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Obviously biased here but let’s imagine everyone at both firms was given the same choice when recruiting - would you rather spend the next 2-4 years working with people who care more about culture or prestige?
D4 speaking of time off ... BCG3 speaking about the sustainability program at BCG called PTO
Both McK and BCG have satisfied employees in part because of self-selection as it relates to culture. Many BCG people strongly prefer BCG over McKinsey and vice-versa.
From your posts, I think the McK culture will suit you.
Culture is everything in consulting, at least if you want to stay more than two years. You’ll be spending a lot of time with these folks. Don’t fool yourself.
We are so much more similar than we are different, when you compare to any other institution. You will do wonderfully at either. And both are truly special places.
I’d be wary of people ardently stereotyping either firm, or pointing out differences. Most such comments are grounded only in a limited handful of experiences or stories. Very few people in here have well-calibrated knowledge of both (eg have been a partner at both or a partner at one with partner friends at the other).
There are indeed meaningful differences between the two firms, but they are subtle (when compared to other companies) and not really meaningful to your choice (ie to the prospects and experiences of a new hire). More relevant to your experience are the specific offices you have offers from vs the firms themselves. Share those and you may get some more specific and useful responses.
Go with the best fit culturally. If that means BCG, then myself and many others will be very excited. If it means McK, then go there and we wish you the best.
At the end of the day though, consultants work long hours. For your time as a consultant, the majority of the hours of your life are spent around coworkers. If you like the culture, then you will enjoy your time, and as a result, be way more successful. If you don’t like the culture, you will burn out easily. Then it doesn’t matter where you get staffed because you only gave it 70% of what you have.
That’s my opinion. As a good consultant, I will give it now step away and let you make your decision. I will DM you my invoice 🤣
I doubt there’s any difference in BA responsibility at McK vs BCG lol
Global staffing model just means you will likely not see your team again after project is done and therefore team is less incentivized to help you develop
@mck 6 can’t speak for bain but our college grads are treated the same as post MBAs too
Sounds like you’ve made your choice - go to McK. FWIW I had both offers as well and picked the people I connected with better. No regrets - interpersonal dynamics define your career in a people focused businesses
that makes sense and is a good point - fit with people in my home office matters not just from a happiness pov.. not just because if possible projects with them... but also because of relationships that affect evaluation placement etc. while I can't neccesarily index on the ppl I have projects with ...given the size of the offices I've applied to... fit at sell weekends can help me index on at least office fit which can affect that evaluation placement etc.
but I feel like culture can be so variable though.. and depend project to project ..interaction to interaction and choosing for something so soft could be something I regret should the going get rough given McKinseys other edfes . both firms have 90 percent plus people satisfied - isn't it naive to say I'd be one who is an exception to that?
McKinseys advantages are very tangible: it seems much harder to get staffed on industries ones office isn't good at at BCG(which is important to me given my home office isn't good at the industries I'm most interested in - this home office has to be mine bc of the health of my parents/family) ; mck has much more prestige / worth in public sector than BCG; mck has significantly stronger alum in the industry I'm most interested in
BCG culture is shockingly similar around the world
I know this is a stressful choice, but trust all of us when we say you can’t go wrong either way ☺️☺️
I had the same choice last year — I actually felt that McK had better culture (though I think this is very office-specific). Happy to chat more in the DMs; “prestige” was not a factor for me though and it hardly makes a diff if you’re at McK or BCG for anyone else.
Ultimately the reality at either company is that if you are a top performer, you will get to do what you want. If you are shit, you get stuck on shit projects
If your goal is to use consulting as a stepping stone to get into w.e industry you're interested in then McK seems like a better choice, but if you prioritize your experience working I wouldn't discount the culture-fit aspect of it.
Go with who pays you more. They’re just different shades of the same color. In your position, you shouldn’t have too much of a barrier to hop from one to the other