I'm in the fortunate situation of choosing between a McKinsey sales and marketing strategy consulting internship v Bain MBA Internship. McKinsey is in Denver, Bain in Dallas. In fairly agnostic on location. I'm leaning Bain based on the relationships I've built over the last few months, but saying no to McKinsey is daunting. Any recommendations or thoughts?
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Go wherever you feel you have the best fit and best relations is the only sensible thing imo. That'll be most important while working. Types of engagements, exit opps, income, etc. are basically equal between MBB (hence why they're lumped together). The biggest differences I'd say is the staffing model (home office teams vs global teams) and culture.
Very different office cultures + cities.
Bain + Dallas means that it's going to lean more towards the fratty + southern culture. Obviously more energy related projects as well. Can you see yourself going out a lot after work + partying a lot on weekends?
McKinsey + Denver attracts a lot of outdoorsy/fitness people. The Denver office is their newest office so that was definitely one of the main pulls to get people to transfer there. Can you see yourself waking up early and going on hikes and skiing over the weekends? Chiller nights in general.
Thanks!
I have heard that McKinsey is better for international travel opportunities - and I spent the last 2 years @ Google working in Europe and loved it (though the Middle East is where I really want to do some projects). Do you know if this is generally true?
I definitely saw the different vibes that you described for both cities. I have a family so I am less concerned about the 'going out / partying' scene but both offices seemed to have strong family networks as well.
PM me with any questions you have- happy to talk about it! Less inclined to put out any info that would give away my office/identity.
If you really, really want to do Middle East, then McK. You probably wouldn't over the summer internship (nor should you want to!), but once you go full-time, McK will have plenty of projects in the Middle East you can try to get on with their global staffing model. Also more established in the ME than Bain is.
Tough to pass up the better fit with the Bain folks, though.
Cowboy boots vs puffer vests
If you lean Bain because you have a better gut feeling there you should go there.
Did you see that Bain Dallas Video on YouTube? If the culture is anything like that I would jump at the chance to join that Office;)
Can't seem to find it, do you happen to have a link?
It is PR fluff, but you can't fake everything.
Cool video, what are you leaning towards OP?
I'm not leaning either way at the moment. I'm excited about each for different reasons, and I will probably go to the welcome event for each over the next couple of weeks before making a decision.
Sounds good Jose. Let us know any updates, excited to hear what you end up picking.
Will do thanks!
Which B-School are you at?
Cornell Johnson
Thanks all for your thoughts! I chose McKinsey in Denver. Your feedback was awesome. Thanks again.
Feel free to PM me if you have Denver related questions. Congrats on your decision! Denver is awesome.
Hi! Wondering if you could share a bit more about the marketing and sales practice?
Aligning with a practice at McKinsey (Marketing and Sales, Digital, Private Equity, etc) means that in theory you'll do around half your work in that practice and the other half will be whatever you want. You can do more or less than half your work in that practice though, it's totally up to you. Aligning with a practice is a great way to get first preference on cases if you're interested in a certain industry or finding a community of people interested in the same type of work. It is regarded internally and externally as the exact same as a generalist since you do half (or more) of your work as a generalist and go through the exact same application process. If you know you're interested in a field, there's only upside to joining the practice (ex: go to Digital if you like tech).
josekjar Do you mind talking a bit about why you made that choice?
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