Associate Consultant

The process starts with an online assessment administered by TestGorilla. It consists of a 40-minute numerical reasoning and data analysis test, followed by a short video-recorded question: "Why Bain, and why [your chosen office]?"

The first round consists of two 30-minute, one-on-one case interviews with Consultants. The interviews may involve a full case study, such as market entry, merger due diligence, or revenue optimization. Another common format is a market-sizing question with a more abstract prompt, such as "How many pairs of shoes are sold annually in China?"

The first Consultant I interviewed with was quite serious and gave little to no feedback as I worked through the case. In contrast, the second interviewer was very friendly and approachable. It could have been an intentional good cop–bad cop dynamic.

The second round consists of two 45-minute interviews with Partners. My first Partner interview began with several fit questions, including "Why consulting?", "Why Bain?", "Why do you think your experience makes you a good fit?", and "Why [your chosen office]?" This was followed by another market-sizing question.

The second Partner interview was relatively short and focused entirely on behavioral questions. These covered my past experiences, how I managed heavy workloads, and my interests outside of work and academics.

Both Partners were friendly and relaxed throughout the interviews.

You can ask questions after all the interviews.