Oliver Wyman 2020 reputation
Hello,
I can't seem to find too much info on OW as of recently. I'm just wondering how it compares to MBB in 2020, especially in terms of exit opps and comp. Also would love to hear about the culture there and lifestyle. Lastly, if anyone knows anything about OW's recruiting with regards to COVID-19 that would be helpful as well. Thanks for any input.
Comp is similar for first 2-3 years, then gap opens at Associate level and widens considerably at EM/Principal. Exit opps are good (midsize/large startups, financial institutions, MBA, etc) but seem driven more from personal searches than constant recruiter reach outs/exit support network that may be at MBB. Hours will typically be in the 55-65/week range; average project would be something like 9-9/10 M-Th and 9-5/6 F. Very strong culture, with main differentiating factors being: industry focus (most projects in financial services/healthcare/aviation/etc), tendency to specialize earlier, and focus on growing talent from analyst to partner (leading to the relative lower focus on exit opps, MBA, etc.)
I turned down an offer from them because the comp was much lower than Strategy& (like 20%) This was last year so it could have changed. I’m also post-MBA which I know is not a huge recruiting priority for them.
would you have taken the offer if comp had been similar to S&? Why or why not?
It’s tough to say. I think both are roughly equivalent in terms of prestige, exits etc. People that say otherwise are probably just cheering for the home team. I liked the culture a little bit more at OW (more intellectual, more of a pure consulting firm), but I would have had to specialize in my pre-MBA industry...I dodged a bullet there because that industry got decimated by COVID... overall, I would say OW is rather biased towards its undergrad hires so sensible advice would be: S& if you are an MBA or experienced hire; OW if you’re an undergrad.
MBA base pay was about 5% lower at OW than S& this year
how does Deloitte compare to OW and strategy& out of undergrad?
I think once you get out of MBB there are 8 or so firms that compete with each other that I would call roughly in the same tier. I would include the Big 4 Strategy Shops and the traditional tier 2s in this mix. I think again people will cheer for the home team and tell you that LEK is SO much more prestigious than Deloitte because it does “strategy”. In terms of Deloitte specifically, it was once considered at the top of this sub-MBB group and some people were (somewhat jokingly) using the acronym MBBD, but it seems like they have fallen off a bit in terms of reputation because of a recent re-organization and more draconian COVID economy measures than some peers.
LEK is a Due Diligence machine... a friend of mine there did 8 DD projects and 1 strategy project in his first year, and from what he told me that’s the norm in his EU office.
I know a couple people this year who got their summer offers cancelled because of COVID. Sucked because this was through OW's diversity channel as well, so they had these offers locked in since May of sophomore year. Not sure if these cancellations were also true of MBB, but definitely sucked for them to recruit again so close to summer.
Were these guys offered compensation or ft offers in place or just purely cancelled?
All would-be interns were given guaranteed FT offers but (pretty certain) no compensation for the cancelled internship or option for a virtual one
Hello all- hope you’re all safe and well! I am no expert whatsoever, and the following is just what I’ve gathered off my own research and conversations with current consultants in the industry (including MBB) as someone interested in management consulting. It seems Oliver Wyman is the most “prestigious” consulting firm after MBB (especially in terms of growth in the last few years, exit opps including but not limited to VC/PE if that is of importance to you, and how they compete directly with MBB for a lot of the “sexy strategy projects”). In addition, there’s been other forums and AMAs on WSO, reddit etc...with interesting facts about OW also trying to address the lack of info as you mentioned. There is some really cool insight on different metrics (such as revenue per employee with MBB and OW leading the way-obviously not sure how reliable the numbers are, but it’s interesting to hear either way since it shows how they have higher fees in general which apparently relates to the type of work these firms focus on/how clients are willing to pay their higher fees; and this seems to be true according to what I have learned from people in the industry. In terms of upcoming recruiting, they will be in the process of recruiting; and it seems multiple firms are (not sure how the potential number of spots will be affected because of COVID-19)...but in general consulting firms hire a lot of full-times (again it’s difficult to say how recruiting will play out because of COVID-19, and how the process will differ for undergrad recruiting and MBA recruiting). Furthermore, other firms such as Strategy&, LEK and what people call “T2” firms etc...are also very reputable, prestigious firms that work on cool “sexy” projects from what I have heard from people in the industry. To be honest, these are all very prestigious firms; and they all pay very well (I am not too sure about direct compensation comparisons...the “management consulted website” has some numbers, and it appears that a lot of these top firms are offering around the same ranges of compensation). That being said, focusing on culture/fit/happiness should always be a top priority, and this is something that many people underestimate...have some close friends and family in the industry and the burnout is real. Hope this helps! :)
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