Been recruited by a competitor - stay or go?
I currently work for the consulting ("advisory") side of a Big 4 accounting firm and have been recruited and offered a job at a smaller, more boutique-y competitor (1/10th or less the size of my behemoth current employer). This is my first job out of undergrad and I have been there about 5 years. I am a relatively high performer at the senior consultant level and ready to be promoted to manager. Lately I’ve been lacking motivation in general, mostly disappointed with compensation and work that can be demanding but boring. The group I work in does fairly specialized work (not generic strategy or operational consulting), and I would be doing similar type of work if I accepted the offer. The job offer is certainly nothing to scoff at: a promotion to a management position and 30% increase in base salary, with the potential to make more through various incentive bonus programs.
My predicament is this – I do not know what I want to do for the rest of my life, and I do not know if making this move will hurt me later on if I eventually want to get out of the industry (which is likely). My current firm at least offers the possibility of trying new things if I really press for it, while in the new job I would definitely more restricted (pigeonholed?) because of the company’s structure, service offerings (lack thereof), and my newfound seniority. I am also concerned about exit opportunities by having a less prestigious name on the top of my resume, and having two jobs in an industry that I will likely ultimately end up leaving. Not that consulting at a Big 4 is especially prestigious, but the new company would definitely not have the same level of reputation or brand cachet. On the flip side, it is a formal managerial role, and I don’t hate the work. The people seem amazing, the culture would work just fine, and I would continue to develop soft skills. Diving into a new environment could be reinvigorating, and significantly better compensation is always welcome.
I have been deliberating over this for some time and am really torn. Getting a counter-offer isn’t really possible because I can’t be promoted in the middle of the year and the compensation would be out of line with my title (and blocked by HR). So, any advice would be useful. Thanks in advance!
It seems like you have thought about everything and are very well informed...at this point, you need to make the decision for yourself.
I will only point out that having a managerial position on your resume would look excellent for B-school and the 30% increase could help pay for it. Read the last few lines of the 2nd paragraph to yourself a few more times and ask yourself...."Why the fuck haven't I taken the job already, it's clear I really want to?"
Thanks, Gekko. What's really holding me back is, if I decide not to go to B-school and instead want to go straight to job #3, that job would probably not be in this line of work. It may not even be tangentially related, and I'm afraid that going for this job with a lesser-known, less "prestigious" company could hurt my resume. It could make it look like I focused on something that I wasn't really interested in.
This isn't strategy consulting and is more technical in nature, hence why business school might not be the best eventual path for me. Like I said, I am concerned about exit opportunities by putting myself into a position that could be hard to turn back from. Maybe this seems silly, but it is really bugging me. Thanks again.
Some other posters should comment, but in terms of prestige your resume is going to show mangerial experience from a company and 5 years at the more prestigious shop....it's not like you only spent a summer or a year or two at the first place. I would think a person reading the resume would see that five years and take notice.
Also, if the careers are not related wouldn't you need to get an MBA in order to transition? Do you think you could effectively transition without an MBA?
You can be promoted ANYTIME in your firm. Their deadlines and parameters are total bullshit that can always be worked around for "market adjustments" or "off-cycle promotions," etc., basically, euphemisms for "oh wait it looks like our star is going to bail unless we stop fucking him on comps and bonus."
Shop your offer to your firm and if they don't match, give them the finger. This new job IS the exit opp.
30% is a pretty serious raise... and becoming a manager is good... I'd take the new job and stay there a year or two. After that you can get an MBA and try to switch into IBD or some other, better industry.
you're right though - this is a tough call. In the end you'll have to make the choice for yourself --- from my perspective, there is no "right" answer to this really.
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