So, without further ado, here are the “Top 10” employers of HBS alums (MBAs only, n = 57k).

Top 10 HBS MBA Employers

You know, I’ve always had a general idea that HBS feeds graduates into consulting + banking, but I had no idea how concentrated the employment was!  As someone in one of the Top 3 categories, I certainly don’t feel like a unique and special flower.  Mckinsey, Bain, BCG, Goldman, and Morgan Stanley dominate the rankings.  Also — a touch surprised how heavily tech dominates the second half of the ranking.  Sexy industry, maybe?

It’s also interesting to look at the “vintage” of the alums at each of the three consulting firms:

McKinsey vs. BCG vs. Bain at HBS

A few points to note from this chart:

1. McKinsey’s hiring this year (2010) is far below the normal rate.  Given typical attrition rates, they’re 3-4x below where they should be to continue the high mark set in 2006.  Does this mean they overextended themselves in the late ‘00s?  Implication: probably more top-heavy than the other two firms.
2. McKinsey’s trend is also unusually volatile.  You’d expect a consistent downward march (as new hires learn the “McKinsey Way” then depart for better opportunities + work/life balance elsewhere).
3. A possible explanation for some of the volatility is that there are major retention issues at McKinsey after hires hit the key promotion dates (called out by dotted lines).  The first dip corresponds to the time of an Associate -> Engagement Manager promotion.  The second is around EM -> Principal.  The third is around Principal -> Partner.
4. While Bain tends to generally follow McKinsey’s trend, BCG runs a bit counter-cyclical.  Probably due to BCG competing more directly with McKinsey?

One more chart.  I thought this one was interesting…  Seems to show that working at Goldman Sachs offers a more stable career path (less risky?) than McKinsey!  Who would’ve guessed?

Goldman Sachs vs. McKinsey

(A disclaimer: I don’t think sharing aggregate statistics violate any TOS of the HBS alumni database, but if it does, let me know and I’d be happy to take them down.)

Bain Hotel #1

Bain Hotel #2

Not only is there an LCD TV in the bathroom, but there’s another one hidden behind a painting that slides into the wall in the main room!   Very cool.  I was actually a bit confused when I walked in and didn’t see one.  After being at Harvard, I thought I’d become desensitized to luxury, but it looks like I’m still a rural country kid at heart: 

Bain Hotel #3

That said, overall, I’ve been less impressed with the weekend here than I was at BCG.  The differences?  Well, not a ton, but it does seem like they’ve been less effective in customizing who I meet and interact with.  I finally met someone at dinner that I related with perfectly – I wish he had been a companion throughout the entire weekend (it might have led me to a different decision).  The truth is: in any big firm, there are going to be people with all sorts of backgrounds and all types of personalities – the key to recruiting is to find the ones that match your candidate and make sure s/he mixes with them.  BCG did this well, Bain did not. 

I think I’ve reached a decision now.  Two points:

1.  BCG seems to have less local and more national / international project opportunities.  One of my primary goals here is to work internationally within one year.
2. BCG seems to have more people from HBS.  This says something about the choices my colleagues make, and I tend to think (on the whole), they make pretty good decisions. 

As I think through the comparison, I’ve realized that if you were to hold both #1 and #2 constant across the firms, it’s highly likely I would have picked Bain instead.  Their core philosophy (action > theory) and many of the smaller details about the firm weigh strongly in their favor.   Such is the nature of difficult decisions!

The decision comes down to BCG and Bain.  I’m not sure if I would’ve turned McKinsey down (the international strength and flexibility appeals to me), but there are many attractive aspects to these two choices.  For those (like my parents) who aren’t all that familiar with the firms, the generic reputations go something like this:

McKinsey: The largest firm (9k consultants).

The most well-known of the firms with a strong reputation (although, one damaged slightly by the Enron scandal).  Known for the “McKinsey Way” (a process that is effective, but sometimes criticized as rigid and template-driven).  Strongest international presence, targeting and capturing most of the work for foreign governments and NGOs.  Viewed as a “burn-out” with little work-life balance.  Unlike the other two firms, encourages consultants to specialize as soon as they enter.

BCG: The nerdy firm (4.5k consultants).

Known for cutting-edge insights, academic books and articles, and “thought leadership”.  Also seen as “too theoretical” and more about the technically insightful, but less actionable, recommendations.  Medium international presence and medium work/life balance.

Bain: The cool firm (4.5k consultants).

Reputation for strong impact and only focusing on what counts.  Staffing structure involves a 1 : 1 Undergrad : MBA ratio, which leads to a younger firm with more social drinking / partying (versus the typical 0.5 : 1).  The strongest of the top 3 firms in serving Private Equity clients (the most demanding client type?) with a market share 4x the next firm.  Lower international presence with the best work/life balance.

But now?  Feeling a bit melancholy, actually.  Not sure why… Is that it?  All this anticipation and preparation and it’s over within a week?  Maybe I’m just tired. 

Big decision coming up.  I think I’ve decided on consulting (at least for the summer).  That leaves me with two very strong options.  At first glance, I’m torn.  I think I have a split personality, and both firms represent one side!  Maybe I’ll learn more over the “sell weekends” where both firms flip-the-tables and try to wine-and-dine you.  Will keep you posted…

BCG: I was pretty impressed with BCG.  Their second round consisted of two interviews, both on-campus (thankfully).  The first interview was kind of intimidating… the interviewer had a deck of about 50 slides in front of him from a recent project he’d been on.  As I worked through the case and asked for information, he would take a second, dig through the deck, and pull out a chart answering the question.  It was a bit nerve-racking because I wasn’t sure how many of the slides I was supposed to hit!  1?  5?  10?  All 50?  In the end, I only felt like I revealed a small portion of the slides, so I hope that wasn’t too far off what he was looking for. 

The second interview was easily the most impressive across all the firms.  Instead of the normal interview format (formally sitting opposite a small hotel table and pouring over charts of manufactured data), we sat side-by-side and the interviewer sketched out charts on the back of a piece of napkin.  Casual and friendly, yet still probing and insightful.  If I ever conduct case interviews, I’ll definitely try to replicate this approach. 

Bain: I have mixed feelings about the Bain interview.  They chose to hold their interview off-campus (in the city I was interviewing for).  During dedicated interview week at HBS, this is strictly against the rules.  I was kind of surprised such a big firm would try this, particularly given the way HBS career services dictates policy to firms and penalizes noncompliance with dire consequences.  Nonetheless, my dozen or so e-mails to/from Bain and career services never worked out a reasonable alternative.  As such, I missed two other interviews on-campus.  I don’t mind making that trade-off, but it would’ve been nice if the rules had been followed. 

That said, Bain had one of the more interesting case interviews I experienced.  They had two normal interviews, followed by an hour alone to read through a deck of 60 slides.  After reading through the deck, they asked you to summarize all that data and discuss it as if at a meeting with the client’s CEO.  Very interesting process.  I think the idea is to offer a chance for those whose analytical skills don’t shine through within the truncated dialogue-based case interview format.  I think it’s a good idea… the truth is, most of the actual work of consulting feels much more like this type of analyze offline / discuss online structure than the typical case interview.

Results forthcoming!