Roland Berger or Strategy& in The Netherlands?

Hi Sascha,

Congratulations on the offers! In terms of your question:

Q: I struggle deciding which one to choose; which one would you say is the better choice? 

As general criteria, I would consider the following:

• Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? Look at the company that can help you to achieve that goal faster. You can check LinkedIn for that (see below).
• If you consider the average consultant/partner you talked to in each company, which one would you rather be? You will spend a lot of time with your colleagues in the next years - be sure you choose a company where the people are close to the person you want to become.
• What is your gut feeling telling you? Our gut feeling is able to catch elements we cannot initially rationalize. You may “feel” a company is better, but don’t know exactly why. Try to find out why you feel that way, do some research on that and try to understand if that point is valid.

In terms of exits (for most people they are a very important factor to join a consulting company), you can check them as follows:

1. Look for alumni of the two companies on LinkedIn
2. Check how many moved to your preferred exits in your target region
3. Normalize for the size of the companies in the region

If you want to do extra due diligence, contact Alumni of your university (not current consultants) that worked in your target office (bonus if they worked for both companies). You will learn more in a 30min call with them than with any online research you may do.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi Sascha,

Congrats on 2 great offers!

This choice is deeply personal and depends on you. For example, I would pick Strategy&. But others I know would pick RB.

Get networking and talking to both firms. Aim to get a better understanding of both in the larger picture as you speak with people on the phone.

Hi there, 

Congrats! That's amazing to hear.

You can expect similar work cultures and projects. 

If you want to get a more personal sense of the interactions within the firms, I'd recommend you try to connect with 1-2 of the consultants in each of the firms. Aim for somebody who is at the same seniority level as the one that you'll be starting with. This will help you get a better perception of how those at your seniority are treated and what opportunities they have. 

Also, sharing with you here a few resources to make you an effective consultants in your first months:

• How to Survive Your First Year as a Management Consultant
• The Truth About Consulting Work Hours: What You Need to Know

Best of luck on the job!
Cristian

Hi,

Congratulations on getting two great offers! I recommend reaching out directly to consultants who are currently working at those two companies in the offices you have offers from, and asking for a quick call or coffee chat to learn more about the firms and their experiences. General advice and perceptions can be helpful, but the people actually working there are ultimately going to be the ones that can give the most detailed info along the lines of what would be helpful for you.

Don't know the details in The Netherlands, but at least in Europe Roland Berger would in general be the best option by far.