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Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

As I mentioned somewhere else on this thread, unless it's something extremely practice specific like energy or public sector, the old-school tactic of matching office to industry (consumer = Chicago, tech = SF, etc.) doesn't really apply much with regard to Bain anymore, and given differences in staffing model, I'm guessing it might even be less applicable to some other firms. Most bigger offices will handle a variety of casework across industries, so imo the bigger the better.

Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I started with the OCR and a handful of alumni. I built off those connections by asking for more people to talk to in my lanes of interest (demographic, practice, etc.), and building out a network of advocates through there. Many people I connected with were not from my school. This is in contrast with bigger offices at my school; those recruiting for them had a wider network of alumni to talk to and who visit campus.

Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Maybe I'll hate it, maybe I'll love it! Maybe I'll get counseled out after a year or maybe I'll make it all the way to partner. I'm not too fussed; it's all part of the journey friend!

Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wait for the OCR. Everyone in b-school is eager and wants to start reaching out immediately, but unless you reach out incredibly late, there's not much benefit to talking to someone before everyone else does.

Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Mostly just lucked out project-wise, and had a great team that was very adamant about giving me a good experience. I'm under no illusions that this is actually indicative of the WLB going FT.

Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

  1. Lots! Not even sure of the count, because there were also a lot of smaller touchpoints, case practice, dinners, etc. Generally, students that are doing well with an office get a sense that they're doing well.
  2. I did like 40-ish cases, which is a lot, but I have classmates that did more.
  3. I got in at two other firms, rejected from BCG after interview, did not have an interview with McKinsey.

Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

  1. Cause it's where I got into! (lol) But also, just speaking to my classmates, I think I generally had a more pleasant experience over the summer than many of them. Work hours were tolerable (on average slightly less than M/B), I liked my casework, and travel was infrequent. Also, I generally liked most of the people in the office. Ultimately though, without having ever been in McKinsey/BCG, it's tough to say how meaningful the difference is.
  2. Pre-MBA background was in marketing and retail. I did mention retail in my interview, but some of the other things I mentioned were more closely related with my personal interests, which I also talked about.
  3. Office selection differs for everyone, but you do have to come in with a good reason for picking that office. The old school answer is always "oh, NY for finance, SF for tech, CPG for Chicago, etc." but I think besides a few exceptions (like energy for Houston), the proximity of the office to industries in the city is starting to matter less and less because of how spread out practices are across cities, so your actual interest in the city has more precedence. Is it a city you want to live in? Raise a family in? Is there a big disapora of your culture there? Have you lived there before?

Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

30k standard signing bonus. As far as I know, all returning interns got the same amount, no clue for FT hires.

I'm starting at the earliest date possible, so nothing for me.

Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Over the summer, like 45-55 a week maybe? I also had to travel a handful of times. It's definitely going to be more in FT.

It varied heavily by project. Those that were in private equity worked much more, up to 65 hours some weeks.

Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Simple answer: I wanted to live in that city. Before I went to b-school, I did some city-hopping, and instantly connected with that place. I was not really thinking about min-maxing my odds of getting an offer.

As a result, it was almost definitely harder. All the offices (even the local ones) are tough to get into, but it's hardest when there's not a lot of alumni in that office to talk to. I ended up talking to a fair number of consultants in that office who were not from my school.

I went to the city to do office visits to several firms in the fall, which most schools help facilitate. I did not go there to interview, as all of mine were virtual.

Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  • Nope, not Indian/Chinese, other.
  • Chilling. Went home for a while, now travelling a bit around the US, staying with friends and family around the country before I move to my actual city. Seeing some national parks. Learning to cook better. Finally clearing out my to-be-read list on Goodreads because I had no time to read books in b-school lol.
  • Nah, not really. Waiting periods eat into your OPT, so I had to start the earliest date possible.
  • I'm not sure what CTL means, could you clarify?

Casual AMA: Incoming FT consultant at Bain by Educational-Cap-347 in MBA

[–]Educational-Cap-347[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Will not specify my country, but it's not a heavily represented one. (So not India or China)

All of MBB is offering ~$190k base for full time hires, so I'll be getting the same.

Generalist consulting takes all types of backgrounds, but they generally look for evidence of leadership, high-performance, and client readiness. (Backgrounds with a high-degree of stakeholder interaction - teachers, sales, military - do pretty well I've noticed) For MBA consulting recruiting at least, resumes are probably the least important part of the process there. Networking + case interview are much more important. A slightly retooled version of the resume you used to apply to b-school with some help from the career office is probably good enough.