Hey Guys,
Which are the best US McKinsey offices in terms of prestige and experience (perhaps even size)?
Particularly the Marketing and Sales Practice offices?
Furthermore, How do San Fran, New York and Chicago compare?
Thanks.
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McK Office Selection (Originally Posted: 05/24/2011)
Hi Guys,
I'm getting my MBA at a target school and I recruited for consulting internships last winter. I made it to the final round with McKinsey but did not get an offer. I did get an offer from another consulting company (not MBB) and I'll be interning with them this summer.
However, I've stayed in touch with McKinsey, my first choice, and they said that in the fall I would have an automatic final round interview at one of their Midwest offices (where I applied) for a position post-graduation.
The rub is that due to some changes in my life, I'd rather not work at one of the Midwest offices.
Do you think my chances would be hurt if I changed offices? More particularly, do you think the London or West Coast offices are more or less competitive than the Midwest offices?
I'd love to work in the London office or back on the West Coast (preferably Seattle, maybe even San Francisco), but I'm afraid I'd be shooting myself in the foot if I tried to change course now.
What do you think? Thank you for any insights.
london is more difficult simply because you are physically located in the US now
west coast seattle is easier than san fran, however Chicago is a huge office for McKinsey
my suggestion: probe to see what happens if you mention you want to start in seattle, if not secure the office in mid west then eventually in 1-2 years you can transfer to san fran or london or wherever
interested in this as well. if anyone has similar info for bain or BCG, that'd be helpful. how competitive are the SF/LA offices compared to Chi?
Can anyone comment on Houston?
And Calgary?
SF
I'm not sure about Chicago but London is easier than NY & SF.
My sense, based on some pretty limited conversations with recruiting types at my MBB is that competitiveness is roughly as follows:
NYC+SF>Boston+London>Chicago>LA>>Atlanta/Houston/Dallas/Philly type cities
Where is this manifested? In passing people to the final round, or at the offer level. Or both?
Went through MBB recruiting cycle this year, recieved all three offers and ended up becoming very familiar with all three firms as I did my diligence process. What became readily apparent is that there is indeed a hierarchy between offices for Bain/BCG, but less so for McKinsey since they don't use the local model.
The hierarchy is generally understood as: NY > SF > Chicago + Boston + London > LA > Seattle > Atlanta/Austin/Dallas/Philly/etc. > Miami/St. Louis/Cleveland/Houston/etc.
My sense, again not based on hard data, is that it's really at the margins. There are probably a few people every year that would get jobs in regional offices that don't in big cities, and the opposite as well. It's probably just a few people though.
Tell them now. Earlier the better. And think about it... if you keep quiet, you'll spend months if not years regretting it. Try not to be afraid to speak out. The worst that can happen is that they'll say "No".
Anyone know anything about the Silicon Valley (Palo Alto) office at McKinsey, specifically how it compares to the SF office in terms of size, competitiveness, projects, etc? Info on the Bain SV office would be great too...
City Prestige? (Originally Posted: 02/04/2008)
I was just wondering what are the city prestige in consulting?
My understanding for the US its: 1) BOS/NY/SF (first tier) 2) Chi/Atl/LA (second tier)
and internationally London/Hong Kong?
If you had a McKinsey offer from NY or London, what would you choose?
It honestly depends on the firm. Also there is no such thing as "prestige", there is high demand/low demand. I would say choose the city based on practice area you are most interested in.
NY/Boston = consumer, media, health, financial services, PE DD SF = tech, health, some FS Chicago = industrials, auto, some consumer, some supply chain/ops etc. Dallas/Houston = energy
There are some outliers and differences but that's basically it. To be honest, most of the time you will not have a choice (if you go to Stanford, you will probably end up in SF/LA for example). Just pick the city you want to live in and has work in areas you are interested.
though i find it strange why is it that chicago, as a huge city as it is, doesn't seem to have as hardcore consulting as boston, which is a significantly smaller city.
bain/bcg are Boston based.
Nothing to do with this thread:
Boston is the best city in the world.
with the second best football team in the world, behind NY BABY!
I'd also add Charlotte to your second tier. Home to BofA and Wachovia's headquarters, as well as regional offices for many MM firms.
Charlotte? This isn't about banking, it's about consulting. Maybe Deloitte has an audit office there or something but zero consulting firms have a presence there.
AND ITS ARSENAL.... ARSENAL FC - ARE BY FAR THE GREATEST TEAM - THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!!!
McK has a Charlotte office. Aside from the lifestyle and industry characteristics, location really doesn't matter. I don't think too many people are going to hold it against you that you worked at BCG Indianapolis, for instance, unless of course you try to get into fin services afterward, where those firms will ask, "wtf were you doing in Indiana?" I think NY and London are comparable--both markets have similar characteristics and the consulting firms have similar-sized presences in both places. It just depends on what you want.
i heard these are pretty much top tier in terms of firm + city.. anyone care to elaborate?
i'm going into consulting (MBB) but know very little about it so.. just trying to gather info.
I would add one more city to the mix - Washington. Sure, it leans almost exclusively to the public sector, but pretty much every player in every industry has a presence in Washington, if not to serve the government than to serve its own interests (read: lobbying). Booz has a huge Federal practice and I'm starting to see some of the top tier firms creep into the space.
Chicago is definitely first tier for MBB at this point. 2nd largest firm for McKinsey in US, and 3d largest in the world. Can't remember exact number for Bain and BCG, but also top 3 there.
Would swap Chicago and Boston on your list.
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