Bain's recruitment head reveals exactly how candidates should prepare for interviews at the consulting firm to land a 6-figure job right out of business school

Glassdoor

Bain & Company.

• Bain & Company is known as one of the best places to work.
• The consulting firm has been a frontrunner in Glassdoor's best workplace ranking for 12 years and has earned two diversity awards.
• Bain is a target company for consultants looking to land six-figure jobs, but it can be difficult to land a position.
• Business Insider spoke with the company's global head of consultant recruitment and a former Bain consultant about what recruiters look for when assessing candidates.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Bain & Company is one of the best workplaces in the US, according to Fortune's annual list of the 100 best workplaces.

The top-tier consultancy frequently lands the top spot on national workplace rankings such as Glassdoor's Employee Choice Awards (the firm has been in the top four for the last 12 years).

Consultants flock to Bain, where they can earn a $165,000 base salary. The 47-year-old company is "gold-leveled certified," or top-rated for being one of the most socially responsible and sustainable corporations. It's also ranked number one on Mogul's Top Innovators list for diversity and inclusion. According to Mogul's report, about 40% of Bain's leadership is made up of women, and its 8,000 plus workforce also have access to five resource groups ranging from veterans, LGBTQ, and racial and ethnic minorities.

To earn a spot at the firm, candidates need to exhibit qualities that hiring managers look for during interviews - an innovative mindset, good sportsmanship, and a set of goals to advance their own careers.

Business Insider recently spoke with Keith Bevans, global head of consultant recruiting at Bain, and Davis Nguyen, a former Bain employee who leveraged his consulting skill set and built a careers resource company in 2018. The two shared exactly how recruiters are evaluating you during a job interview.

If you're looking to land a job at Bain, here are four questions to ask yourself to assess your fit.

Are you a problem solver?

Consultants offer solutions to complex business problems, and these problems can range from how to drive more revenue for a stagnant company, to calculating the biggest opportunity for growth in major corporations.

During an interview with Bain, the hiring manager wants to know how you think - how you slice and dice a complicated issue and simplify it with your own expertise. Moreover, your chances of getting promoted are also highly dependent on your demonstrated approach to business problems, Bevans said.

Every candidate completes a case interview, or an open dialogue where the hiring manager asks a set of questions that consultants encounter with clients on a daily basis. Some offices also require a written case assessment, which is your chance to showcase your problem solving and technical skills.

How do you respond to constructive feedback?

In the consulting world, teamwork is an important skill.

"We really do work closely in teams and we want everybody here," Bevans told Business Insider. "We want somebody who's thinking about not just winning as an individual, but winning as a team to stand out in the process."

Bevan said that recruiters are looking for candidates who can "give and receive coaching" - someone who responds well to constructive feedback. It's hard to face criticism, especially if it's coming from your boss or your peers. However, making changes based on feedback can not only improve your results at work, but it can also lead to more success down the line.

One way to elicit team player behavior during a job interview is to listen carefully to what the recruiters are saying and ask follow-up questions that show your eagerness to learn more.

Why are you pursuing a consulting career?

Be clear about why you want the job.

"I think a lot of people out there don't know what they want to do with their lives and can't really focus on anything," Bevans said. "Somewhere along the way, their mentor tells them to do consulting because they do a little bit of everything."

Bevans said that's terrible advice because it doesn't force you to be introspective and figure out what you really want. It also doesn't make a good sales pitch for getting hired at the firm.

"Step one is understanding how Bain fits into your career journey, and step two is understanding the value proposition and own it's different than other consulting options," he added.

Nguyen, a former Bain consultant, told Business Insider that he pursued a consulting career path because he knew it would help him reach his goal of being an entrepreneur.

"I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but my mentors found weaknesses in me that they thought consulting would be able to solve," he said. "I ended up having a world-class training process to actually learn business skills that helped me later on in life that I can't find any other place."

Nguyen worked at the top firm for two years and soon ventured out to start his own recruitment agency, My Consulting Offer.

Are you adaptable?

Bain wants adaptable employees who are willing to learn about multiple divisions early in their career.

"You have to be the kind of person that wants to immerse yourself in that because we want you to be a future business leader," Bevans said.

He explained that you should be open to trying different sectors before developing a niche. That way, you not only prove your flexibility to managers but you also get a better sense for what you really want to do.

Additionally, the recruitment director emphasized that candidates have a keen understanding of digital innovation and disruption in today's workplace. Read up on why certain corporations succeed or fail and how companies adapt.

"What our growth means to me is that we're hiring really great people, but I'm also investing in them like crazy," Bevans said.

It's also important to know that Bain doesn't hire people for the short term. They're looking for potential leaders who will eventually fill leadership roles.

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