Pros
It's important to keep in mind that Dalberg functions as a global platform of independent regions. Experiences in the North American offices may differ substantially from those in South Asia, Africa, MENA, or elsewhere. In short, YMMV. Each of the reviews below was written from the perspective of a particular region. This one's from North America.
Disclaimer over.
Pros:
-Extraordinarily smart people, who are very structured thinkers with massive work ethics...
-...combined with an open-minded, globally oriented attitudes. Think of the really smart friend you knew that quit their job at McKinsey to backpack through Southeast Asia for a year. Chances are, they now either work at Dalberg or applied here.
-Huge opportunities for impact. Dalberg is supporting decision-making at top levels of many major donor organizations, NGOs, and multilaterals. Have completed over 1000 international development projects to date and acquired a depth of knowledge that's pretty far ahead of most other organizations. Sizable roster of major global clients repeatedly come to Dalberg for advice and investment support. You work in the field, you work at headquarters, you talk with the CEO/executive director/top administrator, and they listen.
-Great opportunities for people early in their careers. 20-somethings spend their days researching and analyzing the world's most pressing challenges - global health, employment, connectivity, climate change - distilling their research down into tight, hard-hitting recommendations, and working with their managers to position them for senior leaders in governments, corporations, and NGOs. There are very few other places where this is possible. Good performers rise quickly - the organization is growing, has an expanding client base, and is - so far- holding onto its entrepreneurial DNA.
-Mission-driven. We're all here because we care about making a social impact on the world. It keeps us all focused in the same direction, and helps to downplay some of the competition and internal debates that naturally arise in a strategy consulting firm
Cons
-If strategy consulting hours scare you, this is not the place to be. 55-60 hour weeks are the norm for most, interspersed with international travel (20-40%)
-Comp is incredible for social impact work, on the low side of acceptable as compared to McK/Bain/BCG. Still enough for a great life in a major US metro, but if you're after a life of models and bottles....well, probably want to look elsewhere. For multiple reasons.
