Part of the prestigious MBB triumvirate of strategy consulting firms, Bain is the youngest of the three powerhouses. Whilst it is the smallest of the three in terms of headcount, it’s market-leading culture means that teams are diverse (with Asians being a group that is being focused on) and consultants here will work hard but also play hard.

And work hard you will, with Bain often seen on market leading transactions (over $1bn), with the most recent high profile matter being the $3.5bn takeover of Virgin Australia. Unlike the other two MBBs, Bain does not engage in government work so working here means no annoying tenders to “tend to”. Rather, Bain’s reputation is in Private Equity, which has seen skyrocketing demand and has had a strong presence in the market in recent times.  

Expect to do a bit more due diligence work at Bain (compared to the other MBB firms) due to the nature of the work, but this certainly doesn’t equate to the firm being any type of sweatshop. In fact, we have heard that hours are reasonable (even compared to law or IB) at 55-60 hour weeks on average, with truly protected weekends. Of course, you may occasionally get the really bad weeks, but this is MBB we are talking about, and excellence is expected when required.

Training is excellent at Bain as you would expect, and the grads even get to go to Cape Cod for 2 weeks, which usually just turns into a bit of a party. Something to get out of system before the chains of corporate life lock you down for a while. In addition to this, there are great mentors, ongoing formal training sessions and off-sites throughout the year to boot.

Don’t forget about the perks, with private health insurance, reasonable pay (though not as much as McKinsey) and a generous dinner budget, you’ll be getting a gold class experience here.

Whilst Bain’s reputation may not be as prestigious as that of McKinsey, it still holds its own in the market (with essentially a monopoly on PE) and offers a compellingly great place to work (from a cultural perspective). It is still in the  MBB  trio and frankly, landing one of these gigs will accelerate your career and leave you with plenty of exit opportunities if you ever do decide to leave the industry.