The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Bain & Company (San Francisco, CA) in Jul 2010
Interview
Received an email to setup time for first interview the following week. First round interview was two case studies from a senior AC and a consultant. Both were very friendly and helpful throughout the case. The cases were much more numerical (I had a table of numbers I had to fill out) than I was expecting (compared to case & point cases). There were no behavioral questions, and no questions about why Bain or why consulting - just the case and then time for me to ask questions.
Round two was with a staffing manager, manager, and partner. Again all were friendly and helpful. I only received a short case from the manager. It lasted about 10 minutes and just focused on the business issues I'd be thinking about for a cell-phone related case. No numbers at all. The rest of that interview and the other two were entirely questions like "how did you hear about Bain?" "Why consulting?" "What do you think your performance review at the end of a year at Bain will say?" (got this one twice) and "Describe this project on your resume." I was very surprised I didn't receive harder cases!
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Let's say I'm your manager and you get hired at Bain. At the end of one year, what will I write in your performance review?
Three rounds of interviews, generally 2 rounds in person or remote with live consultants. Each round involves a 2-3 case interviews each, which generally also include a set of behavioural questions.
Drei Interviewrunden, je ein Interviewer: zwei englischsprachige Case Studies (Interviewer-geführt, strukturiert) sowie Personal Fit mit situativen Fragen ohne CV-Bezug - keine Angaben zu Praktika oder Uni gefragt. Stattdessen Reaktionsfragen à la „Wie würdest du in Situation XYZ reagieren?". Mit solider Vorbereitung nichts Unerwartetes. Alle Interviewer sehr freundlich und aufgeschlossen — angenehme, entspannte Atmosphäre throughout.
2 rounds of 3 interviews.
The first round includes a fit interview.
All interviews feel very relaxed, but they still expect you to move through the case fast and in a structured way.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How would you handle a client who is feeling anxious/fearful?
