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    Bain & Company Reviews

    Updated November 14, 2018
    2,267 reviews

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    4.7
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    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    Bain & Company Worldwide Managing Partner Manny Maceda
    Manny Maceda
    313 Ratings

    2,267 Employee Reviews

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    Pros
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    More Pros and Cons

    1. "Recommend"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Bain & Company full-time

      Pros

      Lots of positive reasons to work here

      Cons

      Hard work and sometimes long hours

    2. Helpful (514)

      "Welcome to Bain"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Manager in Chicago, IL
      Current Employee - Manager in Chicago, IL
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Bain & Company full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      Welcome to Bain. I'm going to give you a problem that neither the CEO nor his entire management team could solve. And I'm probably going to give you lots of different opinions and imperfect data sources. And then I'll ask you to focus in on where the most value is and convince all those people with different opinions that you're right. But don't worry, I'm also going to give you a Bain team. Those associates and consultants are going to be tenacious in coming up with creative approaches. Those managers and partners are going to knock down barriers for you, connect you where you need to be connected, guide, support, direct and re-direct you. The office support staff is going to fix your computer after you spilled coffee on it for the third time, find you the unfindable data source, and smile and hand you a baked good after you ask for help re-doing dozens of slides. You are empowered and accountable but you are not alone. And the best part is you can't fail. Because after all, what all those people are reinforcing is that a Bainie never lets another Bainie fail.

      Cons

      Here's how you know you've made it at Bain. The reward for doing a good job is getting a bigger, tougher problem next time. Meaning, you are always solving the easiest problem you will ever solve again. This takes a lot of resilience and active managing of self-expectations to remember that you are not actually getting worse, the problems are just getting harder. So my advice is to remember that. And then take a second to realize that it would be a lot less fun if the reverse were true. And isn't that precisely why you wanted this job in the first place anyway? It sure was for me.

      Advice to Management

      Continue to find and promote the leadership that lives our operating principles.

      Bain & Company Response

      Sep 27, 2016 – Director, Global Consultant Talent Management

      You have captured the essence of what it means to work here! Thanks for sharing your experience.

      3. Join the Bain & Company team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. "Smart people, long hours"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Consultant in New York, NY
      Current Employee - Consultant in New York, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook

      I have been working at Bain & Company full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Inspiring people to work with and interesting cases; feedback is taken internally on each case every week

      Cons

      Long hours, not always the most flexible when it comes to work -life balance

    4. "Lags peers in caring for its international (non-US) employees"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Consultant in Boston, MA
      Current Employee - Consultant in Boston, MA
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Bain & Company full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      You get to work together with the smartest people around. Your managers will care about your development and will support you in whatever you hope to achieve.

      Cons

      They hire non-US citizens out of undergrad or MBA but their sponsorship policy is the worst when compared to McKinsey/BCG or do largest banks they compete with most of the time.
      Bain only applies for H1B visa once, and if you don't get it they will not re-apply, while most other consulting firms will offer to re-apply.
      Bain's policy is to send you to an office abroad (you have no choice in selecting it, it's rather selected on demand) and then you are brought back on L1 which ties you to the company for as long as you stay in the country. This means that if you don't get promoted or want to leave, you need to leave the US.
      Although they could apply for H1B which gives you the optionality to work at other companies in the future in the US, they won't do it. This means that as an international you are not allowed to use opportunities such as externships that your other peers are able to do.

      Advice to Management

      Consider making it easier for non-US citizens to work at Bain

    5. "Good for Skills, Bad for Impact/Meaning"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Consultant in New York, NY
      Former Employee - Consultant in New York, NY
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Bain & Company full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      Good people at the junior levels; great skill development

      Cons

      Lack of impact in the P&L/business; no accountability; depressing lifestyle for partners

      Advice to Management

      It's tough to fix that the business is really just making slides

    6. "Incredible Company Culture"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Consultant in Boston, MA
      Current Employee - Consultant in Boston, MA
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook

      I have been working at Bain & Company full-time

      Pros

      Bain & Co. has the most collaborative, welcoming, and team oriented culture of any company I have worked for in the past.

      Cons

      While it is nice to have a clear understanding of the path to promotion, there are not many opportunities to accelerate the process

    7. "Second to none!"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - PPK Department in Chicago, IL
      Current Employee - PPK Department in Chicago, IL
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Bain & Company full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      There are so many pros to working for Bain & Company:
      - flexible working environment
      - great benefits
      - working with the best and brightest
      - growth opportunities
      - ability to work with colleagues across the globe
      - extremely strong company culture that is diverse and inclusive

      Cons

      Some of the cons:
      - The Consulting Support Services staff is sometimes treated differently than consulting staff
      - Some internal politics/bureaucracy to navigate

    8. "It's true: Great place to work"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in New York, NY
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in New York, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Bain & Company full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      Incredibly smart people, but friendly and fun also
      Benefits are expansive
      Flexibility when the project allows in work location and times
      Learn not only in core work, but in general contact with other areas of the company

      Cons

      Can be demanding, long hours, travel - but is what's needed to deliver the results on time and at expectation
      Can be difficult to find the right path of career growth - but mentorship is available, but you need to drive it

      Advice to Management

      Keep driving diversity initiatives, keep driving innovation

    9. Helpful (1)

      "Good Humans with Big Brains working on Hard Problems"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Partner in Boston, MA
      Current Employee - Partner in Boston, MA
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Bain & Company full-time (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      Intellectual stimulation (and periodic overstimulation :))
      Appreciation for the human elements inside and outside the company
      Best. people.ever
      Innovating rapidly

      Cons

      Still client service
      Still good bit of travel

    10. "Incredible, Challenging Place to Work"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Case Team Leader in Chicago, IL
      Current Employee - Case Team Leader in Chicago, IL
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Bain & Company full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Quality of people you get to work with; impact you get to have on clients; compensation; flexibility around travel; quality of training / learning opportunities

      Cons

      Long hours; competitive promotion criteria at the manager level

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