Office % allocation

Hi Zack,

Q: Could someone enlighten me on the office percentage allocation? Do consulting firms even care about our 2nd and 3rd choices? Should we just go all in on our 1st choice i.e. 100% on our 1st choice? 

You could be selected for the 2nd and 3rd choice, so if there is an option, I would use it.

I would recommend ensuring you (i) have working rights, (ii) speak the local language if required and (iii) have if possible a connection with those offices to maximize your chances.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi Zack!

Great question!

The office allocation field is more of an antiquated part of the application form. 

In practice, it's not really used. In almost all cases, it's the first preference office who either accepts or rejects the applications and that's where the game is played. 

There are few exceptions where your first option office has recently decided to stop hiring and they realise that you have a very good profile for another office who is currently proactively recruiting and then they might forward your application. But this almost never happens. 

In short, go all in one the first one or at least expect that only the first one will be taken into account. 

Best,
Cristian

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Hi Zack,

Sorry, but I have to disagree with the other coach here - my 3rd office selection was accepted by BCG. 

And I have seen this occur with other firms as well.

My recommendation is, if you are genuinley interested in a 2nd or 3rd office, put it!

In terms of what exact % to put, this honestly depends. It's a strategic decision that should generally be made in partnership with a coach.

You would go higher/lower depending on how networking has played out, how well your resume fits with each office, etc. etc.

Hi Zack,

This is important, yes (assuming you're still in the application stage). That's because you shouldn't think of it as your choice, but rather theirs.

If you're being asked in the application stage about your preferences, consider this; your application is passed around the offices in order of preference until some office says they want to interview you. In that case, it stops being passed around.

So you see, it's not about what you want, it's about how bad they want you in certain locations.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!

Moritz

Hi Zack,

2nd and 3rd choice offices do matter! For instance, I got my second choice office for my undergraduate internship at McKinsey, where I later ended up working full-time, and several candidates I've worked with have had similar experiences too. 

There's absolutely a chance you'll be asked to interview at one of those other offices. So I would approach this question seriously, and put down all 3 choices if you want to maximize your odds of getting an interview. Of course. if there's only one office you would consider working at, you can just put that.