Boutique firm offer vs MBB interview

Hi,

I guess this would depend on your personal goals and expectations. 

I faced a similar situation, signed an offer for a T2 just a month before the interview process invite came in for an MBB. I decided at that time to not renege and focus on doing well at the T2 first.

But depending on your personal context, it may make more sense to just start with this job and then just take the interview anyway. 

• Pros: If you get an MBB offer, the MBB offer will really be a no-brainer to accept as well
• Cons: Risk of burning the bridge with this boutique firm (but you should weigh this against MBB offer)

Hi there,

1) Can I pause it somehow (I passed the tests and had a mock interview)?

You might be able to pause it depending on the office. If you want to check it, I would recommend reaching out to HR. On the other hand, you could also go forward and negotiate a later start date if you want to have some experience with the boutique.

 2) What would be the expected starting dates or what can I request, given that I want to spend some time at the boutique firm?  Or should I just postpone my jump to MBB..?

Normally you can postpone the starting date by a few months (in my case it was around 6), however that’s not always possible. Whether you should postpone or not depends on several factors and personal preferences so it is difficult to provide a specific answer without more context.

Good luck!

Francesco

Just remember, big organisations can and will replace you in a second. You are just a worker to them so do what’s best for you.

You may burn bridges if you get an MBB offer but you are also going to a company that opens so many more doors. I would take the T2 offer and still interview with MBB. 

Hi there,

if you want to spend some time at the boutique firm, you should probably just try to pause the MBB process and revisit that in a year or so. 

On the other hand, you could go ahead and try your luck. If you get an offer, you should take it and not try to stick with your current firm (at the risk of burning bridges of course). If you get rejected, you’ll have a 12-18 months ban period before you can reapply. But that will also give you the chance to work at the boutique firm for a while and gain more experience.

Best of luck 

Take the offer you have and then go for the MBB interview. 

Think about it this way. The MBB interview process is likely to take at least a month.

Starting dates typically range from 3-6 months, but now I'm hearing more and more often people waiting for 9-12 months until they start. 

So I would expect that (depending on the geography you're in) even if you do get the offer, you are unlikely to start before 9 months from when the interviews are (which is around the one-year mark from your current offer). 

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

This is a very personal decision. With the limited context you provide, one good option would be taking the offer on the table and do the interviews at the MBB firm. 

The boutique would understand if you end up in the MBB firm 6 months after you start with them. And if they don't understand it, this should not be a big issue since you would be already at MBB!

Best,

Alberto

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Check out my latest case based on a real MBB interview: Sierra Springs

You should only decide on something when getting more information comes with a downside. It is not this case.

As such, take the job, work there for a couple of months and see how you feel about it. You may be super happy with the new company… or not at all. Knowing your real situation will help you make a more informed decision.