Does it matter which city I apply to?
As I start to prepare my applications, I am trying to decide which office locations to list as my first choice. For personal reasons, many different cities would work for me. But am I better off applying to a large center (e.g. SF/NY) vs smaller offices (Seattle/Silicone Valley)?
Also what about the Canadian offices? I have family in Toronto, so that might be a good fit too.
I am more concerned with the job than the city. Are there any that are more/less competitive?
I am a PhD from an ivy league so I would applying as an advanced degree holder, if that makes a difference.
This is my kind of place to work....
^ Lol. But anyway, I was told that some banks just pool the candidates together and then disperse them as they see fit.
They definitely don't, unless you are fluent in various languages (they can therefore offer you the chance to work in another office).
Silicon Valley would be prime. From what I can gather, NY and SF offices generally get A LOT more applicants than smaller offices. Therefore, unless you are fairly certain that you are a stronger candidate than your peers, you should pick a smaller market as your #2.
I have a similar question. My 1st choice is ideally NYC, and I'm a Canadian citizen & US green card holder. But since most people would choose NYC/SF area, would I be shooting myself in the foot by indicating NYC as my 1st choice? My primary goal is to get the job and then be able to live in good city. In my case, would I be better off applying to Canadian offices like Toronto?
Also, for language preference, if I am good at a particular language, should I choose my location of preference based on my language fluency? For example, I can speak French. So should I include Montreal/Paris as one of my locations?
At this stage, staffing is national. I feel it doesn't really matter much what office you're in, you can still end up on a case within or outside of your region. Contact some people to get a feel for each office and base your decision off your interactions. The difference between culture in some offices of the same firm can be night and day.
At MBB, location preference absolutely matters. It might be denied at recruiting events, but internally it's well known that certain offices are much harder due to the number of candidates. A number of other offices poach off the wait lists of the most popular ones in a region (NY and SF waitlists have a lot of candidates who meet every absolute cut-off but simply weren't in the top X of a given year).
I wouldn't so much focus on the size of office as I would on whether it is growing rapidly or not. Some of the biggest offices were relatively easy to go to during growth periods (Bain Boston and BCG Chicago would be examples from a few years back, both are slowing down now, I think). Ultimately, you'll still have to meet an absolute bar; the difference is, at some offices, that won't be enough.
@Sugarmouse - what you put for your 1st choice doesn't matter; you can hedge by putting a growing/easier office 2nd or 3rd and they will definitely get a look at you if NY doesn't take you. Just be ready to explain your preference (near family is a common one for less-popular cities) and work harder to convince your interviewers that you will take the offer if it is given.
What @signposts is correct as far as getting hired. My post refers to what you'll get staffed on and the overall experience.
I would still say try and figure out the culture of the offices you're actually interested in. NY/SF are not the end all be all.
Hold on, this is entirely firm dependent. The OP made no mention of where he is planning to apply. If he ends up at Bain ATL, he will not be working on cases in Seattle. If he winds up at BCG Seattle, he may have more variability but will be staffed almost exclusively with people from his region. McKinsey is the obvious exception.
But back to the OP's original point. YES it matters where you apply, but trying to game the system from a numbers standpoint is a fool's errand. Smaller office get less applications but have way fewer seats. Larger offices have much larger classes but receive many more apps. You aren't going to give yourself a material advantage by trying to play the numbers game.
Location DOES matter with regards to the legitimacy of your story and the strength of your network in that office. You have plenty of time if you are recruiting on-cycle, so focus on networking and go with offices in which you have developed the best relationships. It's also fine to say you are open to a few offices, but at least have a top two picked out and some solid reasons why you really want to work in those offices.
As an example, you would be foolish to apply to St. Louis because it's "easier" if you have better relationships with people in the NYC office. Likewise, it would be foolish to apply to Denver if you can't speak very convincingly to why you love Denver in an interview.
Dibs on the Bain Sioux Falls office!
I would stay out of Toronto if possible. I am a consultant in TO, IM me if you want to talk about it.
Does Location matter? (Originally Posted: 10/22/2013)
I'm a sophomore at a non target looking to transition into IB. Does the location of a PWM internship location matter even if it is at a BB? If this has already been discussed, point me in the right direction.
