I applied through college or university. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Bain & Company (San Francisco, CA) in Oct 2012
Interview
Standard hiring process through college. Dates and deadlines announced online, with a generic info-session arranged at the college. Upload your resume, cover letter and transcripts online. First round is on campus, followed by at-office for the second decision round. Hardest parts are the resume screening and round 2.
Notwithstanding what anyone says - it helps to network and know people at the office. Also, Bain arranges a mock case study session like most other big consulting firms before starting the interviews and after resume screening is done. DO NOT go into the idea that the mock cases are in anyway representative of what the actual interview are like. Actual cases are very intensive and need ample previous practice.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
A round 2 case with the Partner. Case was about VAT (sales tax) recovery option for foreign tourists in a country. The agency that handles the VAT recovery is an investment target for a private equity firm. The task was to suggest growth strategies to the pr.eq. for the agency's business. Note the deliberate use of multiple confusing layers, and bringing up an industry that you are sure never to have heard of. The challenge is to be able to deal with such situations.
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?