BCG incoming associate/consultant delayed start date (NA)
It seems that BCG has pushed back start dates (NA, A and C) by 1-4 months based on a lottery system. Does anyone have more information on this? This seems very concerning if true. Any news for Bain or Mck?
Copy and paste from fishbowl -
"BCG has also been growing at the fastest clip among this group, which is surprising given Bain's much smaller size. If I were to guess, BCG has been sacrificing margins for top line growth, and that works in an expansive environment. BCG's practice focus areas don't help either. McKinsey has a growing turnaround practice and its operations/implementation arm is well known; additionally it's still the primary choice for public sector consulting both here and abroad. Bain's been more careful about geographic expansion, and I guess its PE practice would still stay busy with funds getting ready to snatch up companies on the cheap."
Things are hard to judge right now but hopefully this does not become a trend....
Yeah seems like BCG has really shot itself in the foot. No stipend either unless you're almost 6 months delayed. Even Accenure is giving 11k for a few months delay.
This...
> BCG has been sacrificing margins for top line growth
Doesn't jive with this...
> McKinsey has a growing turnaround practice and its operations/implementation arm is well known
The answer is that both BCG and McK have been dipping deeper down market with a fair amount of aggression in recent years. Yes it's lower margin, but it's also more stable and relatively countercyclical - not a bad place to be in given the current economic environment, where significantly pro-cyclical and significantly less diversified players like LEK and to a much lesser extent, Bain may struggle . Consider it more of a diversification play, less of a margin dilution vs. growth play.
> BCG's practice focus areas don't help either.
BCG practice area focus is quite diversified, just very regional. Can't really make statements like this.
> guess its PE practice would still stay busy with funds getting ready to snatch up companies on the cheap
PE is quite dead right now, relatively. It's a short but incredibly sharp shock. Expect it to pick up hard with depressed asset prices once we see a light at the end of the market tunnel, but asset price uncertainty, market direction uncertainty, unstable debt markets, and distressed portfolios make it hard to do deals right now - making it a difficult practice area focus.
Great points! I think this forum definitely has a anti-BCG bias (and overly pro-Mck imo). Completely agree on the PE deal flow. The debt markets are still locked up and sellers are not willing to sell at these valuations. However, I disagree that downmarket is more stable in this current market - at least it depends on what you mean by downmarket. Yes, tax and audit are very stable but MBB does none of that. Implementation consulting, on the other hand, has experienced serious cuts. Personally, I know Deloitte's salesforce and dynamics practices have huge bench sizes right now. Implementation arms at the other B4 are also struggling. From what I have seen (and heard), strategy is actually doing much better than downstream implementation. McK and BCG may be different since I believe they interact with C-levels at the client side but still.
They basically randomly select how long until you begin working, with no regard to preference or circumstance apparently. You won't get any compensation unless it's for 4 months or more (as an undergrad at least). The only stopped they offer, even for MBA's, if you are delayed enough, is only 20-25% of your salary for that time period.
This is absurd.
No one is being delayed by more than 4 months.
Undergrads delayed by more than 2 months are being paid a stipend, which is $10k for those delayed by 4 months and (I believe) $4k-$5k for those delayed by 3 months.
Feeling sorry for the incoming BCG guys. Far worse deal to get this than no FT offers like Bain. Wonder what’s really going on behind be curtain here. Heard they’re not hiring FT MBAs at a number of normally high priority campuses as well this year
I think the incoming class should be relatively ok. A few months delay is suboptimal but it seems like no offers will be rescinded. For some international students, this may be pretty terrible, however, as the visa situation is already a shitshow. I am also more worried about the class recruiting for 2021 positions. As the comment above mentioned, it seems like an uphill battle.
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Feeling bad for internationals, this could really screw their visa. At my MBA business schools">M7 seems like pretty much everyone from BCG got some sort of delay, even internationals
Can not believe that a firm like BCG would treat internationals this way.
I'm incoming McK full-time and got a call this morning that I'm being pushed back two months from early summer to end of summer. No stipend, not that I was expecting one.
Do you guys see this being a problem for people in Class of 2021 FT? How? Would this make you reconsider signing with BCG for 2021 FT? Like should one recruit for McKinsey or Bain because the client mix seems more recession-resilient there? Are Co2021 start dates going to be potentially affected by people starting this late for Co2020?
McKinsey is also delaying start dates. If you ignore all the over-reactions, BCG and Mck have so far made very similar moves -- full time offers for interns, 1-4 month delay for FTs.
In terms of applying, of course you should apply to all 3 MBBs, and I'd suggest even the T2s. The chances of getting into an MBB are so slim that If you're applying only to Mck and Bain because of a few comments on the internet, you're seriously shooting yourself in the foot.
This comment is so sensible, it made me forget where I was.
A lot of assumptions there. McKinsey also delayed start dates and we don't know what Bain will do. It is hard to say which firm is more "recession-resilient." They are all great, they will all come out of this stronger. Apply to all - if you get multiple offers, you can decide then.
I just had my job offer for September 2020 rescinded by LEK in London (consultant position, MBA cohort) over the phone.
That give everyone a good idea of Tier 1 who called to confirm their offer (McK) and Tier 2 that didn’t (LEK)