Oliver Wyman London vs Bain in Continental Europe
Hi guys,
I am a graduate student from a London target uni, originally from a small western European country. I know for sure that I want to do consulting, and my ideal consulting job would involve broad exposure to different sectors, lots of travel and decent exit opps to PE (since this is most likely what I want to do long term). I went through FT recruiting in London, interviewed with BCG and Oliver Wyman (both final round) and got an offer from OW. Since I realised OW may be a bit too focused on Financial Services for me, I decided to apply to McKinsey and BCG in my home country. I interviewed with both (final rounds) but got an offer from neither of them.
Currently, I am pondering whether I should just take OW and go for it, or interview with Bain in my home country as well. I could directly proceed to the second round interviews at Bain because I participated in special recruitment events before, but I feel pretty burnt out and not too confident due to the recent McK / BCG rejections. My considerations are: - The Bain office in my home country does a lot of PE work (which I likely), but the staffing model is very local (so no travel) and the set of industries is fairly limited as the office is quite small there; - I'd like to work / live in London for a bit, which OW would allow me to do. I also feel that a gig in London would strengthen my cv vs going back to my home country; - I'm okay with FS work but I'm not really into risk or insurance - at least not for the majority of my work, and I fear OW would be very risk / insurance / FS heavy; - Ultimately, I'd like to go to McK or BCG in my home country, or MBB in London (Bain bcs wider set of industries / more travel / better exit opps from London office); - Bain told me I can ask them for the 2nd round interview at any time, so I'm considering keeping it as an 'insurance option' if I don't like OW, or get some experience (1 - 1.5 yrs) in London and then move back to my home country.
My questions are: 1) Am I thinking about this in the right way? Would a gig in London actually be a plus over a gig in another European country, or does nobody care about which office you work at?
2) How hard would it be to lateral to MBB in London from OW? And if possible, how long should I wait before making the move? Would 1 - 1.5 years ast OW be okay?
3) Could I re-apply to McK / BCG in my home country, and if so how long should I wait? I have 6 months to my OW start date + 3 since applications to McK/BCG, so I worked at OW for 15 months that would be 2 years since I applied. Would that be long enough? And could I credibly leverage the fact I worked at OW in London?
Thanks a lot for your answers.
Regards, a confused grad student...
I agree with Zuggsberg here. You are overthinking a hypothethical situation, take the interview.
You are overestimating your chances. Selection is as strict as for BCG/McK. Yes, you directly proceed to the second round, but you will face a more elaborate second round than if you follow the traditional route. It doesn't improve your chances; the fact that you directly move to the second round is just used as a marketing tool.
PM if you have specific Qs; I may be able to provide you with more information as a alumn if I have assessed your home country correctly.
If they really mean that you can go at any time, I would take OW London for the following reasons:
you get "London" on your CV and its networking opportunities straight off the bat. If you want London PE exits, I'd say it's always easier to already be in town than to have to convince them to put the extra effort to bring in someone from Lisbon, Milan or Brussels when they have so many kids 15 minutes on the Tube.
You already have a potential "return ticket" to your home country via the local Bain interview. If you decide that you want to go home but OW doesn't get you there, or you like consulting but don't like dealing with banks and insurers, then it's an easy next step.
You can call them up within a year, which is a shorter period to leave than if you were pursuing a more conventional exit.
You said you're burnt out from interviews and not feeling so confident. If you're not in your best shape, why waste this "last bullet" when you could use it 12 months later, with more confidence thanks to your performance on the job?