Bain & Company Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Bain & Company

Pros – Bain is a great place to continue the MBA learning experience and start applying the tools that you learn in business school. What sets it apart from other consulting firms is the positive and supportive environment that the firm has built. Bain is full of smart, motivated people who work hard, but also do their best to enjoy the work while they do it.

Cons – Like any consulting position, Bain is not an "easy" job. You are constantly challenged and obviously the travel lifestyle can be tough (though Bain does its best to mitigate such lifestyle challenges when it can).

Advice to Senior Management – Continue to priortize the recruitment and development of junior staff.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Bain & Company

Pros – I have had great professional development opportunities - challenging work, constant feedback, strong mentors. This first year has been full of varied projects, in different industries and in different sizes/types of companies. My co-workers have been some of the highlights of my year - great friendships with people built around work but extended into our personal lives.

Cons – Bain has a very direct feedback style, which can often throw people off a bit. You need to make sure that you are seeking out mentors and coaching to ensure that you are getting the positive coaching that you need to deal with perhaps tougher feedback. People who don't seek out support when things aren't going well often don't rebound from a bad project.

Advice to Senior Management – Continue to be open about how the economy is effecting the firm, and what changes (good or bad) we can expect to see in the future. The firm has done very well on this to-date...don't lose momentum just because the economy is starting to turn around. We still want to know!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Bain & Company

Pros – Smart, down-to-earth, motivated colleagues at every level (including support staff); very interesting client work; constant challenge making it a great learning experience

Cons – The most important downside of working at Bain (or any other consulting firm) are the unpredictable lifestyle. One project you may have to travel 3 days a week and on another you can be home all the time. You may work 40 hours a week or 80 hours a week. It's difficult to plan life around that.

Advice to Senior Management – Being as open as you are and keeping us in the loop keeps us motivated. Thanks for that.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Bain & Company

Pros – Two things make Bain stand out for me. First, the learning and growth is both continuous and highly relevant. My job and the expectations of me are different every six months, and that keeps it a lot of fun. Having spent significant time in both consulting and industry, I can also say with confidence that nearly everything about the skill-set here will serve me well should I choose to step back into a management role. When I compare notes to my business school classmates, many of them are still several years from managing a team or running a real project and are not developing skills that are particularly portable. Second, the community here is great. My colleagues are people I genuinely enjoy and want to spend time with outside the work environment. Again, when comparing notes to friends at other consulting firms or in other industries, this is simply not the case at many other employers.

Cons – The challenges of working at Bain are the same as in any consulting firm. There is limited control over the schedule during the week, particularly in the first couple of years. That said, I have worked virtually no weekends and my travel has never been more than a couple days a week, so it has remained fairly manageable.

Advice to Senior Management – Management has done a great job communicating, particularly in this downturn. Morale has remained pretty good, which I think is a credit to how the individual offices and Steve Ellis have maintained a good level of transparency and communication.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Bain & Company

Pros – There are three reasons why after 18 years, I still love working for Bain. First is the great people - they're collaborative, smart, high enery, supportive and fun! Second is the high impact and results we drive with our clients. Third is the flexible work options - I was promoted to Partner while working part time (and I was not the first nor last to do so).

Cons – Only con is the nature of consulting - travel. That being said, we travel less than our competitors.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep up the awesome work!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Bain & Company

Pros – I have worked at Bain in 3 offices across Europe, Africa & the US. I am exceptionally happy with how it has turned out. My colleagues are hard-working and fun. I have worked in over 20 industries from toothpaste innovation to coal mining. When my wife and I got married, ten of our sixty guests were great friends from Bain. That sums it up for me.

Cons – No denying that the performance bar is high and there's no slacking off!

Advice to Senior Management – Thank you for being straightforward about our strategy for getting through this downturn and coming out stronger and fitter on the other side.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Bain & Company

Pros – Despite challenging economic conditions, Bain continues to impress me by demonstrating a commitment to client results through tied economics, investing in professional development at all levels, and promoting a strong firm culture worldwide via activities such as the Bain World Cup.

Cons – Higher performance expectations, increased retention of former ACs, and fewer industry exit opportunities leads to occasional internal competition for limited promotion spots. As the economy rebounds, this will become less of an issue.

Advice to Senior Management – Continue to expand consultant recruiting beyond the traditional MBA talent pool. PhDs, MDs, and JDs represent significant untapped sources of top candidates.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Bain & Company

Pros – Less travel than competitors, generalist and regional staffing model, great compensation (especially long term comp), fantastic training and professional development.

Cons – Like most consulting firms, the travel can be tiring. Bain travels less than competitors but some cases are heavy travel.

Advice to Senior Management – Continue the good work with your people in the recession. The clear messaging you have maintained during the slower period is much appreciated.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Bain & Company

Pros – Fun, smart, people. An amazing combination that is hard to find elsewhere.
Constant challenge leading to great learning
Support and mentoring are top-notch

Cons – Client service work can be very intense, and can feel restrictive despite the firm and management's best efforts to balance work and personal lives of employees.

Advice to Senior Management – Continue the open dialogue about the successes and challenges facing our industry and company.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Bain & Company

Pros – Great exposure
Good people
Fun environment
Challenging work

Cons – Hours are long
24/7 availability
Difficult to develop expertise in -2 areas

Advice to Senior Management – Work life balance focus

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend