Bain First Round—Advice?
Title says it all. I have a Bain first round for the ACI position later this week and just wanted to hear anyone's advice on the process. What do they look for? What should I expect?
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Just had mine last week. My advice would be to be calm and do the case with a smile on your face. There are no personal questions in round 1 so do your best to seem like a pleasant human, and if you finish your case with a minute to spare, ask a really good question - I think they'd appreciate it. Also, it was much less "interviewee led" than I expected, but maybe that is just how they are doing it over zoom this year.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I have a couple of questions:
Good luck!!
1. Yes
2. No
Example of a really good question? Always struggle asking questions that don't sound too generic or too specific
Just make it conversational, ask them what they like about their work, how they got to where they are, anything like that
Bain indexes super heavily, perhaps too much, on the case -- especially in the first round. Be nice, say thanks and please, smile. Practice market sizing and profitability cases. I guarantee you'll get one of those in the first round. They're not hard cases at all.
I would be sure to mention Joseph Smith as often as possible.
I believe Bain is moving toward a more interviewer-led style. So let the interviewer direct you and definitely be coachable - it is a criterion they assess. With that, you should also show you are driving to an answer so do lead the case but allow the interviewer to help you out when they chime in. You will also definitely get data at some point or have to work through some math so be able to do that comfortably. The best advice is to always give 2nd and 3rd level insights on the numbers without being asked - that will set you apart. Good luck
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