Get Active in Our Amazing Community of Over 451,000 Peers!

Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!

Bain Associate Consultant role??

associate consultant Bain & Company
New answer on Nov 30, 2021
6 Answers
2.1 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Nov 26, 2021

Hi everyone, 

I left my job in consulting a few months ago. I was at a T2 firm in the Middle-East, senior level but acting as junior manager in my last projects (which, in the Middle-East means managing junior members & senior stakeholders in autonomy). I took time off to reflect on my career progression and move back to Germany. 

I've been approached by Bain, but for the Senior Associate Consultant role. From what I understood, this is a pretty junior role. I have nearly 3 years of experience in consulting, 2 years in public sector, and a 2 years master's degree. Should I/Can I pretend to the Consultant position? 

Overview of answers

Upvotes
  • Upvotes
  • Date ascending
  • Date descending
Best answer
Hagen
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 27, 2021
#1 Bain coach | >95% success rate | interviewer for 8+ years | mentor and coach for 7+ years

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the faith to take the next career step!

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, I would advise you to aim for a Consultant role for the following reaons:
    • Even if it is common for MBB (and all other consulting companies as well) to discount your experience, offering you the SAC role (meaning 1 year of tenure) would be a discount of 66% (considering that Bain would not acknowledge your industry experience at all) to 80%. I would advise you to think about how badly you want to start with Bain at all costs vs. to what extent you want to continue performing the tasks you did before. As an SAC you will ultimately work for a Consultant who works for a Manager, i.e. you will most probably perform the tasks of your colleagues from two levels below from your current standpoint.
    • Your assessment will be exactly the same. While it might be true that for (S)AC roles interviewers might ocassionally be slightly more leniant when it comes to case study performance, you will have the same interview dates, interviewers and case studies.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your upcoming Bain interviews, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Was this answer helpful?
Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 28, 2021
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Yes, I completely agree with you, but this is not going to be an easy fight for you tbh. 

The way that I would approach it would be to negotiate this only when you have an offer in your hands, and not before, since now you have literally zero leverage. 

Furthermore, you will have to interview to find a job sooner or later, and even if you dont make it this will be good prep. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Was this answer helpful?
Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 26, 2021
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

It never hurts to aim higher! You may as well try to push for the consultant position and ask the recruiter if you can apply for the higher level.

Just remember that the odds of success are lowered slightly (as you are evaluated differently, no matter what people say). Given your background I can see either SA Consultant or Consultant.

Was this answer helpful?
Udayan
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 27, 2021
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /12 years recruiting experience

Hi,

You should definitely bring up your thoughts with HR to see what role would be a good fit. 

I will say that Bain would not have randomly decided what role to select you for, they make the assessment based on your experience and where they think you would be a good fit. The advantage of getting into a junior role is you have the option to rapidly accelerate to the next rung and do so on a solid footing. If you join at or above where you can perform well it may impact your career progression at Bain and your ratings etc. as well.

Your past experience does count but remember every firm does things differently so there will always be a learning curve to overcome and you will need to prove yourself regardless in order to get noticed and staffed on the best projects. If you want to look at it from a longer term lens then a more junior role is not that bad a thing!

 

Best,

Udayan

Was this answer helpful?
Pedro
Expert
replied on Nov 29, 2021
30% off in April 2024 | Bain | EY-Parthenon | Roland Berger | Market Sizing | DARDEN MBA

You should approach them and try to understand why they are interviewing you for this rank (and make your case for the higher one). Unless for some reason your experience is not that valuable for them (which I doubt), I can't see why they wouldn't put you in a consultant role.

Was this answer helpful?
Marco-Alexander
Expert
Content Creator
updated an answer on Nov 30, 2021
Former BCG | Case author for efellows book | Experience in 6 consultancies (Stern Stewart, Capgemini, KPMG, VW Con., Hor

(edited)

Was this answer helpful?
Hagen gave the best answer

Hagen

CoachingPlus Expert
Premium + Coaching Expert
Content Creator
#1 Bain coach | >95% success rate | interviewer for 8+ years | mentor and coach for 7+ years
488
Meetings
15,700
Q&A Upvotes
88
Awards
5.0
414 Reviews