Oliver Wyman London vs Bain in Continental Europe
Hi guys,
I am a graduate student from a London target uni, originally from a small western European country. I know for sure that I want to do consulting, and my ideal consulting job would involve broad exposure to different sectors, lots of travel and decent exit opps to PE (since this is most likely what I want to do long term).
I went through FT recruiting in London, interviewed with BCG and Oliver Wyman (both final round) and got an offer from OW. Since I realised OW may be a bit too focused on Financial Services for me, I decided to apply to McKinsey and BCG in my home country. I interviewed with both (final rounds) but got an offer from neither of them.
Currently, I am pondering whether I should just take OW and go for it, or interview with Bain in my home country as well. I could directly proceed to the second round interviews at Bain because I participated in special recruitment events before, but I feel pretty burnt out and not too confident due to the recent McK / BCG rejections.
My considerations are:
- The Bain office in my home country does a lot of PE work (which I likely), but the staffing model is very local (so no travel) and the set of industries is fairly limited as the office is quite small there;
- I'd like to work / live in London for a bit, which OW would allow me to do. I also feel that a gig in London would strengthen my cv vs going back to my home country;
- I'm okay with FS work but I'm not really into risk or insurance - at least not for the majority of my work, and I fear OW would be very risk / insurance / FS heavy;
- Ultimately, I'd like to go to McK or BCG in my home country, or MBB in London (Bain bcs wider set of industries / more travel / better exit opps from London office);
- Bain told me I can ask them for the 2nd round interview at any time, so I'm considering keeping it as an 'insurance option' if I don't like OW, or get some experience (1 - 1.5 yrs) in London and then move back to my home country.
My questions are:
1) Am I thinking about this in the right way? Would a gig in London actually be a plus over a gig in another European country, or does nobody care about which office you work at?
2) How hard would it be to lateral to MBB in London from OW? And if possible, how long should I wait before making the move? Would 1 - 1.5 years ast OW be okay?
3) Could I re-apply to McK / BCG in my home country, and if so how long should I wait? I have 6 months to my OW start date + 3 since applications to McK/BCG, so I worked at OW for 15 months that would be 2 years since I applied. Would that be long enough? And could I credibly leverage the fact I worked at OW in London?
Thanks a lot for your answers.
Regards,
a confused grad student...
Hey man, firstly congrats on the offer from OW - great firm. Tough luck about the McK and BCG rejection but shit happens. When you say small country in Western Europe I'm thinking Belgium, Portugal or something along those lines - if it's that then they're still good markets, if its Andorra then perhaps you have to think twice about it. The Bain brand name is clearly better as you know and even if you would like to live in London, unless time is an issue I would take the Bain interview. If you get the job in your home country you can always ask for a transfer to another after 1-1.5 years (e.g. the London office). Both will have solid PE exits but the compromise is Bain will be better for the name but with OW in London you will be closer to them and can network more.
OW is very FS focused and even if you don't mind it, unless you like it it'll burn you out in 12 months. I get the travel thing and that Bain has a local staffing model but if you could lateral to another office with more travel after a year you would only be delaying that by a year.
Are there other T2 firms you've considered e.g. RB, ATK or LEK? Are there any sectors you like in particular? What language skills do you have?
Thanks for your reply G-I the pharma guy! When I said 'small Western European market' I meant more like Belgium than like Andorra, so the market / country itself is still decent. The issue is more that Bain is not very big and diverse (yet) in this market than the market in itself being too small.
Re other T2 firms: I have applied to RB and ATK as well for London FT recruiting, but didn't get through to the interview stage there. I didn't apply to any T2 firms in my home country since I would probably prefer my offer at OW over those firms. Re industries: I would like to see as many different industries as possible, but if anything I'd have a slight preference for healthcare/energy/retail/industrial goods, and re capabilities PE/CF. I believe OW has a decent presence in energy, healthcare, transport and retail in its London office (besides very heavy FS presence of course). Do you know if this is true? My languages skills are fluent in English/Dutch, almost fluent in German, so-so in French.
I am considering working in London for (a bit over) one year and then moving to Bain in my home country (if I get the offer of course). How do you think this would be viewed? And do you think I'd still benefit from my work experience at OW in that case, or would I have to start over from scratch / first year AC again?
Ok, so the market isn't small which is good. Perhaps see if you can also apply to LEK in London as they have a strong presence in Healthcare and other sectors - the only downside is travel is limited and ~60% of the work is DD. The German helps with DACH region applications and a lot of German speakers from my course (also a London target) got MBB jobs in DACH so perhaps this could be a Plan B. The OW offer is still solid and you could do 1-1.5 years there before moving or re-applying to MBB. What I suggest is try and get staffed on as many different industry projects as possible at OW (avoid only finance, so actively voice an interest for certain sectors) and then you could apply to MBB London. I don't think you would start from 0; doing 1.5 years as an OW analyst could help you land a MBB associate role.
Bain in your home country isn't a bad idea but remember that due to the local staffing model you will most likely be staffed on industries strong in that country e.g. In Portugal you would rarely see a pharma/biotech project or a heavy FS project whilst in Scandinavia many projects would be based around Energies. Take a look at what industries your country is strong in and consider those.
Why don't you take the Bain interview and then start worrying about any of this? They're definitely not easier than the other MBB to interview with, so your considerations are pretty hypothetical to put it that way. If you manage to land Bain in your home country its an easy sell though in my opinion, unless you have a personal reason to stay in London I'd say; as already said it'd give you a clearly better brand, projects and exit opps.
I agree with Zuggsberg here. You are overthinking a hypothethical situation, take the interview.
You are overestimating your chances. Selection is as strict as for BCG/McK. Yes, you directly proceed to the second round, but you will face a more elaborate second round than if you follow the traditional route. It doesn't improve your chances; the fact that you directly move to the second round is just used as a marketing tool.
PM if you have specific Qs; I may be able to provide you with more information as a alumn if I have assessed your home country correctly.
If they really mean that you can go at any time, I would take OW London for the following reasons:
you get "London" on your CV and its networking opportunities straight off the bat. If you want London PE exits, I'd say it's always easier to already be in town than to have to convince them to put the extra effort to bring in someone from Lisbon, Milan or Brussels when they have so many kids 15 minutes on the Tube.
You already have a potential "return ticket" to your home country via the local Bain interview. If you decide that you want to go home but OW doesn't get you there, or you like consulting but don't like dealing with banks and insurers, then it's an easy next step.
You can call them up within a year, which is a shorter period to leave than if you were pursuing a more conventional exit.
You said you're burnt out from interviews and not feeling so confident. If you're not in your best shape, why waste this "last bullet" when you could use it 12 months later, with more confidence thanks to your performance on the job?
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