Post rejection from Bain: how to best utilize a Partner relationship?

It is always good to close the loop with the partner, and ask for feedback/opinion on what you could improve further. Like you said, there is nothing to lose. May the partner can help you find out more info that you couldn't get...

Best luck,

Emily

Sorry to hear about your rejection. The timing itself may not have much to do with your application but internal processes. Either way it is hard to tell. Before I answer the question with regards to the partner it is important to evaluate your application on the following critieria

1. Did you go to a target school where they heavily recruit from for your role

2. Did you have a high GPA

3. Do you have a competitive resume with relevant work experience and extra curricular activities that showcase your core skills (analytical, communcation etc.)

Once you do an honest evaluation on these you may find that some of the above could apply to you. The right networking (if a partner refers you for example) can often bypass this but without that it is difficult to get an interview invite for MBB

With regards to the partner, I think it is great to stay in touch. Inform him of what happened and thank him for his help in the process. In the email ask if it would be okay for you to update him periodically of your progress. Then you have to actually email him once every 2 months or so to both keep him updated and maintain a relationship. Ideally if you can also meet him once a year that would be even better. Then in 2 years or so when you are ready to apply you can ideally leverage this relationship for that.

All the best,

Udayan

Hello,

It's unlikely that a partner would take any action to pressure HR staff if you don't have a really connection. Anyway it would be a good idea to update him to preserve your connection.
I would rather try to push a little bit the HR staff in order to receive a feedback or at least to know when you can reapply. 

Best,
Luca

As an alum, not much he can do. However, when relaunching your efforts in the future (i.e. after the wait period) when you do reach out (to either him and/or HR) you need to make it very very clear that you've changed, prepared, and are a better candidate

Hi, I would update him about the process, trying to understand when you can apply again (whether before the standard ban)

Best,
Antonello

Hello there,

I would advise reaching out and update the partner, maintaining the relationship in the process, with long-term perspective as opposed to short-term.

The partner may not be able to help you with the decision, but next time you tried to apply and managed to get in, you have partner whom you already know and able to work with immediately after getting in.

Even if you are working in different firms, you might help and collaborate with each other in the future.

No loss in maintaining a relationship in any case.

Hope it helps.

Kind regards,
Nathan

Hello! Unfortunately, not much he can do at this point... keep nurturing that relationship to leverage his contact whenever re-applying. 

Cheers, 

Clara

Hi a,

gain insight, prepare yourself and optimally position for the next time.

Good luck,

André

Hi,

If he is an alum - most probably he just forwarded your e-mail. It's not considered as an official referral. It will be beneficial to reach out to him to gather some insights, however, next time try to apply via someone from the company

Best