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Office Location

officelocation
New answer on Nov 15, 2020
8 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Jun 28, 2020

​Hello Experts

Need your h​​elp regarding office location. I have studied in Nottingham, UK for 1 year and along with studies I have worked in a startup for 8 months. I am currently working in India for 1 year in a market research firm.

I am bit skeptical as to which office should I apply. London is my preferred office but it is very competitive. I do not want to apply in India as 90% of the candidates are selected directly from target school.

I am planning to apply in Singapore office but again I have not studied or work there so I do not know how effective it will be. On top of that I need work permit as well for any location outside India.

I will apply through referral only. I have been networking on LinkedIn and response rate is very good. Infact 2-3 people have forwarded my CV to tier-2 firms but they are not hiring currently.

PS - I am open to every consulting firm.

I want to be notified about updates regarding this question via email

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Robert
Expert
Content Creator
 replied on Jun 28, 2020
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi Anonymous,

Let's look at your 3 options - assuming you apply for a non-experienced hire position:

  • Singapore. Without work permit I would see minimal chances here. The firm usually also needs to do quite some admin to organize a work permit. That's no big deal if you have a very specific profile and knowledge that the firm is highly interested in, but if you are in a big pool of similar hires it's unlikely that a firm is willing to do the extra work (disclaimer: I don't know specific requirements for work permit in Singapore, but I know the principle from non-EU citizens to be hired inside EU since I happened to hire a few persons like that in the past).
  • London. Main point you mentioned - high competition, but at least you have some connections to the country/office location with studies and your start-up activities. Possible option.
  • India. You don't want to apply there, but it's the most likely option. Might be worth exploring office transfer opportunitites after 1-2 years of work for the specific firms you are applying for. So you might need to work some time in India before you can move, but based on your brief summary that looks the most workable option.

Hope this helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

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Clara
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 replied on Jun 28, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

One big aspect here is the language barrier, could you clarify about that one?

Furthermore, Singapore is a super super competitive office due to the high salaries and, even more important, the very favourable tax policy. If you don´t have connections to this office, would be almost impossible.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Anonymous replied on Jun 28, 2020

Hello,

It will depend a lot on the languages ​​you speak.

In Paris for example, it is mandatory to know how to speak French.

Best

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Ian
Expert
Content Creator
 replied on Jul 01, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi,

My recommendation is a bit different from the others: Aim for all 3 and let referrals decide.

In other words: Try to get a referral, explore avenues for all the offices, then apply to the office in which you have a referral

As such, it could be company A, London, company B, Singapore, and company C, India.

Once you get an interview, the rest is on you. The competitive part is just getting through the door in the first place.

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Anonymous replied on Jun 29, 2020

Hi,

  1. I think you should focus your efforts on India. Once you have a referral it would not matter where have you studied
  2. Singapore has very strict visa requirements and you may simply get rejected due to visa related issues
  3. London is too competitive these days but It would highly depend on the strength of your referral

Best,

Anton

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Anonymous replied on Jun 29, 2020

Hi there,

Like other experts mentioned, Singapore is very difficult if you don't have any prior connection or history related to the country.

You might stand a better chance with London office. At least you studied in UK.

Best,

Emily

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Axel
Expert
Content Creator
 replied on Jun 29, 2020
Bain Consultant | Interviewer for 3 years at Bain |Passionate about coaching |I will make you a case interview Rockstar

Hi,

London / Singapore will be extremely difficult as you have not attended a target school, the competition is very strong and you will require visa sponsorship.

I think your best strategy would be to get into a tier 2 firm in India and then transfer to MBB after a few years if that is your end goal!

-A

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Gaurav
Expert
Content Creator
 replied on Nov 15, 2020
#1 MBB Coach(Placed 750+ in MBBs & 1250+ in Tier2)| The Only 360 coach(Ex-McKinsey + Certified Coach + Active recruiter)

Hi there,

I don’t recommend you apply to Singapore and London, if you don’t have a referral and great application. But even with this it would be very difficult to get into.

The best option would be to apply in India.

Do you need any further help?

All the best,

GB

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