Should I renege one MBB offer for another?

Hi there!

First of all, congrats on the offers! That's a nice situation to be in. 

Yes, it's not great etiquette to turn your back after accepting an offer. And some firms / offices react stronger than others on this - indeed, some might put you on the do not hire list. 

But realistically sometimes in life you need to make hard choices and hard choices often come with consequences. As in, regardless of which way you go, you'll win some and lost some. So then you just need to choose which options looks better for you overall (sounds like Firm A) and then try to do damage control on the consequences for this choice. 

Since you're starting soon in consulting, sharing with you a couple of articles you might find interesting to read on what makes an effective consultant:

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

Best,
Cristian

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Hello,

Congratulations on getting two MBB offers!

Reneging on an offer at this stage will certainly burn some bridges with firm B. I don't think there's much you can explain about this to make them go easier on you in this regard unfortunately, though it will be important for you to be as polite and professional as possible throughout this interaction. They will likely blacklist you for some period of time, but probably not forever.

However, if firm A is a better fit, you have an offer, and you're convinced you wouldn't want to go to firm B in the next couple of years under any circumstances, I think you're well within reason to sign and renege and you suggest. Alternatively, you could ask to push back the start date with A, work for B for at least 6 months, and then make the transfer if you don't want to burn bridges.

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on two MBB offers - well done!

Just remember that you're in an enviable position so don't stress out too much :)

Look, the honest answer is that this is bad etiquette. It is operating out of bad faith, and it almost certainly burns bridges with firm B.

That said, firm B (and firm A) will fire you whenever they like. So, you have to remember that, while operating professionally is super super important, so is looking out for yourself.

I can't tell you what to do, but think about yourself 1-2 years from now and think about which future you prefer. 

Hi,

Reneging is not good etiquette as you have signed the contract already. 

However at the end of the day you need to do what you think is best for you. The firms don't owe you anything, and neither do you owe the firms anything. 

You will likely burn the bridge with firm B if you accept the firm A offer. But the reality is that rarely do people switch between MBB, and this is the case for a variety of reasons. 

If you really want to go to A and have made up your mind (which you seem to have) then I think it's better to renege on B. It is tricky given that you're trying to do the right thing here. One way to phrase it could be telling them that there have been a few changes in what your career priorities are and as a result you don't believe that you will be a good fit for them. It's not going to be a great conversation but that's okay, do what you really want and go to company A. 

Hi there,

you will likely leave some scorched earth with firm B, but if you have a better feeling about firm A and you believe that it gives you better opportunities to get into the field you want to be in, then the answer is clear. Just make sure you got everything under wraps with firm A before you step away from firm B.

The fact that you have two MBB offers to choose from is a nice problem to have - you didn’t do anything wrong here.

Good luck