It has been discussed, but to answer your question, location of where you work may matter for exit opps. However, for a sophomore PWM internship, it doesn't matter.
If it is at a BB and in a "big city", it doesn't matter. What matters most is how you leverage the knowledge you gain and experience at the place into your junior year internship. My PWM soph yr internship was with a mom & pop shop in my hometown... but my junior yr internship was with a small hedge fund, ultimately leading to an IB BB analyst position (which is where I wanted to end up). Get some work under your belt during the soph yr summer but most of all enjoy it, because it was my last "free" summer!
Does The City You Choose Matter? (Originally Posted: 04/20/2013)
Hi,
I was just wondering if there is any advantage to choosing, for example, the PWC/Deloitte NYC office over some place like Atlanta, Raleigh, etc. in terms of opening up future doors? For example, if I wanted to become a finance manager/VP of finance at a company, is having PwC in a decent sized city good enough usually, or is there a tangible benefit in landing future opportunities if I worked in a megacity like NYC, Chicago, LA, San Fran, Houston, etc.?
Obviously, working at the B4 in Idaho or something probably isn't ideal, but if we're talking about a well-known but tier 2 cities like Seattle, Raleigh, Atlanta, DC (DC I mention only because it's not big in the private sector yet), would choosing that office leave you worse off if you end up liking the people/culture more than NYC?
Thanks!
In a larger city, there will be more movement of personnel and more opportunities. Whether or not you will get the opportunities you want is another matter altogether. For example, if you want to be a VP of Finance for a manufacturing company, you may want to avoid NYC, where there is a good possibility that you will be stuck on financial services clients for years.
My main criteria for choosing among offices at the same firm would be the same criteria for choosing among firms within the same city: do some research to see what client opportunities are available at the different cities. If your firm has only one F500 client in a certain city and your goal is F500 finance, obviously aim for a different locale.
A similar question was also asked here:
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/group-post/big-office-vs-small-office
Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Let me try asking it another way I guess. For example, let's say that I am interested in working in energy after I'm done with my audit stint, have the choice between Charlotte and Houston offices, and have offers for a firm that has F500 clients in both cities. Obviously, Charlotte isn't that big on energy and pales in comparison to Houston, so my question is, would I be less likely to land the jobs I want afterward by choosing Charlotte, which has less energy clients than Houston but would still give me access to large, multinational, public companies, or would I still be fine because I have the Big Four stamp on my resume and still worked with large clients with unique accounting issues even though they weren't in energy or I wasn't specifically auditing the firm I'm targeting.
Specific industry experience will always be a plus for any job you're looking to move into. If you're dead set on the energy sector, then it would definitely be a good move to go with Houston. There will be many more opportunities to work on energy clients, and once you are ready to make the move into industry, it's a whole lot easier to interview for positions in the city in which you're located.
Of course, an energy firm will still jump at the opportunity to hire someone with Big 4 experience in other industries. It's just that the person with specific industry experience will have an advantage in getting the position and negotiating the salary.
Difficulty by location? (Originally Posted: 08/07/2011)
Is the difference in difficulty of getting an offer based on what offices you put as your preference significant enough that it should be a consideration? Especially if you are applying through an internal reference, should you take into consideration where your reference works (and might have the most influence)?
Of coarse. If your guy is in California he will have very little influence in NY, unless he is very senior.
Does what city you are in matter? (Originally Posted: 02/28/2008)
One of the MBB at NYC, one of them at other cities.
Wondering if for a summer internship it really matters what city you are, since you are doing the same sort of work everywhere.
This has been covered on at least 3 separate occasions... no it doesn't matter, pick based on your personal location preference.
How much does location matter? (Originally Posted: 11/09/2011)
I found out that I was selected for a second round interview for an internship position today.
One of the MDs that I interviewed with called me to let me know that I had made it through the first round, and he asked me whether I want to work in the New York or Chicago office.
He said that the group I am most interested in is based in the Chicago office, but the group is also in NY. He told me that my chances of getting the position in the Chicago office could be slightly better because they mainly recruit from local midwest schools (I am from a Target on the East Coast).
Will the office I choose have a drastic effect on my chances? I would rather be in NY but the group I am interested in is based in Chicago, what factors should I be considering?
