BCG on Fishbowl
I was deciding between offers from Bain and BCG, and decided to get a feel for what Bainies and BCGers think. I searched "Bain BCG" in the Fishbowl consulting bowl, and oh boy. It seems that a lot of BCGers are quite unhappy (while everyone at Bain seems to really love it there). That's not the vibe I got during recruiting, but everyone puts their best face on for that so it's not super telling. It looks like a lot of BCGers find it very political, and have a hard time making real friends there. A lot of former BCGers who switched to McK/Bain say they're very happy they did. A few say BCG has changed tremendously over the last 10 years, growing a ton but the culture has eroded as a result.
It could just be that Fishbowl caters to these types of comments/posts.
Do you work at BCG and love it there? Is the culture really that bad?
My thoughts on the matter is: 1) Yes, FB is a classic social media outlet where the most negative comments rise the loudest which quickly turns into echo chamber of other unhappy folks. So would not use that as an accurate barometer. 2) Bain folks do seem generally the 'happiest' at the junior level because they focus most heavily on the AC class vs. McK/BCG. Bain is more of a traditional pyramid structure while BCG is more of a diamond where the A class is relatively smaller in proportion. Both models have their upside/downside. Upside of Bain's model include more social cohorts, more peers to connect with, overall focus on AC class higher while downsides include having much more structured junior roles with little room to step out of those responsibilities. Upside of BCG's include faster promotion, more opportunities to 'step-up' etc. Downsides are smaller cohorts.
Rambling thoughts aside - my opinion is trying to pick based on the holistic firm's culture is pretty meaningless. All of these firms are massive and it's crazy to think there is a standardized culture across all offices and even teams. What's more important is selecting the one that you felt you had the best personal connections and can build off of those
That's interesting. FB definitely seems a little on the toxic side, but it also seems like unhappy BCGers are more vocal than McK/Bain.
If I were to join as post-MBA, would I then have a better shot at promotion at Bain than at BCG/McK given the diamond structure (higher fraction of post-MBAs = more competition for spots)
No, if anything McKinsey tends to promote the fastest for top performers.
Honestly, it's hard not to take their comments seriously. I'm trying to just ignore them and not let it weigh on my decision, but seeing so many negative comments from BCGers about their firm (one literally warning future applicants to stay away) is scary.
There are plenty of people that are unhappy at McK and they will spill over drinks, but you won’t see them posting stuff online. I think it’s kind of part of their culture... which is a great way to approach it IMO.
Don't know the exact messages but there's usually a source of truth in them. Just keep in mind you generally only see the people post who enjoy it most/least. The rest just doesn't care to post. General trends should be there though
There's unhappy people everywhere,so wouldn't take these negative comments seriously.
What I do find more concerning is the fact that whenever one BCGer says anything negative, they are attacked by 10 other BCGers whose comments completely invalidate their experiences. Appears to be kind of a cultish "you fit in or get out" culture from that kind of behavior.
Yes, I've noticed that as well. In addition to there being a lot more negative comments coming from BCGers in the first place, when they do post something they're usually attacked by a bunch of other BCGers. For example when one posted that he left before making partner and joined another firm and listed the reasons why, 100% of BCGers invalidated his negative experiences by saying he's just disgruntled to have been transitioned (no indication that he was). Most of his reasons seemed legitimate even though not everyone will experience them.
I've seen a few negative experiences posted by McK and Bain as well, McK comments are usually ignored by other McKs, or acknowledged but pretty low-key. Some POC Bainies complained about the lack of diversity affecting their overall experience (could def see that, Bain seems very white), and other Bainies POC shared their personal positive experience and in general Bainies asked for more info to learn more and see what could be better.
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