McK and BCG Offfers

Woohoo! Congrats on two fantastic offers. Well done!

Ultimately, know that you can't go wrong here. Either firm is fantastic and you've got a bright future ahead of you now.

As long as you are within the offer deadline stated in their contract/email then you are safe!

Given you have 2 offers, you could still try to negotiate a bit (relocation bonus), but won't get much.

For the calls, ask what YOU want to know. Work, culture, people, etc. Feel free to ask real questions…those calls are for YOU!

=========General Advice For Succeeding On The Job===========

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Know that no-one can perfectly prepare for the job and that's the point: You will mess up, you will learn, you will be trained and supported. That's OK!

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First: Read the 25 tips in my consulting handbook

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Second: In terms of things you can learn/do to prepare beforehand:

1) Daily Reading

• The Economist, The Financial Times, BCG/Mskinsey Insights

2) Industry deep-dives

• Learn, in-depth, how the industries/companies your office advises, work. (PM me for an industry overview template)

3) Analytics tools

• Alteryx, Tableau, etc.

4) Excel

5) Powerpoint

• Best practices/standards
• Different layouts
• Quickly editing/updating slides
• Thinking in PowerPoint

6) Presentation skills / sharp communication

• There are some online/virtual classes for this

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Third: In terms of doing well in your role when you're there:

1) Understand the context/prompt (what role are you in, what company, who's watching, etc.)

2) Understand the objective (what, specifically, is expected from you...both day to day, and in your overall career progression)

3) Quickly process information, and focus on what's important - Take a lot of information and the unknown, find the most logical path, and focus on that.

4) Be comfortable with the unknown, and learn to brainstorm - think/speak like an expert without being one

In summary, there will always be a flood of information, expectations, competition etc. and not enough time. Find out which ones matter when. (i.e. be visibile and focus efforts on the things that people care about)

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Fourth: Here are some great prior Q&As for you!

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-makes-a-good-consultant-how-to-get-a-good-review-6790

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-hard-is-it-to-excel-in-top-consulting-firms-6762

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-become-an-engagement-manager-and-partner-quickly-6722

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/need-to-learn-skills-in-the-ample-free-time-before-starting-at-an-mbb-what-should-i-do-6774

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offers! In terms of your questions:

1) I am curious, how do I make the most of this situation? 

I would recommend trying to understand which company could be the best fit for you, as you mentioned there are no options to negotiate (I would prioritize a better fit over money in any case).

To make a decision I would suggest considering the following:

• Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? Look at the company that can help you to achieve that goal faster. You can check LinkedIn for that (see below). If you are not sure, the McKinsey brand is still stronger in most countries.
• If you consider the average consultant/partner you talked to in each company, which one would you rather be? You will spend a lot of time with your colleagues in the next years if you will join full-time after the internship - be sure you choose a company where the people are close to the person you want to become.
• If money and prestige were not a consideration, which company would you choose? This could help you to identify additional elements to weigh you have not considered yet.

In terms of exits (for most people they are a very important factor in joining a consulting company), you can check them as follows:

1. Look for alumni of the two companies on LinkedIn
2. Check how many moved to your preferred exits in your target region
3. Normalize for the size of the companies in the region

2) Surely they won't withdraw offers if I am taking my time to decide right?

Normally they give you a certain period of time to decide (in most cases, 1-2 weeks). There is no issue if you are within that period, after that they might withdraw the offer.

3) What questions do you think I should make sure I get answers to?

I would recommend asking questions to try to understand where you would fit more based on the areas indicated under #1.

Best,

Francesco

Ah, the golden problem. 

You have an amazing situation. Congratulations!

Leave compensation aside of the decision. The differences are minor and it makes little difference long-term, especially since you're at a starting level now. 

Think instead of what is the vibe that you got during the application process from those specific offices. Chat with the people from the office and get an understanding of what industries the office does most of the work in and get a sense of how aligned you are with their focus. 

You really can't go wrong with your current options. 

I spent 5y in McK. My wife was for 5y in BCG. We joined at the same level and got to experience the firms in parallel. They're both amazing, so don't kill yourself over the decision. 

Here are two articles with tips you might find useful for your start in consulting:

• Expert Guide: How to Become A Distinctive Consultant
• Expert Guide: How to Manage for Lifestyle in Consulting

Best,
Cristian

Hey there,

Fantastic news!

I have a book out called Consulting Career Secrets that discusses exactly these questions (what offer to take, how to start well, etc). Check it out if you want!

In your situation, I would create a decision matrix with several criteria and weights, then score it for both to get some sort of metric out that you can compare + listen to my gut feeling + input from friends and family.

Talking to as many people as possible from both firms is a great way to get insights and populate your matrix with scores (ask about these things in the call).

Also, consider where you felt better during recruiting events and interviews.

All the best,

Florian

Hi,

Congrats on the offers! Indeed it is a good problem to have :)

If it were me, I would try to ask questions to help me get a better sense of the following:

1. People and working culture
2. Types of projects (that I think i might be interested in) that the office focuses on
3. Other operational aspects of the job (that might impact your life) e.g. nature of travel 

Like what others have mentioned, you won't go wrong with either, but that shouldn't rule out trying to find out the most to make a more informed decision exactly like you are doing now :)

All the best!

Congratulations!

You will be fine financially with both firms. There is not much merit in trying to maximize your relocation allowance in my opinion. Sure you can try, but will you base your decision based on which company will reimburse you for a few hundred bucks more?

You should probably base it on the people dimension. Where did you feel more naturally in sync with the interviewers and the other people you got to speak to? That would be my personal deciding factor if I was to choose between two excellent consulting firms.

Enjoy

Hey, congrats on two offers!

If I were you I'd speak with several employees of each company in order to figure out how both firms are doing in terms of available projects in a given geography. It's always better to gain some useful on-the-project experience instead of being stuck doing BD work.

Hope this helps,
Nick

This is not the right way to think about this. The firm you chose will have impact on your long term career, and most importantly, personal satisfaction. You should be selecting the option that is best for you and your career for on the long run, instead of thinking on how to get a one-shot $2000 improvement.