Got an offer from Capgemini Invent, BearingPoint & Wavestone, what shall I go for ?

Question

Hello there,

I am from Paris and I got an offer from 3 consulting firms. To give you a bit of context, they took me in the Insight-Driven Enterprise of Capgemini Invent, Digital & Strategy practice from BearingPoint and Digital & Emerging Technologies from Wavestone. I will be honest, I am not so much of a fan of Wavestone so I am not really asking advice on this part (unless you are working @Wavestone and unveil that there are marvellous missions there (which I doubt).
So my heart is swinging between BearingPoint & Capgemini. I have both interest for Strategy & Artifical Intelligence. But I am afraid I will not get a chance to work on real strategy missions in BearingPoint as they obviously are rare and probably go to much experimented consultant. Concerning Capgemini I am afraid I don't get to work on disruptive topics related to (strong) AI but just boring automation topic (I am sorry if it comes off as rude but just to translate my mindset here).
So I need insights from people working there (or simply if you have heard of anything interesting!) and elements that might help me make a choice!!! :D Mostly I wanted to know which one of these had best brand name value on a resume if I want to switch to corporate (or even strategy firms, MBB would be dream but yeah lol). Also are internal opportunities (go to some other offices in NY or Japan..) and promotion equal in these consulting companies ? What about salary also (apparently both have really slow progression through the years but I wanted more visibility on this subject...)
Thank you so much in advance for your time and help! It will be much appreciated :))

Answer 1

Hi,

I don't have a good personal answer for you (though I have heard of Capgemini, not Bearing Point).

However, check out Glassdoor.com to see employee reviews of companies. this will give you a feel for culture, reputation, etc.

Link here: https://www.glassdoor.com.au/Reviews/index.htm?countryRedirect=true

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Heya,

i dont know from which part of the globe you got the offers. But If you are considering them from DACH ( Germany, Austria, Swiss) or an yothr major European economy or branches, I would always suggest you use the Brandeins portal to decide on rankings ( Link below). Brandeins is very trusted and respected management & financial reporting magazine.

As far I have seen & xperienced, in Europe the ranking goes usually this way:

McK ~ BCG > Accen. Strategy ( not IT consulting)> R Berger> Bain> Tier 2 ( all same ranking - SKP,OW,Zeb, ATK, HP)> Capgemini Invent a.ka Capgemini Consulting ( note not Capgemini IT)> Big 4.& IBM

Even the latest Brandeins ranking reveals almost the same. Even though Big4 might sound a lucrative name compared to Capgemini Consulting, my friends at both places say that Capgemini pays better than Big 4 & they have very hot topics in terms of Digitalization , which luckily is the trend in management consultancy. Big 4 being accounting firms unfortunately are restricted to advise only those clients who are not part of their accounting client list.

Berger plays a more prominent role in Germany than Bain because of below reasons:

- Berger is a German based Consulting firm. Local clients trust it more than Bain.

- Bain's forte here is mainly PE, in which undoubtedly its the masterclass.

-Bain has a very poor portfolio in terms of Digitalization & Tec strategy.

-Again Bain copes up their European loss with Middle-east win. Yes they are a big name with oil, energy and petro chemical clients in the Arab world.

- Bain pays better than Berger in Germany. Berger pays around Capgemini Consulting or Tier 2 ( lower end)

In a real sense Tier 2 companies mentioned above cannot be compared with Teir 3 or Teir 1, reason being Teir 2 companies are niche & boutique in their delivery. For example SKP is highly valued than BCG when it comes to pricing. They are pricing experts. Similarly OW wins the ticket in Insurance industries. They are best known for few things & win market with their expertise.

Coming to teir 3, they have a wide portfolio of consulting services and generally enter the scene only after MBB has scooped the intial layers.

Paywise Tier 2 ( lower ends ) & Tier 3 Higher ends are on the same range.

P.S : How do i know this ? I'm at MBB and during my application days at the university have done lots of research , benchmarking and collected data from collegues and seniors.

Hope this helps!

MB