Bain & Company To MBB fish, how do you like the people you work with? There’s a stereotype that the MBB culture is cut-throat and people can be unnecessarily aggressive. No offense but most of those I met in social settings gave me a generally arrogant vibe too. I’m looking to apply to MBB from Tech consulting, but wonder if I’d fit in their cultures. McKinsey & Company Bain & Company Boston Consulting Group
Not been my experience. Vast majority of people pretty friendly, helpful, and on the whole mostly humble. Sometimes can be a little elitist talking about hotels, flights, etc. but not tons.
my god I miss being elitist and talking about points and hotels and flights
Rising Star
I find people take themselves too seriously and project a facade of “everything is ok” — they’re not stressed out, this place isn’t political, your managers care about you, etc. If you don’t snap to reality quickly, you’ll get slaughtered.
If you find the right group of people, it can be a blast. I’m in aerospace and defense with a bunch of irreverent jokers for teammates and ex-military case leadership with actual life perspective. We get our work done, play the game, and have a good time.
Chief
Everyone is type A - no has patience - this manifests itself in “aggressive” behavior. If this is problematic to you - I’d think twice before making the leap.
Rising Star
If you get handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Our clients pay us (our respective firms) a lot of money so we better deliver
Rising Star
I think evaluating the work culture is a fair question when seeking opportunities. I’d be more interested in why you’d want to go from Tech consulting to a place like MBB. Do you want to do more Strategy work or continue with Tech? If the latter, I’d choose a firm that has a long-standing history of tech projects, deepen my tech skills (especially cloud) then exit.
Like Deloitte🤣
Reading this post I think I should join MBB... this is who I am haha
Yikes
Chief
Same as any other firm, more or less
Doesn’t seem too different from the company I came from
Where did you work before McKinsey and which practice are you in now?
People are my favourite aspect of McK. There’s a couple of bad apples you avoid after working with them once, but my experience on people’s kindness, openness, the level of collaboration and general (often very silly) fun in team environments easily overwhelms the 1-2 arrogant jerks I met and have successfully avoided since. Might also be regional, we’re pretty easygoing here in CE
Fellow ex-tech consulting guy here. I think the stakes are much higher with MBB work. Mught be the nature of the work or the fact we charge so much more for our services that we need to prove its worth it. That in turn creates more stress than I ever saw in my prior role. I think at Bain there are a lot of good people, but enough ones who come across poorly that makes me think in general, MBB people just aren't as nice to work for as those in other corporates. (I'm speaking mostly about managers / partners)
Thanks everyone for sharing! I’m really interested in the types of work, learning opportunities and exit opportunities that MBB have to offer, so will definitely apply. I’m not aggressive by nature but i’m outgoing and driven. Just curious to see if I’d need to act tough to get past the interviews or fit in.
Is Bain as aggressive & Type A as McKinsey?
Nah probably not. I feel like everyone’s trying their best ya know