Should I state the office preference in the cover letter?

Question

Hello,

I’m preparing the cover letters for MBB. I did connect with current employees at each firm, and for each firm had connections with different offices.

I have clear in mind my preferred location, however I’m not sure if I should already state that I want to go to a specific office in the cover letter. Let’s say I prefer office X and shape the cover letter on the specificities of that office (project pipeline, working environment, growth opportunities, etc.). In the case I won’t get an offer from office X but I still do good across the recruitment, having such a specific cover letter will prevent me to be redirected to my other office preferences? If yes, should I mention then also “why office Y” (the 2nd option) or instead stay at a more general level?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi Simone,

if you are sending your application via referrals, it is unlikely your cover will be relevant for an invitation – the decision will be probably based on your CV and the level of the referral only. Moreover, if you don’t receive an offer from office X, normally you cannot apply to any other office till the end of the waiting period, thus mentioning or not the second office would not make a difference. If instead office X is not interested in your profile from the beginning, your application will be moved to office Y and the full recruiting process will be done there.

In general I would suggest not to state the preference for a specific office in the cover if you are considering multiple offices; rather, I would recommend to indicate that some of the reasons you find company ABC attractive is due to the great project pipeline, environment and opportunities of the company, for example in cities like X and Y. In this way you will keep the cover neutral on this topic, and still refer to the different cities interesting for you.

As a last point, keep in mind that consulting companies prefer candidates linked to the area they are applying to, thus it's far more difficult to receive invitations for cities where you do not have strong links, unless you have a very strong referral.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 2

Dear Simone,

It's ok to mention your office preferences, it would be better, if you could also add 1 sentence of "why"

Best,
André