I applied online. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Bain & Company in Oct 2011
Interview
I applied online by submitting a standard resume and cover letter. Bain & Co. then came to my school to interview the top applicants. The first round interview consisted of two thirty minute interviews, each of which consisted primarily of a case study discussion (about 20 minutes) with some limited introductions (about five minutes) and closing questions (about five minutes). The case studies weren't overly difficult, but communication and articulation were key. The interviewers were generally nice but sometimes testing (as they should be; however, this sometimes led to seeming unhelpful if you felt you needed more information to properly address the study). There was a second round of call-back interviews the following day.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Estimate the size of the U.S. market for bicycles and bicycle equipment.
2 rounds, 1st round 2 small cases, not very difficult , market entry cases.
2nd long case with a deck to read and prepare answers..45 mins to read, 15 mins to answer
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.