How should I mention that I got a BB/EB IB Offer in my MBB Interview?

Recently received an offer from a Bulge Bracket/Elite Boutique Investment Bank and a first-round interview at MBB. I am sure the MBB is the better choice. I think it will be better to tell them but should I/how do I mention that I got a BB/EB offer?

I believe the pro for telling them is that it will differentiate me from the pack and they will know I am a strong candidate and are more likely to give me a Final Round even if I am not amazing in my case interview. The con is that they will question my story, how much I want consulting. How do I navigate this part of my story correctly?

Edit: Serious responses only please: this might be the most important interview of my life.

 
Funniest

Tell them as soon as you walk into the interview room before you shake their hands, perhaps even before you sit down. This way you will have successfully asserted your dominance and alpha-type personality by showing that you get right down to business and that you're valued by firms outside of their domain.

After they gawk in awe, you will have them in the palm of your hand and can continue on in the rest of the interview by talking about your time in college, random hobbies and the sports game you saw last night. Don't even prep for the case study because they won't bother wasting their time and giving it to you after they realize you have a BB / EB offer on the table. You're more valuable to them than the kids who have M/B/B offers lined up. You know that, they know that.

After 30 minutes of shooting the shit, they will pull out from underneath the desk an offer letter with a higher compensation package than that of the BB / EB to appease and woo you in to their establishment. After you notice that you have significant leverage over this transaction, you will proceed to ask for a 40% increase in comp, to which they will happily accept with no questions asked. They might even give you your first three months off to make sure that you end up accepting.

Don't even worry about a drug test / background check; they won't bother.

 

I don't think I'm special, I'm going to be one of the least qualified people there. I'm just trying to figure out how to do this interview correctly and increase my odds of getting the internship.

 

I don't think I'm special, I'm going to be one of the least qualified people there. I'm just trying to figure out how to do this interview correctly and increase my odds of getting the internship.

 

Thank you for the serious response, I'm leaning on not bringing it up now but will see if anyone else thinks differently. I didn't even think MBB was possible for me out of undergrad, I thought I had to go get a top 10 MBA after 5 years but now here I am with a 1st round interview.

 

The only reason you would bring this up is if you have a deadline to respond to your offer by, and you want to expedite the MBB recruiting process for yourself. Them knowing you have an IB offer isn't going to help you at all; their criteria for deciding who gets final rounds is very dependent on your performance in the case interviews, and they won't hold you to a lower standard just because you already have an offer elsewhere. The best thing for you to do is stop worrying about how to brag about your offer and just spend as much time practicing case interviews as you can before your interview.

 

I’ve seen this before. When you bring it up, MBB guys just go “cool story bro”

 
Most Helpful

Lots of responses here burning you for asking the question. The reality is that it's a bit more nuanced though. I used to work for McKinsey for a few years and got a few thoughts on your question.

  1. Never, ever bring it up when it's not clearly relevant or appropriate to do so. Just forcing it into the conversation out of the blue is going to raise everyone's eyebrows. It will make you look like an idiot.
  2. Also keep in mind that while consultants will know all BBs, they may not know any EBs (e.g. many consultants will not know what Evercore or Moelis is), which risks the whole interaction becoming even more awkward.
  3. Despite the above, it's important to realize that interviewers deal with incomplete information. They don't know you and only have 30-60 minutes to learn a few things about you. Hence anything that reduces that massive information deficit is useful. Having an offer from a BB is at least some sign of approval. If I'd be sitting at the other end of that table, and I learn that you have an offer from Goldman Sachs to join their TMT team I will perceive that positively (especially if it's an FT offer after you did an internship there). It means you have been tested and approved by another organization that recruits similar caliber people. Anyone arguing they would not care even the tiniest bit about hearing this information is either lying or have never interviewed people before (making an assessment on a 30-minute convo really isn't easy)

Ergo, if you can share the information in an appropriate manner I would. If the opportunity to share isn't there definitely do NOT force it. If you doubt the opportunity is there also don't do it (because it's probably not actually there, you're just eager to share).

 

You're likely to be asked if you have other offers in at least one of your interviews. Just bring it up there and the implications on timelines if relevant. Just say you want to do consulting, but that your offer explodes at date x and any help to accelerate timelines would be much appreciated given you know how competitive MBB offers are to get and hence the realistic possibility to ending up empty handed.

 

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