Hi Prep Lounge!
Post MBA at boutique nonprofit consulting firm interested in re-recruiting for Bain 1-2 years post graduation. Pls advise.
Context: internship interviews in Jan 2023 and bombed them despite having a great Fit/PE chat with the partner and doing ok on my second case vs. bombing first case. I didn’t re-apply 2nd year and was lost career wise.
Goals: interested in the SF office & willing/able to recommit to case prep but honestly worry about 3 things:
1) Initial Screen: Unclear what the screen is in 2025/2026 for SF office specifically. Worried I will not pass digital screen on SOVA or whatever video interview used and how to best prepare to pass.
2) Case Prep: I am at a 30-40% interview readiness level from institutional memory and need to work 2 things:
a) improve analytics (charts/case math): division with large #s literally kills me :)
b) more structured/organized in thinking/keeping track of insights (my notes are evidence how disorganized, unstructured and how I cave under pressure when I need to drive the case).
3) Networking: Should I reach back out to old recruiters or old Bainies I connected to (risk: they may left the firm). Perhaps reach out to classmates? What’s the strategy?
Key Concern: Initial screen.
Out of these 3 areas, my biggest concern truly is the initial screen and that a) I don’t know what SF office specifically requires. b) the negative thought: “i will never pass the “
b.1) second negative thought: “you are a failure. you will never get better at casing either”
Any guidance here is helpful for someone in a turnaround situation!