Bain PE Practice Preparation

Question

I have had 2 interviews with Bain's India practice for a generalist Consultant role. After 2 rounds the HR got back to me saying that the feedback was positive however they want to tag me to the PE practice area and I would need to work on PE projects for 12 months at a minimum.

My question is how should I prepare for the forthcoming rounds given that I know I will be tagged to the PE practice. Any pointers will be helpful.

For context - I am currently at a Big4 and focus on Transaction Advisory work (DD's and PMI)

Answer 1

Hi there,

Congrats on continuing to advance in the process!

You need to prep in much the same way (in terms of still being prepared for any case type/industry), but you also want to make sure you are strong in anything PE/VC/Finance.

Importantly, identify your remaining weakness areas (through their feedback, peer feedback, self-assessment, and coach assessments) and work on those.

Answer 2

You would prepare the exact same way, nothing changes. There is a very strong likelihood that your case questions (some of them) will be from a PE context so practice PE cases and also your partner round interviews will likely ask technical and behavioral questions with a PE context.

Given that you already do DD work you should be fine. This will not focus much on PMI - that is more ops type work.

Answer 3

At PEG you basically test investment thesis. So what can be an investment thesis in terms of case? Well, it can be a market entry, a probitability case, a growth strategy, a pricing optimization, a valuation, an M&A synergy calculation…

So how is this different than “regular” cases? It isn't. You practice the same thing the same way.

Answer 4

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on advancing in the recruiting process with Bain!

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

Generally speaking, especially since you come from an M&A background, there is no need to change your preparation for the upcoming interviews with PE members of Bain.
However, I would advise you to have a read on Bain's POV on the PE industry and their approach to commercial DDs (especially since consulting companies do commercial DDs as opposed to Big 4 companies who do financial DDs).

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for Bain (PE) case studies, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Answer 5

How was interview? Please let us know how second round went ?

Answer 6

Hi!

Preparation is the same. Focus on some M&A cases if you want to get more exposure to the field.

Good luck,

Anto