I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Bain & Company (London, England) in Nov 2017
Interview
I've applied online (CV, Cover letter and online application). The next day I was asked to complete an online math test within 2 days (simple word problems with graphs; %, ratios etc). A week later I was invited to the first round interview (booked time slot within 2 weeks of available options). I came 15min early for my time slot so I was taken to the waiting room for candidates (10-12 of us) where I was asked to sign a n/d agreement and given a piece of paper with my scheduled interviewers (1 Associate consultant and 1 Consultant) (was hinted to LinkedIn them while waiting). After which half the group was taken upstairs and each person was allocated into a small office room. The two interviews were one after the other and each lasted 35 min. The first was experience Qs (Why consulting? If not then what? Tell me about about your greatest achievement and why? Tell me more about X on your CV) with the last 15min a market sizing question (What is the revenue of X public company; with following questions If you had more time what other things would you consider; which would you fact check?) then last few questions were for me to ask the interviewer. The second interview was a few experience Qs then a full on interviewer-led business case with graphs, a market sizing question (what is the market size for X product), a break-even volume calculation and mostly brain storming type of questions (what factors would you consider...? What things are included in cost? How should the company differentiate themselves?) Once all the questions are answered, the interviewer will give you a few minutes for you to ask him/her Qs.
The interviewers are very nice and helpful so don't panic if you're stuck/make a mistake! Bain is more interested in fit (my friend who got onto the next round wrote down the wrong number and made a maths mistake - which the interviewer pointed out so she just simply corrected herself). Be calm and explain your maths out loud :)
2 rounds of interviews, each round consisting of 3 interviews with cases. In the first round 2 case interviews and 1 with HR. In the 2nd round you have 3 interviews with more senior profiles like managers and partners.
Interviewers were really nice, but the process was difficult. Standard level cases and they expected you to take them through multiple business problems. If you practice casing frequently with multiple partners, you should be fine.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Please walk me through how you would approach this case.
2 cases for R1. Pretty straightforward cases about revenue optimization opportunities. There was a little bit of market sizing but all data needed was given. No behaviorals asked in round 1 for me.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What office did you choose and why? Do you have competing offers?