Careers at Bain

ADvantage Program

ADvantage Program

We are thrilled to offer ADvantage, a week-long advanced degree program designed to give graduate students, postdocs and medical residents the opportunity to learn first-hand what it is like to be a Bain consultant.

Program Overview

Program Overview

ADvantage is a week-long, paid program designed specifically for advanced degree candidates that are seeking an immersion into life at Bain and exposure to a career in consulting.

​Our program includes a full day of training followed by 4 days staffed to a real Bain case team.​

ADvantage participants will join a case team, manage their own workstream with the support of a consultant mentor, and enjoy a variety of social activities to meet the members of our teams and experience our rich and unique culture.

Candidates that are selected to participate in our program will also receive early consideration and interviews for our full-time consultant positions.

Applications will open in January of 2024.

Program Information

Program Information

Program dates:

  • May 8-12, 2023

Participating offices:

  • Atlanta
  • Austin
  • Boston
  • Dallas
  • Chicago
  • Houston
  • Los Angeles
  • New York
  • Seattle
  • San Francisco
  • Toronto
  • Washington DC

Program itineraries will vary slightly in every office but participants can expect to experience much of the following during their week with Bain: 

  • An introduction to the strategy consulting career and a chance to spend a ‘week-in-the-life’ of a Bain consultant​
  • The opportunity to tackle an important business issue, for a real Bain client, and present your findings to the Bain case team​
  • Mentorship from a consultant who will actively coach you through solving the business problem and presenting your findings ​
  • Interactive trainings that teach you the business fundamentals and leadership skills needed to solve real-world business problems​
  • Fun social events and networking opportunities with Bainies from the local office and fellow ADvantage participants​
  • 1:1 conversations with firm leadership​
  • Early consideration and interviews for our full-time consultant positions​

Who can apply:​

​ADvantage is intended for candidates that are currently enrolled in an advanced degree program or those that have recently graduated (1 – 3 years prior) with their advanced degree. ​

​Eligible degree programs include:

  • PhDs and postdocs
  • JDs
  • MDs and medical residents/fellows
  • PharmDs and other doctorate-level degrees
  • Non-MBA Master’s with > 3 years of relevant, prior business experience after completing a Bachelor’s degree

Format:​

Interviews are required in order to be considered for our ADvantage program. Interviews will consist of two, 40-minute traditional case interviews. Candidates should also be prepared to answer a few experience questions about themselves and why they are interested in consulting/ the ADvantage program.

Timeline:​

Candidates that have been selected to interview for ADvantage will be notified via email by the end of March and interviews will take place over Zoom in April. 

Interview prep resources:​

ADvantage applications go live every January right here on the Bain careers website. 

Application deadline:

Application deadline is usually the first week of March. 

Interested candidates should apply online as soon as they are ready. Submitting an early application will indicate your office preferences and allow us to consider you for invite-only, office-level connections and events.

Application requirements:​

  • A one – two page business-format resume
  • Cover letter
  • Recent test scores (GRE, LSAT, MCAT, etc.), if applicable
  • Bain office(s) of interest 

Application insights:

In the application, you will have the ability to select up to three Bain offices that interest you the most. You will then need to allocate 100 percentage points across these office(s) to reflect your interest-level in each office. The offices that you select in your application will become the office(s) that consider you for their ADvantage program and for their full-time consultant roles following the ADvantage program.

​When indicating office preferences in your application, please keep in mind that successful partcipants will receive a full-time consultant offer from the office where they completed the program. For this reason, we ask that you apply only to office(s) where you would happily accept a full-time offer.​

For more information on selecting office preferences, please visit our FAQs section.​

What makes an applicant stand out:

  • ​Outstanding academic performance​
  • Energized by solving tough problems and driving real impact​
  • Demonstrated interest in business and/or consulting​
  • Strong leadership and team skills​

FAQs

  • How should I consider Bain office locations when submitting an application for ADvantage?​

    Our ADvantage program is only available in North American offices at this time. Please review the “Participating offices & dates” tab for the complete list of our participating offices before submitting your application. Only these offices will be reviewing applications.

    When selecting office preferences in your application, please keep in mind that our successful participants will receive a full-time consultant offer in the office where they completed their program. For this reason, we ask that you apply only to office(s) where you would happily accept a full-time Bain offer (i.e. apply to office(s) where you want to live and work).​

    If you’re not familiar with Bain’s global office locations, you may click here to learn more.​

  • I am interested in a Bain office that is not offering ADvantage. Will Bain consider me for the program?​

    If your top office preference is not hosting an ADvantage program, you may instead be interested in our Access to APAC Programrun by select Asia-Pacific and Australian offices. 

    However if your preferred office(s) are not offering either program, then we would instead recommend applying during our full-time consultant recruitment process later in the year for the office(s) that you’re interested in.​

    If you have geographical flexibility and would happily accept a Bain offer from your second and/or third choice office and that office will be hosting ADvantage, then we welcome you to apply to those office(s) for ADvantage. 

    Please note: Offer transfer requests (to join a different office than where you completed your ADvantage or Access to APAC program) will not be available.

  • If I applied for the Access to APAC program, can I also apply for the ADvantage program?

    No, please apply for either the ADvantage program or the Access to APAC program – not both. Please carefully consider whether you’re interested in our North American or Asia-Pacific and Australian offices for full-time employment before submitting your application.

  • If I applied for the 10-week Summer Associate program, can I also apply for the ADvantage program?

    Yes! Given how competitive these programs tend to be, we encourage interested applicants to apply to both programs. However, you will only be invited to participate in one of these programs.

  • If I applied or interviewed for the ADvantage program and was not successful, can I still apply and be considered during the full-time recruitment process later in the summer?

    Yes! A failed application and/or interview for ADvantage will not affect your candidacy during our full-time recruitment process; these are entirely separate review processes. Bain reconsiders all ADvantage applicants and interviewees during our full-time application review, and we have had several candidates go on to receive their Bain offers this way in the past.​ Sometimes, those extra few months of case prep and conversations make all the difference!

  • How soon will I be notified about the status of my application / are applications rolling?​

    Applications are not rolling. We do not begin our final selection process until all applications have been received and the application deadline has passed. 

    Applicants can expect an email with the outcome of their application by late March.

  • When in my academic career should I apply to ADvantage?​

    Ideally, candidates that are currently pursuing an advanced degree will apply to ADvantage in the penultimate year of their degree program (i.e. they will apply to ADvantage the year prior to their target graduation/completion date). Candidates should be targeting a full-time career starting the following calendar year.

  • As an international student, am I eligible for this paid program?

    International students are eligible and welcomed to apply to our program. We have had several international students participate in our ADvantage program in the past.

    If you are studying in the US with a student visa, please be sure to connect with your international advisor to discuss any steps necessary to apply for CPT / OPT in order to participate in ADvantage.

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How to Learn More

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