BCG Middle East: apply as Consultant or Senior Associate?

Question

Hi,

BCG ME has positions open for both Senior Associate (Experienced) and Consultant (Experienced), and wondering to which one I should apply. For work experience required, they say „minimum 2 years“ for SA and „minimum 4-7 years“ for C.

My profile:

- Currently workstream lead (position after first promotion) at T2 consultancy, yet officially promoted 3 months ago

- Been working overall 3+ years in that T2 consultancy and before that, 1 year at T3 consultancy

- Master‘s degree from target school, though not MBA

Thus, 4+ years work experience in total. My promotion at the T2 had been delayed by a year due to dry project pipeline, yet once the market picked up again I have been leading whole workstreams in numerous projects for the last 12 months (although „officially“ promoted to workstream lead 3 months ago).

Answer 1

Hi,

I would recommend to apply for a role at Senior Associate level. During the interview, you can discuss this in further detail and see the interviewers give the same recommendations. Starting at the lower level has the advantage of giving yourself more time to adapt to the culture, way of working and reach the requested level. In case of excellent performance, you can always accelerate the promotion path.

Kr,

Mattijs

Answer 2

Hi,

I started at Kearney, was there for ~3 years before I moved laterally to BCG.

I would suggest just going in as an SA. There are a couple of reasons why you want to start lower, if possible. The realities of making a switch are as follows:

No network
1. All the good will and reputation you have built up in your T2 firm, does not matter in BCG
2. You will have to go through the entire difficult and risky experience of building up your reputation, which can only happen through successive strong scores on projects
New ways of working
1. Even though you are working already in consulting, it will take a couple of months to ramp up and understand the dynamics and nuances of ways of working in BCG
Higher bars / expectations
1. Even though the work might be similar, the bar at BCG will be higher
Competition is higher
1. Given #1, 2, and #3, it is much harder to excel at MBB versus a T2
2. You could argue that MBA hires coming in at the Consultant level are in the same situation as you, which is true, but do note that will also be competing with home grown Associates who have spent more time there than you

Most importantly, the Consultant role is and E2E role... you will be expecting to demonstrate "mini PL" skills relatively soon.. and PL/Manager is the hardest role in consulting. What is 1 more year to build up your skills, knowledge, and network?

I took a tenure cut when I lateralled and do not regret it one bit.

All the best!

Answer 3

Hey!

Based on your experience, you could be a strong candidate for both roles, but applying as a Consultant might be more aligned with your total years of experience (4+ years). However, since your official promotion to workstream lead was recent, BCG ME might still consider you for Senior Associate. If unsure, you could apply for Consultant and let HR assess where you fit best. Having worked at BCG Dubai myself, I’d say it's worth aiming higher if you can demonstrate leadership and impact in your role. Let me know if you need help refining your application! 😊

Alessa

Answer 4

Hi there,

Q: BCG ME has positions open for both Senior Associate (Experienced) and Consultant (Experienced), and wondering to which one I should apply?

In theory, you fit the requirements for both and you might be successful with an application for a Consultant role. However, you will likely have more chances to get an offer as a Senior Associate. As mentioned by Benjamin and Mattijs, this would also allow more time to adapt to the new company and set lower expectations compared to joining as a Consultant.

If you are still not sure, you might look for a referral and ask to check internally with HR what they would recommend based on your profile. This also has the side benefit of increasing the probability of receiving an invitation.

You can find some networking tips below:

▶ How to Get an MBB Invitation

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 5

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on your career trajectory thus far!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

I would highly advise you not to overthink the situation and instead to apply for the highest position you are eligible for. If the recruiter thinks you are not senior enough for the role, they will tell you so.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming BCG application, pre-interview assessment and/or interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 6

Hey there,

It looks like you could qualify for both roles.

Depending on how strong your consulting toolkit is from your time at T2 and T3 firms, I'd recommend going in at Consulting level.

That said, I always advise speaking to recruiters about eligibility queries to get guidance on what would be the most suitable level to apply for. They are the ones going to screen you, so they would be best positioned to tell you which would be better for you

All the best