Does regional office location affect exit opps for McK?

I'm at a school that gets strong recruiting for MBB for a Southern office (think Miami/Dallas/Houston), and I was wondering if not being in one of the "core" cities (NYC/Boston/SF) would impact exit opps in any way. I've been told that, with McK's global staffing, the office location itself does not matter at all--so, for instance, if I was more interested in high-tech type work, I could just get staffed on the same projects as the SF/Silicon Valley folks. Is this true? What impact would this have on, say, making the jump to PE? Also, does the same apply to Bain + BCG? Search gave mixed answers.

11 Comments
 

So, given that, would you recommend taking a shot at the more competitive offices for the better/more relevant cases, or is it better to "play it safe" with the local Southern office? Does anyone else have any experience with this?

 

I am not sure about the US, but I was under the impression that once they make you an offer, you can chose your home office?

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

pretty sure thats not true in the U.S. I think you go to final rounds at your office and that office decides. You can switch offices at the offer stage, but you would have to repeat final rounds...

 

Yeah, when I was cross-offered at MBB, I wanted to switch regions at one of the places I was offered, and I had to re-interview, but it was much less strenuous, i.e. you've proven you're capable of doing the job, are you an asshole or not? I don't remember having a serious case.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of Starwood Points
 
Best Response

General comments: McK = McK, outside the firm it really doesn't matter which office you were in. On a pure numbers game, only a small % of analysts are housed in the major city offices - NYC is largest, followed by Chicago. Boston and SF offices are suprisingly small, analyst classes are fewer than 10 per year.

Exit opps: It will be easier to break into PE coming from a major city office than a regional (think Chicago, SF, NYO), but that's mostly due to proximity to the recruiting process. You also see more Chi, SF, and NYO alums simply due to the numbers game (see above).

Staffing: Despite the global staffing model (which technically exists), McKinsey is basically a feudal society. House of Lies has a somewhat accurate depiction of how it works - a partner basically has his preferred team of EMs, associates and BAs, and prefers to staff the same people over and over. Doesn't mean you'll be working with the same partner for your entire tenure, but staffing decisions is more based on who you've worked with before and who wants to work with you than any other factor.

 
freeloaderGeneral comments: McK = McK, outside the firm it really doesn't matter which office you were in. On a pure numbers game, only a small % of analysts are housed in the major city offices - NYC is largest, followed by Chicago. Boston and SF offices are suprisingly small, analyst classes are fewer than 10 per year.

Exit opps: It will be easier to break into PE coming from a major city office than a regional (think Chicago, SF, NYO), but that's mostly due to proximity to the recruiting process. You also see more Chi, SF, and NYO alums simply due to the numbers game (see above).

Staffing: Despite the global staffing model (which technically exists), McKinsey is basically a feudal society. House of Lies has a somewhat accurate depiction of how it works - a partner basically has his preferred team of EMs, associates and BAs, and prefers to staff the same people over and over. Doesn't mean you'll be working with the same partner for your entire tenure, but staffing decisions is more based on who you've worked with before and who wants to work with you than any other factor.

Given that reality, would you, in my position, take a shot at the more competitive offices (NY, Chicago, SF) for the more relevant cases/closer recruiting or "play it safe" with the local Southern office?

 
freeloaderApply to the office where you're most likely to get an interview. Getting the interview the toughest part.

Wtf, this is absolutely not true. They probably only hire one out of every 30-40 they interview. At target schools, they select around 1 out of 5 to interview.

 

Et consequatur occaecati eius ex quia. Et consequatur quisquam placeat. Commodi nesciunt quod eius non rem. Et impedit harum id. Dolores similique asperiores quibusdam libero corrupti dicta. Deserunt exercitationem enim odio impedit velit eos qui non.

Natus quaerat quo inventore. Reiciendis eum ut non dolor. Pariatur quia qui quia. Pariatur vero cumque quia. Sint qui veritatis doloribus sit. Impedit esse nisi quaerat ea velit esse. Nobis culpa error dolor aperiam quia.

Nemo qui aut cum porro possimus. Eligendi reprehenderit non pariatur expedita. Molestiae ut laudantium vel cum quia sapiente. Magnam et est deleniti et vel eos dolorem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.9%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (54) $246
  • Engagement Manager (113) $232
  • Manager (170) $173
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (116) $135
  • Senior Consultant (354) $132
  • Consultant (642) $122
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (164) $121
  • 1st Year Associate (576) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (390) $104
  • Associate Consultant (176) $101
  • 1st Year Analyst (1163) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (208) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (632) $68
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”