Hi Everyone - need some advice. Currently I'm at one of the Big 4 doing M&A consulting (think KPMG M&A, PwC DDV, EY OTS), primarily doing post-merger integration type work. Recently received an offer from a boutique firm (~35 people) and I'm not sure if I should take it or not. The work seems more interesting, with the boutique company focused on Growth Strategy work (CDD, market expansion, benchmarking, etc) for MM PE firms and F500 companies versus the implementation work I'm currently doing. Additionally, I'd no longer be on the road 4 days/week, with the boutique firm typically traveling only at the beginning and end of the project.
Bottom line, would it be worth it to give up the brand name for the more interesting work? Another thing to consider is that I graduated from business school in May and have only been working in my current role since late-summer, so I'm not sure how bad it would look jumping ship this soon.
I appreciate all the advice!
Don’t think about how it looks. It’s the big4. People come and go, that’s just business as usual for them. In the end, you’re responsible for your career.
I’ve been in a similar situation as you. What helped me to decide is asking different questions:
Where do you see yourself in 3-5-10 years?
What’s important for you in a job? Do you mind the traveling? Do you enjoy the competition in a big firm?
Why would you go to this other firm? Can you get the same thing at your current firm? I.e. if you want to do a different type of project, maybe you can get an internal transfer
If you’d make the jump, what would you have to give up? (E.g. having a clearly defined career path at a big company vs the (probably) flat structure of a boutique)
The first question is the most important one. It decides what is going to be important in your decision and what the best way forward is for you.
Thanks for the advice! Out of curiosity, what did you decide to do?
Ultimately, I think I'd like to stay in consulting for a few years, and then try to make the jump to corporate development/corporate strategy role, with the dream scenario being a role at a VC/PE firm (LMM range). While I don't mind the travel, my wife and I would like to start a family in the near future and while she's ok with the long hours, the travel makes it tough.
I think I'm looking at other firms because the teams are smaller and I'd play a larger role on the engagements, and the work is more focused on CDD/growth type of work, versus the implementation/project management work that I'm currently doing. You bring up a good point though, that one concern is the defined career path that I currently have versus the more flat structure at the boutique - I'm not sure what their career path looks like and how that would affect me from a responsbility/pay/management standpoint.
Thanks again for the advice! Any other opinions?
Great advice above and at the end of the day you have to do what’s right for you and the family, but my thought if you want to move out of consulting long term would be to stick it out with the name brand. Hard to say without knowing more about the boutique, but if you want to move into another role I would prioritize where you think you can get the best exit opportunity and stay/go there. If you wanted to stay in consulting long term then the travel is a big factor, but for ~2 years I’m not sure if that’s worth moving.
I decided to stay at my current firm. I contacted some friends who work at the firm I was considering. In the end the work wouldn’t be significantly different (even though it seemed that way at first).
When I move to another firm or another job, I want to make sure that I’m moving towards my goals. This wouldn’t have been the case if I made the jump. I’m considering getting an MBA or moving abroad for a few years in the future. This would be more difficult if I’m moving to another firm where I don’t have an established reputation & network.
I work on the PE/M&A team for a boutique firm that specializes in the middle market. No Big 4 experience, but over half my company comes from Deloitte/BAH/Accenture/PwC and they note several key differences, though some are certainly firm-dependent.
Hope this helps. Best of luck in the decision.
Thank you so much for the advice/insight! I've definitely noticed some of your points at my firm. I think #6 is one of the reasons I'm considering the jump; while, I am working to get on projects that align with my interests, I feel like this would be easier at a smaller firm, especially when they specialize in the type of work I'm interested in.
May I ask how did you receive this offer from a boutique shop? Did you apply while you started the current position?
From personal experience, I'm a bit leery of boutiques, at least in the IT space (I don't have experience with M&A). I left Deloitte in 2015 for a small (
If you consider income stability and lifestyle predictability as your main drivers (based on the fact you think about having kids soon), PMI Big4 work is a winner hands down.
On Big4 side: - PMI projects tend to last several months, you can better plan your holidays and workload - they give you a hands-on experience on how companies operate (invaluable if you move in the future to a P&L role in industry, or in PE/value creation) - defined career path - more likely to have a stable and broad project pipeline - working >2 years means your peer competition will decrease (attrition) - all above at cost of less than exciting work.
Key considerations for a boutique: - 35 FTEs means that a loss of a one/two projects threatens firm profitability - more susceptible to adverse market conditions (i.e. crisis comes, pipeline dries up immediately) - your career is in a hands of a one/two people - you fall out of grace, you're done - more financial upside short term - all above with a probably more exciting work and better team experience.
Thank you for this! As it turns out, I decided to stick with the Big4 firm (for now) and I think you hit on a lot of the things I thought about. I definitely appreciate the defined career path and more stable pipeline of work at the Big4 and the job stability is a major factor for me, given the income/family drivers.
Out of curiosity, how likely is a PE/value creation exit? Also, any tips for getting on more due diligence/value creation type projects?
If this is EY OTS, which is now part of Parthenon- you should definitely stay. You can get way better exits.
What sort of exits would they be able to get?
Depends on your coverage team within EY-P but you will see former Parthenon people head to MBB, Corp Strat/Dev, IB (across spectrum bb/mm), LMM/MM PE, and MBA business schools">M7/T10 MBA most commonly.
I should backtrack a little bit though, OTS was just folded into Parthenon so we haven't seen those exits yet. The pre-parthenon OTS exits I see are primarily T2 Strategy and MBB, with some corp strat sprinkled in.
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