which they do have).
Besides, I worked for McKinsey in a geography in South America where we had a very bad socio-economic crisis. Projects don't become less, they just change in nature. The go from growth strategies to cost cutting and transformation projects. MBB never let a good crisis go to waste…
Hope this helps a bit! Best of luck!
They will not cancel the offer. But you have to also consider evaluation cycles (and the time you have until up or out)
Having a couple of extra months experience before you evaluation cycle can be positive to 1) make sure you proceed to the next rank; 2) if they decide to lay off a higher number of people (or “manage out”…) people, you'll be in a slightly better position to stay longer.
Having said this, while we see many dark clouds in the horizon, there is still a shortage of consultants as of now.
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Hello!
Congrats!
It´s very very very unlikely that they cancel your offer tbh. However, it could be that they are a bit pushy (they normally aren´t) with the start date.
However, this doesn´t mean that you cannot negotiate, if you have a good reason for Sept.
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
Extremely unlikely but it would be irresponsible to say never. It actually happened during the financial crisis across MBBs.
Hi there,
Not at all. Don't be worried about that. There is such a huge reputational risk about withdrawing offers that big firms would never do it.
Plus, consulting firms have business regardless of the economic situation. If things are going bad, you need consulting firms to help figure out how you can survive. If things are going well, you need consulting firms to help capitalise on the growth.
So start when is best for you. In the long term it makes absolutely no difference.
Best,
Cristian
Same situation. I don't think they will cancel your offer. Only firm that has really cut recent grad offers in the U.S. is Coinbase (crypto). I'm also going to start in September / October.
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