McKinsey Transformation vs A&M Rx Offer Choice Advice

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Interested. Bumping for you:)

Personally I’d start at McKinsey for the more versatile brand name. Especially if you think you might want to move to PE after, having a prestigious brand on your resume is a must for a lot of shops. McKinsey also gives you the added flexibility of being able to exit more broadly if you decide you don’t want to be in restructuring long term, and it’s grad school placement will be much better if that’s something you care about. Comp isn’t as good as A&M, but I’m confident that moving from RTS to a restructuring shop 2-3 years down the road would be relatively straightforward. 
 

That being said, A&M is a great company and no means the ‘wrong choice’ if you find that it appeals to you more than RTS

I don’t know much about the differences in projects and experience, but I got the sense from previous research when I was interested in the space that RTS’s pipeline would have a bit more of a lean towards ‘transformation’ projects that have bit more of a strategy consulting flavor or component but in a distressed context, rather than just pure bankruptcy-oriented work. For example, I imagine they sell some projects that are debtor restructuring mandates with ‘long term strategic planning’ components tacked on. That’s worth fact checking me on though  

McKinsey much better name the Alvarez. Seems like an easy choice if the offers for comp are similar.

Interesting choices. #1 of the MBB vs arguably #1 within RX consulting. You actually see MBB leave to A&M and much of that space has been formed by former MBBers. So if RX is definitely where you want to stay, hard to pass up A&M. McK gives you tons of optionality. Really can't go wrong. The turnaround stuff is intriguing. Would give you great experience to be an operator within the PE Portco space. Different role than an investor but imagine turning around multiple distressed companies and getting some carry in that pursuit. A&M places quite well on the League Tables. Where does Mck fit in? I would seek out individuals who are presently in a role that you desire several yrs in and see how they got there. If it's in the RX / Turnaround space (either consulting or as an operator or within PE) may be one of the rare times to not choose McK.

FTI, A&M, and AlixPartners are the top 3 for restructuring consulting. Just because it's McKinsey doesn't mean its the better place to be for RX consulting. 

Here's a WSO thread on A&M which includes comp discussions. 

https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/how-is-am-perceived-in-the-indus…

Thanks all! I really appreciate this insight. 

Would probably go with Mck, we're all super young in our careers and don't know where we'll be 100% into the future. Would go to Mck's practice even with how great A&M's RX exposure is. 

Show me a league table with Mck crushing it in RX consulting? While they may have a RX practice, and as seen elsewhere on the forum, it's almost undisputed that Alix, FTI, and A&M are the de-facto top 3 RX consulting firms. 

Out of Court League Table: 

Debtor Engagements - https://pipeline.thedeal.com/leaguetables/outofcourt

Creditor Engagements - https://pipeline.thedeal.com/leaguetables/outofcourt

Bankruptcy League Tables:

https://pipeline.thedeal.com/leaguetables/bankruptcy

Edit: links are working properly, but you can search for yourself to see.

I've worked at both MBB and A&M and agree with the comments above. McK will keep doors open and has unmatched name recognition for consulting. A&M likely pays better, especially with its bonus structure. It's also more respected in its niche. If you want to do more strategic work, pick McK, and if you want more operational / financial work pick A&M. Can't really go wrong, but I'd probably pick McK to keep your options open

Go to McKinsey. If you were post-MBA with years of experience then totally different, but the reality is as confident as you may be now about RX, that can and tbh likely will change. Very rarely do we get it right on the first try. McKinsey has arguably the best name in business. Just take it and don’t look back.

I'm in a&m restructuring  team however would recommend McKinsey. No doubt we are better at RX but everyone tells me their training experience was better at other firms. I think this is a good place to lateral to mid / late career rather than try be a homegrown analyst to MD. Plus I don't like our split with corporate / PE performance improvement whilst it seems at McK this would be one team?

Btw dont be fooled by our promise of massive bonuses. Project work really slow so no chance to get the good utilisation to get the bonus. McK no doubt has better base