When applying to consulting companies, you will encounter a questionnaire that asks you to select your office(s) of interest. This process is unique to consulting, compared to some other industries. For example, if you are an engineer or a scientist, you might be limited to a specific location that performs the work you are trained to conduct. If you are a teacher or a pharmacist, you can work anywhere, from small towns to large cities, but you will typically apply for roles close to home. In contrast, consultants at large firms can work in a variety of large cities and must provide their location preferences when applying for a role, either a single selection or a top three.
This is an important decision and there are multiple factors to weigh when making it. From office specialties and resources to choosing a desirable place to live, this should not be a five-minute decision. There are also some common myths about office locations that you should read up on before submitting your location preferences. This blog will attempt to highlight the factors that you should consider as well as busting some myths in the process.
Factor 1: Office Specialties
When looking at an office location, examine its current members and projects. Are there any specialties in the work conducted there? In engineering, there are specialties such as biomechanics, thermal fluids, or material science. As for management consulting, specialties might include strategy, supply chain, or operations. Look at the webpages for the offices as well as the individual consultant pages to find details about the projects conducted and the individual specialties of each consultant.
Once you know each office specialty, decide if you want to build upon your current knowledge and experience by selecting an office that matches your background, or to expand your breadth and network by choosing something new. Not only might this affect your initial location decision, but potentially ones down the road.
Factor 2: Office Resources
Another factor to consider is the resources located in that specific office or city. For example, if it is an engineering or science company, finding out whether they have a machine shop, laboratory, or supercomputer on site is likely to be important. If you are in management consulting, learning what staff resources are located at your specific office will be helpful. This information will tell you whether you will be able to complete your job at one office, or if you will need to spend time traveling to other locations on a routine basis.
If you love traveling, then choosing a remote or small-town location will suit you, as you will likely spend many days on the road at other offices to perform your duties. However, if you have a family or other obligations to consider, then choose an office that has everything you need so that you do not need to travel as often.
Factor 3: Dream Location Long Term
You may have always dreamed of living in the Big Apple, the West Coast, or down South. Starting a new consulting job provides you a chance to move to a new location and begin a new life. However, make sure you can envision yourself living there, potentially long term. If you love the city of Boston but hate snow and cold weather, it is probably not for you. The same can be said about London and rain or Los Angeles and traffic. You do not have to stay at the same location and company forever, but if you get sick of living there within a month, then this will negatively impact your work ethic and overall happiness.
Research the cities you are interested in and rank them based on various criteria. While you will spend anywhere from 40-80 hours per week working, the rest of the time is for you to explore and live in your chosen city, so select one that you will want to be in at the end of the day.
Myth 1: Choosing a Small Office to Guarantee Acceptance
A common myth, typically for those applying to the Big Three Firms, is that choosing a small-town office (think Samford, Connecticut, etc.) will make it easier for you to get a position. While it is true that some of the most popular offices get the most applications (New York, Boston, Chicago), they also take on more consultants each year. Small offices might not have stiff competition, but they also may not have many openings. Even if the odds of being hired are slightly better (this is a debatable point), the end result may be that you are placed in an office where you are not truly interested in working. Clearly you need to reread factors 1-3 above.
Myth 2: Selecting an Overseas Office to Work Abroad
Many firms have international locations, so one might think this is a chance to recreate that summer abroad experience in Barcelona three years ago. However, you need to do more research before selecting an international office. Depending on your citizenship and passport status, you might not qualify to work in certain locations. While Dubai might sound like an awesome place to work, you need to check the requirements to work in that office. It would be a shame to use up one of your location selections only to have your application be ignored.
Myth 3: Assigning Percentages Strategically
If a firm asks you to assign weights to your three office selections, do not stress over these numbers. For example, if you really would like to work in the Washington D.C. office, assigning 90% there and 5% to each remaining location will not look better than a purely 33% split. While the order of your location preferences does matter (the first-choice office will see your application materials first), the percentages might not even be sent to the office. If the percentages are passed along, then the other two offices seeing ‘5%’ might hurt your chances of success more than the first office seeing ‘90%’ will help you. Thus, spend time choosing three locations that you would like to work at rather than strategically splitting your percentages.
The Bottom Line
In consulting just as in real estate, location is crucial. Before you select your office preferences and ultimately submit your application, consider in particular the specialties and resources of each office, and where you would truly like to live in the long run. Wherever you select, do your research first. As they say in woodcutting, ‘measure twice, cut once’. Do your extra homework now so that you will not regret your decision later.
Ricky Hollenbach is a third year Ph.D. student at Duke University in Mechanical Engineering, studying unsteady aerodynamics and mechanical vibrations in jet engines and turbomachinery. He aspires to become a management consultant in the aerospace and defense fields.
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