Hi there,

In terms of brand, Strategy& is definitely stronger. But to understand which one is the best for you, you should define first which are your criteria for a choice.

In case you get an offer from both, I would consider the following to decide:

• 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.
• If you consider the average consultant/partner you talked to in each company, which one would you rather be? Quoting Jim Rohn, you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. 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.
• What is your gut feeling telling you? Our gut feeling is able to catch elements we cannot initially rationalize. You may “feel” a company is better, but don’t know exactly why. Try to find out why you feel that way, do some research on that and try to understand if that point is valid.

If you want to do extra due diligence, contact Alumni of your university (not current consultants) that worked in that office (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.

I would also not limit the choice to S& and OC&C only and try to get invitations from other firms. You can find some tips at the following link:

▶ How to Get an MBB Referral

In terms of how to prepare for the interview itself, you can find some tips here:

▶ How to Prepare for an MBB Interview

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi there,

This should be the third thing you do!

First, wait for the results. Your decision might be made for you….if you get locked into loving one option you might just be setting yourself up for disappointment (counting your chickens before they hatch).

Second, you need to determine what you value and care about. Listing out pros and cons is what a 15 year old does - and they don't make decisions very well! You need to figure out what matters and what doesn't.

Third, once you know what you care about (prestige, career growth, culture, compensation, type of work, etc.) then, and only then should you go and figure out how the two compare!

What I can say is Strategy& is the bigger/stronger brand of the two. All things equal they are generally viewed more highly and have a wider range of growth opportunities.

Good luck with the interviews!

Here's some reading for your upcoming case: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

And some reading for the upcoming fit/behavioral: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question

Two pieces of advice:
 

1. Don't jump into the decision-making of things that are (both!) not yet available to you, otherwise, you just waste time and energy. This may sound like your father's advice, but trust me, that avoid speculating on things that are just possible is a discipline that make you feel much much better
2. That said, between Strategy& and OC&C there is a huge difference (I do not agree with what other coaches said). Strategy& is much more known and better in terms of the range of projects, quality of the projects, and even career development opportunities. 
    

I hope it helps.

Hey - 

Congrats on the offer with S& and hopefully to an offer with OC&C. 

I concur with the answer given by the others. Primarily think about your longer-term goals and see which firm takes you closer to that. S& obviously has the bigger brand and office which will give you mobility and other perks. 

Which OC&C you will end up doing a lot of PE work as that's a large part of their business. I interned with them and I personally hated the culture of the firm and did not take up a return offer. 

I do not want to go into a public bashing of the firm. Happy to go over my experience on a free session or a free intro call or over message. Feel free to shoot me a DM and I can tell you more about my experience. 

Hello!

In this case, you are still missing too much information to make the decision - indeed, perhaps there is not even a decision to be made. 

Generally speaking, I think the brand recognition is one of the most important aspects when choosing between firms, and S6& is stronger there. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara