Should I move from Oliver Wyman to BCG?
I've been with Oliver Wyman FS for the past couple years. Recently I was approached by BCG, went to interview, and receive an offer. The pay is around the same. BCG has slightly more interesting work, but generally it's pretty much the same job. I've build up quite a good network and reputation in OW. Moving over to BCG would present a big uncertainty. Do you think the incremental brand value and potentially better exit ops are worth the risks?
If I was you, I'd ask my family, colleagues, friends, network, not a bunch of students/recent graduates.
Are you pre- or Post-MBA? I heard OW is quite open to promoting people without MBAs, and seems to also have a lot of young partners (at least from what I’ve seen / been exposed to).
I’m not in consulting, but how secure is your promotion to the next level if you move to BCG vs staying on at OW and getting promoted? Is a year at BCG enough time for them to assess whether they will promote you or not? That’s something to consider because if they don’t provide some guarantee (and those are really just verbal anyway), you may need to wait longer than a year. And, you need to reestablish goodwill at BCG, and is one year enough time for that?
The other thing is, when do you want to make the next jump. If it’s within two years, maybe you can just stay at OW and make the jump directly. If you go to BCG, you’ll need to stay there at least a year before considering another move. If it’s corporate side of fintech or VC (where it’s fintech focused), I don’t see any additional value from BCG vs OW that warrants needing to reestablish goodwill and possible uncertainty on promotion given you’d be the new guy coming in.
Personally, I wouldn’t move over from OW to BCG because the reputation jump in brand isn’t so material that it warrants (1) missing out on your on-track promotion, (2) needing to reestablish goodwill which you need for a promote (and this is also a function of time and exposure at the new firm). Unless you have clear, defined path to being able to work at B capital or the Digital Ventures incubator team. And they aren’t hiring you for that, so not sure how jazzed they be able having a hire that’s eyeing the exit, even if it’s to wholly owned subs. Also, Digital Ventures looks like it’s a pretty big team but B Capital is not. Both of which makes sense... VCs can run lean, corporate incubators can have a ton of different roles. My guess is between the two, it’d be easier to move to DV vs. B Capital.
Before you make a decision, are there any ex-OW folks in VCs or are startup execs you can grab coffees with? They can probably provide you with a balanced view (since they are already no longer OW, but will have also likely worked with other consultants in the ecosystem).
One additional thing to factor in is the circumstances around you being hired. Given BCG approached you, my guess is there is a particular need for your skill-set at that office (or possibly firm-wide). For instance, they may have a lot of upcoming FS projects in the pipeline and/or looking to build their FS practice.
If this is the case, it could lead to a lot of great opportunities for you as you'd be helping build the firm's client base and [presumably] working on a lot of great projects.
I think the best way to assess this is to imagine BCG was Deloitte or some other firm without the cache of the name. If you would still make the move then do it, otherwise don't. Prestige to me has less and less allure over time, especially since I have seen it doesn't have a really strong correlation to compensation and success.
As much as people love prestige in the consulting world, the reality is there are top-notch professionals at every major consulting firm and you can carve out great exit opportunities almost anywhere if you have the motivation and performance to back it up.
As an example, some of the best exit opps I have seen at my firm FTI are drop-in operational improvement roles for PE firms, C-level roles at middle market portfolio companies and other interesting roles that don't have any real cache or prestige behind them but still are really great seven figure exits.
I would ask yourself if there are any doors you are closing for yourself by remaining in the FS practice at OW that would be opened by moving to BCG. If it's just about the prestige of having BCG on your resume, I would think hard about whether that is worth giving up the network and the rep you have built at your current firm and with current clients.