Let go by MBB

Question

Hi all,

Unfortunately, I was let go by an MBB firm and wanted to provide some context on my situation also discuss potential next steps for myself.

I joined roughly one year ago at a pre-manager level and rather surprisingly, I spent the majority of my first 6 months at the firm on the beach. Nevertheless, I also managed to complete my first case which was roughly 4weeks long. In the proceeding six months, I completed a further 3 cases in which I performed well, but not outstandingly well and as a consequence, the firm subsequently decided to let me go due to performance-related reasons.

As you can imagine, I am very disappointed as a feel my performance was not bad and regardless of performance, my development has been hampered by not being staffed for the majority of my first six months (none of my colleagues who joined with me experienced the same amount of time on the beach).

I spoke to multiple partners within the firm, and in their own words, they feel that I have been "very unlucky" and they feel as if though this decision was heavily influenced by the COVID situation and the need for the firm to be able to maintain the attrition levels of its consultants to balance the incoming new hires in order to ensure that the firm's pyramid structure can be maintained.

My questions to you all are:

Can I realistically apply to another MBB office within the same country?
If I was to receive an offer from another MBB office, would my tenure begin from scratch again or is there a possibility for me to join as a tenured consultant?

Happy to discuss this topic in more detail over a paid consultation as your advice would be greatly appreciated- please let me know if you are available to do so and I will drop you a PM

Thanks a lot

Answer 1

Hi there,

Sorry to hear your experience – that’s really unfortunate.

Regarding your questions:

Yes, but you need to have a very solid story. I would avoid to rely only on the COVID – that would easily sound an excuse. You have to build the story taking full responsibility on what you could have done better, without any criticism towards the firm that let you go. This is very difficult to do as probably the firm has more than one responsibility on this – but I believe is the only way to go
You will likely join at the same position you joined the previous MBB

As an additional point: what is your long term goal? If it is not becoming a partner in MBB, there may be other options to reach that without having to go back to MBB (the 1-year stamp already gives you a lot of value).

As a final point: I can understand you are greatly upset now – everyone would feel the same. But somehow, in ways neither you nor anyone else can probably see now, this could become an opportunity in the long term. Nietzsche said that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. In my experience in consulting, VC and entrepreneurship, that’s very true.

I suggest you read Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins if you haven’t already to see how a man really put that quote into practice. That book completely changed how I see hardships and challenges, putting them in a totally new light.

Best,
Francesco

Answer 2

Hi Anonymous

This is indeed a very unfortunate situation but I will start with some positive context: you have a year of MBB on your resume. This counts! Regardless of the Covid situation - you are very likely to find a new role in either a boutique/tier 2 or internal strategy. Given the current climate - this is still a positive achievement that you need to focus on

Now for your questions:

1) Moving to a different office with your current Firm - unlikely. McKinsey at least had a strong "one firm" orientation and others I believe are quite similar

2) Moving to other MBB firms - more likely than option 1 but still tough. All the MBB offices+firms I have friends in have slowed down hiring. As a result joining at a more tenured level is extremely unlikely should you get a role but if you have batchmates at other MBB - definitely try

Don't obsess over tenure as reviews are super structured and if you perform ahead of your peers - you will most definitely progress faster

I am happy to have a free no-obligation consultation with you if you still need. At the end of the day - when you work at MBB you are only as good as your last review and the risk of being asked to leave is near constant which has clearly been exacerbated by Covid

Best

Answer 3

Hi,

I'm so sorry to hear about this - you were indeed very unlucky. It really seems like the cards were against you from the beginning. A series of unfortunate events indeed.

1. Yes, you absolutely can. Obviously apply to the two at which you didn't work. They don't know your situation at the company, and you can absolutely defend your position saying it was covid-related. Here, you'll definitely need to network.

2. It would surely be at the same rank at which you left, however, there may be some consideration or note made regarding your experience. Furthermore, given the way in which reviews work you would ideally have learned from your existing projects and advance more quickly.

3. It doesn't hurt to apply to tier 2s and internal strategy - they would value the MBB stamp on your resume...perhaps it's time for the exit?

And, of course, feel free to reach out and we can discuss this further.

Answer 4

Hi,

Firstly I am sorry to hear about your situation. It is not easy to be in that spot.

Realistically you will have to have a very good explanation of the performance if you are to be hired in another MBB firm in the same country. Bad luck unfortunately does not count alone and neither do mitigating circumstances. I personally do not think there is any harm in applying (via referral) but know that it is an uphill battle

What might be easier to do is to move to a Tier 2 firm - I have personally seen this happen to someone and they moved to PWC instead. In the end it worked out they went to B school and then transitioned into other roles.

Happy to discuss more if needed, at this point it is best to try all available options and not restrict yourself to anything

Best ,

Udayan

Answer 5

Dear A,

I would say that in this case it really seems like you have a bad luck. I can totally unerstand your feeling at the moment since I also had the colleagues of mine, who made pretty similar experience to yours. I think that the first thing, which is important in this situation is to rebuild your own confidence and then look for other options. I think that for both your questions is YES. You can apply to another MBB or Tier-2 firm withinh your region and Yes, you would probably need to restart again from the previous position with the firm.

Nevertheless, this could be done pretty good and you can also count on the fast-track promotion and get your promotion to the next level within the first 6 months with the firm.

I'm help you discuss this with you and help you navigate out of this situation.

Feel free to drop me a line in order to look at your situation in more detail and help you to find another great job offers on consulting.

Best,
André