Careers
Prepare for Your Interview
Resources and tips to help you get ready
Consulting Interviews at Bain
We're always looking for talented people to join our global consulting team—from those who are still finishing their education to those with successful business or consulting experience. Your résumé is important, but we're more interested in how you structure and organize your thoughts.
Keith Bevans, head of consultant recruiting, discusses what Bain looks for when interviewing candidates.
What We Look For
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Problem-Solving Skills
We want people who have the ability to frame complex problems and think creatively to find pragmatic solutions for our clients. These skills may come in the form of team experience, academic achievement, group involvement or personal projects.
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The Ability to Lead
We work to develop some of the world's top leaders with the capacity not only to contribute to teams, but to lead them to change. Demonstrated leadership, whether through work, school or extracurricular activities, is highly favorable.
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Results Delivery
Bain has a proud legacy of generating results that have a positive, measurable impact on the client's objectives and reputation. We want to hear how you've been instrumental in making a quantifiable difference to an organization, project or team's success.
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Passion
For us, passion is nonnegotiable. We're looking for people who are enthusiastic and tenacious about solving puzzles, who yearn to succeed as individuals and as part of a team. In short, people who are committed to creating change in their work and in the world.
The Three Types of Interviews
Our interviews for consulting roles are designed to promote productive and intellectually stimulating discussions. The type and number of interviews you'll have depends on the office you're applying to.
Case Interview
The case interview is used at every round of interviews globally. Based on actual client work, case interviews provide a mutually beneficial opportunity for us to see how you approach problems while you become familiar with our work. Our interviewers love this format as they get to discuss cases based on their own client work.
Written Case Interview
The written case interview is a natural extension of the traditional case interview, and several offices use it as part of the consultant and summer associate second-round process. In the written case interview, you will receive the key questions, facts about the case and some time to prepare before you meet with your interviewer.
Experience Interview
The experience interview is used by several offices as part of the consultant and summer associate second-round process. It’s similar to a traditional job interview—a chance for us to learn about your accomplishments, understand your motivations and passions, and hear about your interest in Bain and why you’re seeking a career in consulting.