Defer MBB start date into 2025, or jump in this year?

Tldr: Currently employed, but with an offer to join BCG in October. Concerned about current staffing issues in consulting, especially during the holiday season. I'm considering deferring my start to January for better staffing chances in Q1. What are your thoughts?

Longer:

I currently have a job but have an offer to join BCG (UK) in October, but I’m aware across consulting people are having trouble getting staffed at the moment and that may increase chances of being asked to leave. I’ve also heard that BCG has been particularly aggressive with performance reviews recently.

By the time I join, completed training (2 weeks) and finished the initial “free” investment project (8 weeks), it’ll be the holiday season. I worry that it may start a “doom loop” of struggling to get staffed. I’ve asked recruitment about whether they would prefer that I defer (more carefully worded), and they have no view and have not been forthcoming around this, somewhat understandably.

Since I have a job currently I’m considering deferring to January to wait out some of the uncertainty and hopefully have a better chance of getting staffed in Q1. Grateful for any advice or votes in the poll - I'm torn!

Recommend start in:

Oct 2024
34% (19 votes)
Jan 2025
66% (37 votes)
Total votes: 56
9 Comments
 

Short answer is: don’t like law - don’t expect to love consulting either but it will hopefully get me closer to my goal which is a commercial (not legal) role in F500 equivalent. Not worth it for that do you think? 

 

Did you recruit as an experienced hire or graduate (e.g. less than 2 years work experience in law)?

 

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