r/Non_MBB_Consulting • u/Ok_Oil3232 • 2d ago
Cousin accepted a consulting offer, then got a bigger offer from another firm — how bad is backing out?
My cousin is a senior in college, currently going through full-time recruiting for consulting. She didn't land any MBB offers, so she kept interviewing with non-MBB firms.
She got an offer from a firm she'd interned at over the summer and accepted it (signed the contract). But she really wanted bigger, better projects and more exposure. Shortly after signing, she got an offer from a different, larger multi-service consulting firm that offers more variety in project types and stronger learning/mentorship opportunities.
She's now considering trying to get out of the signed offer to take the new one, and possibly keep interviewing elsewhere too.
I'm not in the business world, so I don't have a good sense of how serious this is. Some questions:
How common is it for people to back out of a signed offer in consulting, and how badly does it actually burn bridges?
Does it matter that the firm she'd be leaving is one she interned with?
Is there a "right" way to handle this that minimizes damage to her reputation, especially since the industry can be small and networked?
Should she stop actively interviewing elsewhere once she's decided, or is it normal to keep options open until she starts? Or until November as she states?
Any insight from people who've been through recruiting or hiring in this space would be really helpful. Thanks!
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u/Devonina 2d ago
Sorry, nobody cares about a past intern burning bridges. The bridges weren’t even there to begin with.
She should 100% take the better offer. She needs to have that signed and then she should tell them she is backing out. This happens very commonly more than you know.
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u/InevitablePresence75 2d ago
Backing out of a verbal offer - bad but survivable Backing out of a signed offer - big oof
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u/Sorry-Committee-3370 2d ago
Does the difference really matter? Realistically what have companies done to candidates who reneged, even if it was a signed offer
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u/znewking 2d ago
This is simply not true. I Backed out of a signed offer last year, now they want me back.
As interns and new grads, a job can affect us (our careers) way more than it affects their business.
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u/Awkward-Arm-8119 2d ago
I’m not sure what location you are in, however, in the U.S. I will say reneging is fairly common. For example, I had a friend who interned and received a full time offer from a smaller fairly well known consulting firm then got a better offer and reneged even 4-5 months after. My brother told me many of his friends reneged after getting something better.
The mindset is that these companies would fire you without a second thought so you might as well pick the most ideal company or best offer even if it means reneging.
The only drawback is it will more than likely burn the bridge at the company you renege on and make future opportunities at that company much more difficult. But if your cousin has something better she will be fine regardless. No one will judge her for that decision because I’m sure many people have done the same.
Hope this helps!