Thanks for the help.
Think about your level of happiness. Remember, your life with revolve around this group. The culture of the office will be the biggest reason why you either succeed or fail. From what you stated, I would lean Chicago. Why not relocate yourself to the epicenter of this division? It will provide you with a bigger (and most likely stronger) network. Just my .02
Thanks for the response.
Any other opinions?
Tell him that your preference is New York City, but really your #1 priority is to land a gig with that group, regardless of location.
Does the city matter? (Originally Posted: 04/30/2012)
I go to a college in southern california (ucla/usc) and want to work in finance in southern california in the long run (post-mba). Should I aim for getting a ft offer in LA or the best offer I can get, regardless of location?
will be much easier in LA considering u went to a good school there
Aim for the best offer you can get - you can always come back to LA a little while down the road.
I would single out the best offices with killer groups in LA. Apply to these. Single out some killer offices and groups in other cities through WSO and good old fashioned networking. NYC, Chicago, and maybe Charlotte. Keep your ear to the ground and apply to several in each city. I would be careful about putting down first choice and then second choice cities for the bigger shops. From my experience, they interview you for first choice, and if they don't want you there, you're not getting a shot at another city.
To summarize, I'd apply to the best spots in several cities, with an emphasis on places you know people at and ones you hear are great and then you can even have some talking points during an interview.
I'd take a paycut to be in a better city, but thats just me
Sanity > extra 5-10k in salary
you will find that the opportunities open to you will predominately be in LA/SF. other cities will be substantially more difficult but not impossible with networking.
its a competitive process just do the best you can
Advice on Office Preferencing (Originally Posted: 01/09/2013)
For an applicant applying to M/B/B internships, what is the best strategy to undertake in terms of ranking office preferences?
Picking locations close to your school? (I attend a semi-target) Picking locations close to your hometown? Picking locations that others aren't likely to pick?
The reason I ask is that I've heard certain offices (most notably M/B/B San Francisco and New York) are a bit more selective than others; I would absolutely hate myself if I was qualified enough to get a job at McKinsey Atlanta or McKinsey Dallas, but ended up with no offer at all because my final round ended up being with McKinsey NY.
With these points in mind, any advice? Moreover, are there any other offices that might be considered highly competitive? Boston and Chicago come to mind, but I'm not quite sure. If I intern in one city and secure a return offer, would it be feasible for me to transfer offices for full-time?
Sorry about all the questions -- thanks in advance for your help!
Don't try to game the system, they see through that. If you're qualified, you'll get an interview. If you do well, you'll get an offer, regardless of office. I interviewed with M/B (other B didn't have an office in my choice) and I had to convince them that I wanted to be in that office (hometown) and wasn't simply trying to get in the back door.
.
Wherever you want to live and work.
Forget about these strategies. Based on my experience in recruiting, office preference does not matter until the final round. At that point, if you're a quality candidate and the the office you picked doesn't have a spot available for you then they will still shop you around to the less competitive offices and offer you an interview at one of them.
Maybe... I've heard of this one for an MBA FT applicant, never for internships or undergrad. If cases are all about how well you do relative to other applicants, and offices have hiring targets to hit, it seems completely illogical for it to NOT be easier at offices in lower demand, at basically every single interview.
From what I've heard, it's not too difficult to switch offices from internship to full-time. If you did a good job over the summer and the firm likes you then they'll likely be open to accomodating to your wishes. What can also help is if you get other offers during full-time recruiting from other firms in your geographic prefence; certainly something you can use as leverage.
I've even heard of people (during full-time recruiting) interviewing for one office that is presumably less competitive (e.g. Dallas or Detroit) and after getting the offer then negotiating for their office of choice (e.g. NYC or SF). However, this was a few years back during better economic times; it may not work quite as well these days.
I would apply to the office where you want to be. Honestly, if you apply to an office like Atlanta/Dallas you better have a damn good reason for wanting to work there- much easier for them to pick someone who goes to school down there or grew up there then a random applicant who just happened to apply. The selectivity difference is pretty marginal between main offices- NY/Boston etc and more regional offices. And while many more people apply to the big offices, they also take many more interns because they are larger.
bump, in particular, curious about which offices are easier
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