What are the mechanics behind shifting from the McKinsey Pakistan office to the McK Canada office?

Question

If I'm based in Pak, but moving to Canada by the end of 2025, does it make more sense to apply to the Pak office and then attempt a transfer?

Or should I apply directly to the Canadian office closer to the end of 2025 to align with my arrival there?

Pros and Cons:
I imagine the Pak office would be easier to get into since my industry experience lines up better with there and I have more local referrals possible. But I wouldn't want to get stuck there in the event that the transfer process is super inflexible. I imagine a lot of this comes down to the Canada office's needs by end of 2025...

So apply to Pak now and attempt a transfer? Or attempt Canada way down the line?

Answer 1

Hey there,

So McKinsey typically has 2 main types of transfers:

Short-term mobility: These are co-ordinated 6 and 12 month programs (based on your seniority) to work in a different office location before returning back to your home office.
Long-term permanent transfers: The two main types here are transferring for personal reason or professional ones.

If you join the Pakistan office and want a permanent transfer to Canada, you will generally need authorization and sign off from McKinsey Canada and Pakistan, and typically they will look at a lot of factors, including your performance and if there's a team (or someone) in the Canada office that would be happy to sponsor you. It's not necessarily difficult, but by no means would I say it is easier either

The tricky thing with applying to Canada directly will be immigration and right to work concerns. If you have working rights, it may be easier, otherwise you may get an automatic rejection if they are not willing to endorse your working permits.

So given the two options, I would apply to Pakistan and try get into the McKinsey ecosystem and then try transfer to Canada. If not successful with the transfer to Canada, at least you would have put McKinsey on your CV and can try find other Canadian companies to work for.

Hope that helps! I'm happy to share more details. You can DM me and we can discuss this at more lengths

All the best

Answer 2

Hi there,

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

First of all, and contrary to what other coaches have said, I think there is no point in applying exclusively to a Pakistani office and hoping to make your way to a Canadian office if you have a strict deadline for moving there and are committed to McKinsey. However, you could still list a Canadian office as your first choice and a Pakistani office as your second choice.
Moreover, your chances of being invited to an interview for a Canadian office will depend heavily on your visa situation.
Lastly, I would advise you not to overestimate the impact of industry knowledge, especially if you're not applying for a senior and industry-specific role. And securing a referral is a fairly easy task, so it shouldn't be a major factor in your decision either.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen