OW vs Bain (Riyadh office/Middle east)

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offers – that’s a great problem to have! In terms of your question:

Q: What do you think I should choose given that as of now i don't have intentions of staying in consulting for long term maybe for 4 years than exit to other industry.

In general, the Bain brand is stronger worldwide and will open more doors. 

The lower salary won't be critical long-term compared to the strongest brand. So from that point of view, Bain would still be better than OW.

To choose between multiple offers, I would consider 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 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 - 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 to join 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

If you want to do extra due diligence, contact Alumni of your university (not current consultants) that worked for the two companies (bonus if they worked for both companies). You will learn more in a 30min call with them than with any online research you may do.

Best,

Francesco

There are several things that you seem to miss in your decision-making:

• Bain & Company has a much better brand globally. That brings you to get much better professional opportunities. Just a reference, from OW to PE (given that you mentioned PE) there is zero moves, from Bain to PE there are some moves, from McKinsey/BCG to PE there are more moves
• Bain & Company teaches a certain way of working that Tier-2s don't even understand. That way of working is the key difference between MBB and other firms
• Bain in PE does a lot of commercial due diligence, some operational due diligence and some portfolio management. From that to saying that you should go to Bain for its "PE aspect" there is a big leap. First, it is not given for granted you'll be part of PE projects, second PE is not necessarily the best thing in the world, third, Bain remains a consulting firm, not a PE fund
• MBB salaries are overall higher than OW over the long term, at least in Europe

Hi there, 

Both are great options. 

But since you're not planning on staying in consulting long-term and if you're planning on having an international career, the Bain brand might take your slightly further than OW. 

Try to take into account though also the vibe that you got from the office while interviewing there and the sort of projects that they do. 

Best,

Cristian

Hi there,

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for a lot of users, thus I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• Overall, Bain is generally considered to have a higher reputation in the consulting industry, and the firm has a broad range of clients across different industries.
• Moreover, OW has a strong focus on the financial services industry and may be more restricted in terms of the types of clients and projects it works on.
• In the end, however, the most important thing is to choose the company that aligns best with your own goals and priorities. It's also worth keeping in mind that consulting is a challenging and demanding field, so it's important to consider your long-term plans.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on what to do in your specific situation, please feel free to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

I think it really hinges on where you plan to be in the future.

If you'd like to work more globally and/or you're more interested in PE, Bain is more promising. If you'd like to stay regional and don't know what you want to do (and, assuming you're right about OW reputation there > Bain), then OW makes more sense.

Make sure to:

1. Negotiate both offers
2. Speak with people at the firm
3. Think deeply about your priorities and where you want to be
4. Think deeply about which firm best suits

Congratulations on a great decision to have to make!

For the best set of exit options Bain will almost always trump OW. The brand recognition will allow you to explore more options both within and outside the ME region.

The other advantage of Bain is that you will not be restricted to mainly finance exits unlike OW, given that Bain is well known across industries/sectors. While you may think you know what you want to do in 4 years today, that answer will most likely change and evolve over time so you want to maximize the options for that stage.

There is a very clear advantage to having MBB on your resume which is why many people work hard to get that stamp.

Best,

Udayan

Hi,

on a macro level, Bain has a better reputation than OW. However, this may differ on the regional level. Bain does not cover all regions equally in terms of account penetration and brand recognition.

So if you are planning to stay within your current region and you only want to be in consulting for a shorter stint, you may as well go with the job that would pay you more early on and has a better local brand recognition for exit opportunities.

Food for thought: Most people start consulting with the mindset of only doing it for 2 years and then they end up in this job for much longer anyway. So worth considering what the implications are in case that were to happen to you too

You should have a look at the specific industries each one is serving in the region to make a complete assessment. If everything equal, Bain will have a stronger brand at a global level.

Hi there,

Congrats!

I 100% agree with Maikol's answer here.

Short and long-term considerations → all point towards Bain.

Cheers,

Florian

Hello,

This is an interesting situation.

1) I would have said OW if you wanted to be in consulting for the long run since Bain's presence in the Middle East is small

2) However, since you want to pivot to another industry 4 years down the line, I would urge you to strongly consider going with Bain because of the Brand, Exit Opps, Learning Curve, PE:

i) Brand - without a doubt, Bain's brand name outshines OW worldwide

ii) Exit Opps - your exit opps will be significantly higher from Bain than from OW because of the network you make and the skills you develop

iii) Learning curve - Even though OW may have better projects in the region, Bain will have tremendous learning programs, international project opportunities, etc that will shape you into a well rounded professional

iv) PE - If you ever want to work in the PE industry in the long run, consulting with Bain will a) give you the opportunity to work on PE projects, and b) give you credibility when applying to PE firms upon exit

Hope this helps, all the best!

Rushabh