MBB Dubai vs Amsterdam vs Copenhagen

Question

Hi, I am an American (froma target school) looking to gain international experience (3-5 years) before I head back to the US and help my Dad expand his business. I have been travelling around the world since my graduation few months ago. I really liked all the three cities (Dubai, Amsterdam and Copenhagen) and couldn't rank the preference in terms of lifestyle. So I'd like to know the pros and cons of these regions in terms of interview process and later working at MBB.

Thank you!

Answer 1

For anybody looking into applying to a different location than where they are originally from, make sure that you have some connection with the office where you are applying.

That means that you either studied there or worked there or have some personal reasons that explain why you should move there for work.

Otherwise, your application appears random and is most likely rejected.

Best,
Cristian

Answer 2

Hello!

In a McKinsey women meeting I met people from these 3 locations.

A priori, I tought that the Copenhagen office would have a better lifestyle -and indeed, it was better than Spain-, but it was still hard! Not better than the average european cities, such as Amsterdam.

Offices in the Middle East are more peculiar, both in terms of traveling -much more than Europe from Monday to Thursday- and topics -more public sector-.

In any case, as you might know staffing is global, so it can perfectly be that you sign up with the Copenhagen office and spend one year working in London and the following one in Colombia!

Hope it helps! Cheers,

Clara

Answer 3

Hi,
in terms of recruiting they are pretty similar. Talking about work-life balance instead, Amsterdam and Copenhagen offices are much better.

Best,
Antonello

Answer 4

One thing to add to the answers. It is not easy to apply to an office location just because you think you might want to work there. In most situations, you have to show meaningful connection to the office you are applying such as family, education in that country or having worked and lived there before.

All the best,

Udayan

Answer 5

Hello there,

In terms of interview process the competition in Dubai could be a bit lower. Regarding the working experience:

Salary: Dubai is better for sure
Work-life balance: Copenhagen and Amsterdam are among the best offices
Projects: All of them have amazing projects, maybe in Dubai you will be ofter working with public sector (that is comparable to an european multinational, btw)

Feel free to contact me for any further discussion, since I have done some interviews in Dubai.

Hope it helps,
Luca