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Should i accept offer from startup?

BCG McKinsey
New answer on Mar 23, 2020
7 Answers
1.6 k Views
Arty asked on Mar 11, 2020

I got offer from startup and already extended it to 2 weeks, and got upcoming interview from accenture in 3 weeks, (tried to accelerate, but didnt work)

if i accept startup offer and then reject, is that gonna be bad?

or should i reject startup and put all hope into accenture offer?

(edited)

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Best answer
Federico
Expert
replied on Mar 12, 2020
Former Bain (4+ years, UK & Italy) | Ardian (France) | Specialized in Case Structuring, Case Cracking and Non-verbal Comm.

Hi Arty,

first of all, congrats for the startup offer.

I would personally make these considerations:

Is it your 1st work experience?
- In this case, if you are very young (fresh from uni), consider the importance of having a strong brand (if you don't have any) on your resume. That will help you in the future. This could be either a good startup (VC-backed or PE-backed) or a company like Accenture.

Is this your first full time job?
- Spend time on finding the right fit and understand if you are interested to start right away in an entrepreneurial environment vs a consulting environment. They tend to be quite different settings.

To answer your question about rejecting the startup offer
It is a matter of professionalism. But considering the fact that startups need very passionate people, better to leave the startup rather than staying there, but not being committed anymore because you are more interested about working in consulting.

Good luck!
Federico

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Antonello
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 23, 2020
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi, congrats for the offer. Unfortunately, lots of candidates are in the same situation of accepting an offer and rejecting in a while. It's not kind, but necessary, since you are not allowed to think about it more than 1-2 weeks. Therefore do it and I hope you to have the opportunity to choose :)

Best,
Antonello

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Luca
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 12, 2020
BCG |NASA | SDA Bocconi & Cattolica partner | GMAT expert 780/800 score | 200+ students coached

Hello Arty,

Reading your post, I understand that you have already decided your priority (Accenture) and that you just don't know how to handle the current situation. Don't be afraid of accepting an offer and then to change your mind, it's part of the game. If you have already asked for more time, just accept the offer and keep pushing Accenture telling them about the offer.

Good luck,
Luca

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Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 12, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Congrats!

Without entering to assess how interesting one can be vs. the other, I don´t think at this point of time it makes sense to not interview with Accenture -honestly, may not be the most politically correct thing in the world, but everyone would act like this in your situation (including the people in the startup!!)-.

If and only if you get the offer from Accenture, it´s time to start thinking of what to do.

Good luck!

Cheers,

Clara

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Robert
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 12, 2020
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi Arty.

At the end of the day it's clear that you need to take the decision, based on all considerations which you consider as relevant.

Just want to add 1 legal aspect you might need to consider - once you signed a contract and committing yourself, is it safe to get out of it again before starting date in your jurisdiction (i.e. if you accept Accenture offer)? Most most likely the start up won't make you any troubles - there is simply no point in trying to hire someone who finally doesn't want to work for you .. but you rather want to be sure about potential legal consequences nevertheless.

Hope that helps as an additional thought to consider - if so, please give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

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Francesco
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 12, 2020
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi Arty,

assuming that working for the startup is something that could be interesting for you, I don’t think it makes sense to reject the offer now. You can go through the process with Accenture, once you have both the offers you can decide which one could be more interesting for you, and if needed reject the startup one.

Best,

Francesco

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Udayan
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 11, 2020
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /6 years McKinsey recruiting experience

Only you can decide whether you would want to work in the startup over another opportunity. As far as it will it look bad? I don't think it will matter that much. You are being honest and telling them you have another offer and it is up to them to accommodate you.

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