What criteria does Bain uses to select a candidates for an interview? Do they only invite candidates which they think are highly qualified?

Hi Anonymous,

for new graduates, criteria would be the following, in order of importance:

1. University reputation
2. Degree (less relevant in some countries)
3. Academic performance
4. Work experience
5. Extracurricular activities
6. Experience abroad

For experienced hires, your career path would also be relevant. In general terms, the best work experience would be the following:

• Other strategy consulting firms
• Business development/Strategy roles in top brands
• In case you join as an expert for a specific practice: top brands in that field

As for your second question: yes, they won’t invite you unless you show excellence in the previous areas, or, as Vlad mentioned, can compensate any missing points with a strong referral.

Best,

Francesco

I recently spoke with a recruiting specialist from Bain's Zurich office. They said they look at the following 3 areas:

1. Education: school you have studied, GPA.
2. Work Experience: strong focus on consulting or Private Equity. Other work experiences are ranked only secondary (according to the recruiting specialist I spoke)
3. International Experience: whether you have worked/studied in another country

For interns, it might differ a bit and they might look at extracuricular activities instead of work experience (but that's an assumption).

See a couple of previous threads on specific scoring criteria of resume/profiles below:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-do-recruiters-filter-applications-first-phase-1218#a2417

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-can-i-add-to-my-resume-to-pass-screening-1300#a2760