Anyone got any info regarding McKinsey / BCG in Jakarta/ KL??
Specifically how the work (clients / culture/ staffing model) differs to Europe and the US, if at all.
Also WSO Database and Glassdoor throw up some wildly contradicting entry level salaries, clarification would be appreciated.
SBs for any monkeys with reliable info :)
Before I respond, I want to caveat that this is based on personal experience and in no way do I mean to discriminate against any region. The response below is written from the perspective of someone who is not from SEA.
Clients: - Among entry level clients (who you'll mostly rely on for data collection, fact checks etc..), usually lower skill sets than US/ EU counterparts which might make the process slightly longer - Typically more hardworking than US/ EU counterparts (except for Germans, maybe)
Culture: - SEA culture in general is a bit different (more diverse, and arguably more conservative etc..), as you might know from general reading. This largely applies to the clients you will work with in the region. In my experience, it is quite important to understand the culture before trying to form 'trust based relationships' with your clients. All countries (MY, VN, TH, ID) have visibly different cultures and religious practices. - The food is very different (if you're thinking Chinese food, you're way off; chopstick skills are still valid though).
Staffing mode: - I can vouch that two of the MBBs have very similar staffing model in SEA and in US/ EU. Typically, there are more "international" opportunities in SEA because it is made up of smaller markets, with limited work in a given country (as opposed to US, for obvious reasons). In SEA, SG (and increasingly KL), serves as the hub with spokes (satellite offices), as required in other countries.
Pay: - The massive salary range is a result of sub-analyst level roles (popular terms include consulting analysts, local consultants and what not) in these countries. These roles could span 1 -2 years and successful candidates would often end up as the regular first year analysts. If you're targeting the regular first year analyst role, the higher end of the salary would be a better estimate in your case.
PM if you need more details.
Source: I've been in MBB SEA for 3+ years now, but have worked extensively in other parts of the world.
I really thought "SEA" was referring to Seattle...
I would have guessed as much if Jakarta/ Kuala Lumpur were not mentioned in the post :)
Like the previous poster, I'd like to caveat this by saying that my response comes from a mixture of personal experience (from the region and had an offer to join MBB in Jakarta but turned it down to do MBB elsewhere) and lots of discussions with someone who works at MBB SEA.
Compensation-wise it will make a big difference where you graduated from because there are (as the previous poster mentioned), sub analyst roles for local hires. I understand that a graduate from US, Australia or Europe will get a significantly higher salary than someone who graduated from a local university
A few years ago, the starting salary for a foreign-educated associate at MBB in Jakarta was: - 400 million rupiah (base salary) - up to 120 million rupiah for performance bonus - up to 78 million rupiah for retirement fund - 4000 USD relocation allowance - No signing bonus
With regard to staffing, I believe it's very regionally based, with a lot of work in Jakarta (at least these days). International (ie. non-SEA) opportunities may be more rare because of the fact that there tends to be a lot of work in the region (relative to the regular office capacity) so it's more likely to import rather than export consultants.
In terms of the work itself - I heard it can be pretty tough. Clients are not very 'mature buyers of consulting services' (relative to clients in US/Europe) and since they are typically family-run conglomerates, there's a different dynamic at play. I've heard a lot of stories about how clients will expect consultants to be available all the time - even calling for meetings on saturday or sunday just because he thought of an interesting idea while playing golf.
Also heard of notorious cases where a client, due to internal family politics (and maybe a twisted sense of humour fueled by a lot of cash), would hire two MBB firms at the same time to do the same exact job. I can't begin to tell you how much fun being a consultant on that case would've been...
That said, I heard the work can be really exciting - lots of opportunities to be found in a growing region afterall :)
Great comments! How about the recruiting process - resume screening criteria and interviews?
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