Pages

Monday, November 19, 2012

You only get to leave McKinsey once - 6 important things to consider about your next job


This was an excellent piece of advice I received when I was contemplating my departure from the Firm.  Leaving McKinsey is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so make the most of it.

Even during the Great Recession, many consultants I know who left McKinsey had multiple offers from which to choose.  When times are good, the opportunities are even greater.  That means that it's important that you understand your priorities when evaluating post-McKinsey job opportunities.  Here are some things to consider as you weight your options:



Career switching

Joining McKinsey, like getting an MBA, is one of the few professional choices you can make that probably opens more doors than it closes.  Leaving McKinsey might be the last chance you have to make a significant industry or functional change without taking a step back in your career.  Similar to getting hired out of business school, as long as you can exhibit passion, knowledge, or experience in an industry and/or highlight some transferable skills, there will be employers in your field of choice who are willing to take a chance on you.

Title and career path

McKinsey has a steep learning curve and career trajectory, but after you leave the Firm, your rate of advancement will be relatively lower.  So, you might want to consider jobs with titles and responsibilities that are a bit of a reach, especially if you'd rather be challenged and have to grow into a job rather than risk feeling underutilized, insufficiently challenged, and advancing too slowly at your new job.  Also, unless you plan on staying at a company for a long time, beware of title deflation.  People in your organization might understand that a Manager there is equivalent to a Director at most other companies, but the next company interviewing you might not make that distinction.

Direct reports

In many organizations, getting promoted into roles that require supervision of direct reports can be challenging.  You could get caught in a Catch-22 where they want you to have experience managing people before they'll consider you for a job that requires managing people.  If you aspire to roles that require managing direct reports - even if you're leaving as an Engagement Manager (EM) or higher and have experience managing teams at McKinsey - you might want to hold out for opportunities to manage teams.

P&L (profit and loss)

One drawback of working at McKinsey is we don't get P&L responsibilities - short for ownership of a business unit's success and failures. That adds fuel to the perception that McKinsey consultants don't have experience owning anything, including their recommendation to clients.  Even outside of consulting, P&L experience can be difficult to get and is a meaningful differentiating factor, especially if you're considering a career in general management.  If eventually running a business is important to you, consider the value of early P&L experience.

Lifestyle

Upgrading lifestyle or work/life balance is often a primary motivation when leaving the Firm.  Don't assume your next job will have better lifestyle just because it's not at McKinsey.  Do your homework and make sure you know what you're getting into in terms of hours, weekend work, stress, and travel.  I eliminated one potential employer from my search because friends who work there would be surprised I was interested and ask "don't you want a lifestyle upgrade from McKinsey?".  Useful resources include:
  • McKinsey alumni network
  • Business school alumni network
  • LinkedIn connections
  • Career websites like Glassdoor with company profiles and reviews

 

Compensation

Leaving McKinsey does not necessarily mean you need to take a pay cut, especially if you're leaving at Engagement Manager or lower.  But, consulting compensation is higher and increases faster than most industries outside of financial services so you might have to make some trade-offs between other benefits and compensation.  Even if you have to take a pay cut, you'll still probably come out ahead in terms of hourly pay!





16 comments:

  1. Great post full of useful tips! My site is fairly new and I am also having a hard time getting my readers to leave comments. Analytics shows they are coming to the site but I have a feeling “nobody wants to be first”. sistemi di gestione grosseto

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for such an informative post.
    In my company's case, the management got so much easier to handle when I exchanged the old, inefficient software for a brand new erp from microsoft dynamics ax partner - anegis consulting. Check out their website to read more about the benefits of having such software at yours.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your website is really cool and this is a great inspiring article. Thank you so much.
    asesora imagen

    ReplyDelete
  4. The young boys ended up stimulated to read through them and now have unquestionably been having fun with these things.
    fire and safety course in chennai

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sometime few educational blogs become very helpful while getting relevant and new information related to your targeted area. As I found this blog and appreciate the information delivered to my database.forex คือ อะไร

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am thankful for this blog to gave me much knowledge regarding my area of work. I also want to make some addition on this platform which must be in knowledge of people who really in need. Thanks.
    ที่ปรึกษาธุรกิจ

    ReplyDelete
  7. Most of the blogs pretend themselves as most usable and updated blogs with new information but sometime truth might different. I want to share some facts related to this subject which will help people to enhance their skills.
    เล่น forex ให้ ได้ กำไร

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is really nice to read content of this blog. A is very extensive and vast knowledgeable platform has been given by this blog. I really appreciate this blog to has such kind of educational knowledge.
    โค้ดส่วนลด Advice

    ReplyDelete
  9. Now day, everything is going to find a new but well settled and successful stream for their career. When I came to this blog, I really impressed by all the knowledge points mentioned here. Thank you for this assistance.
    โค้ดส่วนลด Air Asia

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am thankful for this blog to gave me much knowledge regarding my area of work. I also want to make some addition on this platform which must be in knowledge of people who really in need. Thanks.
    ic! belin แว่น

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your posts can be said to be very useful.
    Escorts London

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is just the information I am finding everywhere. Thanks for your blog, I just subscribe your blog. This is a nice blog.. Salesforce Consulting Company

    ReplyDelete
  13. It become an attractive part of a blog when author uses indirect speech while writing a blog. It shows your creative mind as well as make your written essay different from others.bioresonantie noordwijk

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey, great blog, but I don’t understand how to add your site in my reader. Can you Help me please?
    more about the author

    ReplyDelete