Which firm to join as a career start in Germany?

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offers!

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

I would highly advise you to opt for the option that better aligns with your professional (and maybe even personal) mid- to long-term goals. In order to make an informed decision, I would advise you to do the following:

• Weigh the different criteria that are meaningful to you independently of the current options (e.g., prestige, culture, international exposure, compensation, location). After that, score the two options based on your criteria and their weighting, resulting in two scores. This way, you have covered the left-brain perspective.
• Critically assess your initial reaction to the outcome of the scores. For instance, if you feel the urge to tweak the numbers, this is a solid indicator that you do not want this decision to become reality. This way, you have covered the right-brain perspective.
• By doing so, you will be able to integrate both parts of the brain into the decision-making, guaranteeing a higher chance that you will still be happy with it years later.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Congratulations on receiving offers from both Capgemini Invent and the automation industry giant. It's understandable that choosing between two exciting opportunities can be challenging. Let's break it down to help you make an informed decision.

Starting your career at a consulting firm like Capgemini Invent can offer you a unique set of experiences. As a consultant, you'll have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects across different industries, gaining exposure to diverse business challenges and building a broad skill set. Consulting also offers the chance to work in teams, collaborate with clients, and develop problem-solving and analytical skills that are highly valued in the business world.

On the other hand, joining an industry giant's graduate trainee program can provide you with a deep understanding of a specific industry and the chance to work on projects within that industry. This can be advantageous if you have a strong interest in the automation industry and want to specialize in it from the start. You may have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technologies and gain in-depth knowledge of the industry's operations and challenges.

Capgemini Invent has a strong presence in Germany and is known for its expertise in technology-driven consulting solutions.

To make your decision, I recommend considering your long-term career goals, personal interests, and preferred work environment. Reflect on whether you prefer the dynamic nature of consulting or the specialized focus of the automation industry. Additionally, research the specific projects, clients, and growth opportunities offered by both organizations to see which aligns better with your aspirations.

Hi there,

Super congrants for the 2 offers! It is super exciting to have the opportunity to choose but I get that it is also confusing and difficult to take a decision. 

Frederic has alreasy highlighted a lot of factors that you may consider in your decision. I will add 2 ponts:

1. In order to assess the environment & culture you could ask yourself various questions: 

• How do you feel about the interactions that you had with employees while you were doing the interviews?
• Did you feel confortable talking to them? 
• Did you liked the answer they gave to your questions at the end of the interview? 
• Did you like the HR approach?

In order to deep dive into this, you could also try to talk with your connections in these offices (if you have some) to better understand the office culture.

2. When you have assessed all the different factors, you could also take into account your gut feeling. Come back at this post to check for new answers. However, just before reading them, ask yourself “what firm would I want them to suggest me?”

Hope this helps,
Francesca

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offers! In terms of your question:

Q: Any suggestions where should I begin my career - at a consulting firm or at an industry? And also any further information on Capgemini invent in Germany?

I will leave the comment on Capgemini in Germany to someone with direct experience, but in terms of general criteria I would recommend the following:

• Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? Try to identify the company that can help you to achieve that goal faster. You can check LinkedIn for that (see below). If you are not sure, the Kearney brand is stronger in most countries.
• If you consider the average interviewer 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.
• If money and prestige were not a consideration, which company would you choose? This could help you to identify additional elements to weigh you have not considered yet.

In terms of exits (for most people they are a very important factor in joining a company at the beginning of your career), 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, you can contact Alumni of your university (not current consultants) who worked for the possible alternatives (bonus if they worked for both). You will learn more in a 30-minute call with them than with any online research you might do.

Best,

Francesco

Hello,

Although I would recommend anyone to start their career in consulting since it generally implies a steeper learning curve, in this particular case I gravitate towards an automotive graduate program, since the reviews for Capgemini Invent are not great on Glassdoor.

You 100% need to speak with the employees / alumni of both companies to make an informed decision.

Good luck!
Nick

Hi there,

congratulations, both seem like great first job opportunities! It highly depends on your individual preferences to give a final recommendation. I recommend you think through your evaluation criteria and compare both options, literally in a simple XLS file - it just helps to get out of an unstructured thought process. Here could be some dimensions you might want to consider:

1. Career Goals: Start by reflecting on your long-term career goals. Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, or 15 years? Consider which role aligns better with your aspirations. If your ambition is to get into MBB eventually, the industry role might be a better fit to at a later stage enter as an expert. Capgemini while a nice T2 isn't as easy to transition to MBB. 

2. Skill Development: Think about the skills you want to develop. Consulting often offers a diverse skill set, including problem-solving, client management, and project work. The automation industry may provide more specialized technical skills and navigating a corporate environment. 

3. Company Culture: Research and compare the company cultures. Consulting firms like Capgemini Invent often have a dynamic, client-facing culture. Automation giants may have a more structured and technical environment. Which one appeals more to your working style?

4. Learning Opportunities: What skills and knowledge to you want to acquire? Do you still aspire to do an MBA eventually? This may influence your choices as well. 

5. Work-Life Balance: Consider your work-life balance priorities. Consulting can sometimes involve longer hours and frequent travel. The automation industry might provide more stable working hours.

6. Location: Think about the location of each job and how it aligns with your personal preferences and lifestyle.

Happy to jump on a coffee chat with you to review your results and help in thinking this through.

Warm regards, Frederic 
 

Hi there,

You're still young. Whatever you decide, you can always change paths. That's why I would advocate for listening to your gut.

For example, I started as a geologist in O&G industry undergoing Maersk Oil's amazing graduate program. Then I left and did an MBA, joined McKinsey for some years, and went back to industry (mining). I have lived in 9 countries and have done a lot of different things, none of which were really planned (you can actually see my path here for inspiration 😊)

You can, of course, be super systematic about everything (and you would probably expect a former McKinsey consultant to be more like that). However, going with one's gut and not overthinking every decision, especially when you're young, can be very rewarding and lead to an amazingly exciting and adventurous career.

Best of luck!

Moritz

If you can, speak with people who work at both in the role that you'll be joining in. 

This way you can get a more genuine view into what the day to day work is like. 

Second, ask yourself what you actually want to do long-term. It's a big difference between a consulting role and an industry role, so ask yourself which one brings you closer to your goals. 

To refine your expectations from the consulting role a bit more, you can also read this article:

• Expert Guide: What Do Management Consultants Do? 

Best,
Cristian

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Wow! What an awesome problem to have - two offers you love :)

Look, ultimately, just think about how you'd feel if you had ONE offer. Savor that feeling and don't regret whichever option you choose.

Think through where you want to be in 5 years, and also where you think you'll enjoy working.

If you're really struggling, think about hiring a career coach for 1 meeting to help you make the optimal decision!