If Bain hasn't gotten back to me yet after the final round, can I assume I'm done for?

Hi there,

before offer decisions are communicated after the final round, they have to be aligned between HR and the interviewers in the process. This can sometimes take time for various reasons. A few common ones are listed below for a general overview:

• internal scheduling conflicts between HR and the interviewers, especially when partners need to be involved
• the firm is still conducting more final round interviews with other candidates and they might want to wait for that to play out to look at the full candidate picture before extending final offers
• offers have been extended to “first choice” candidates and the firm is trying to keep “backup” candidates on hold until they know who accepted and who declined their first batch of offers
• holidays or year-end shutdown delay the decision-making and communication process
• there is uncertainty internally around budget and the exact headcount they can actually hire so they are trying to buy time

I know that this is unsettling and every candidate wants to have clarity on the status sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, you'll always have to wait for the official word. It is legitimate, though, to politely follow up for an update after not hearing back for two weeks. If you have a competing offer already, you should of course follow up before you run the risk of that expiring.

However, it is best to just assume a rejection and continue with the recruiting efforts with other firms until you have a written offer in your hands. That way you at least won't lose time.

Best of luck

Definitely call the recruiter and say that you have an ‘exploding offer’ (I.e., one that is about to expire) and that while you’ve pushed the deadline back as far as you can, Bain is your first choice and so you need to know if you’ve been accepted by x date. They will do everything to get you an answer before then. I suspect people are on holiday and it’s just taking a while to get everyone together to discuss. 

Dear Anonymous A,

I understand your anxiety, but  it is far too early to assume you are done for.

First of all, while many Consulting firms (and MBBs in particular) aspire to communicate decisions as quickly as possible, delays often occur. In my case, I did not receive my BCG offer till almost 2 weeks after my interview. With McKinsey, it was 1 week.
 

Secondly, since you were a Final Round candidate, you will almost certainly be notified directly (regardless of whether you were ultimately successful or not). This is not a case in which to assume no response is a denial like it usually is at the application stage at certain firms.

If you have a genuine deadline to meet in consideration of another offer, I would wait till as long as you can before contacting your Bain recruiter. However, if they haven't gotten back to you by Monday/Tuesday of next week, then that's definitely pushing it and I would call Bain then and explain the situation.

I hope you get good news!  :-)

Hi there,

You need to email Bain and tell them you have an expiring offer with another firm. Ask if they can accelerate their decision. If you can, you should even call them.

You need to then message the other firm to see if they can give you 1 more week. You need to provide a reasonable reason.

You are not out of the running unless Bain officially says you are out of the running (but don't let the other offer expire until/unless you have a signed Bain offer in hand)

Hello,

I know it's tempting to assume the worst in these situations, but you don't 100% know it's a ‘no’ for sure after the final round until they tell you. It is common to hear back quite quickly, but there could be a number of things going on as to why you haven't heard back yet (e.g., they are waiting to hear back from other candidates, waiting on results from multiple final round interview days, paperwork backlog, etc.). I suggest reaching out to the recruiter (call them if you can't reach them by email), let them know that you have an exploding offer on hand, and ask for an update.

Usually ‘no news is good news’… Unless you have something else wanting your signature, try to wait a few days or maybe send an email? Best of luck!

Hi there,

Q: Can I just assume that it's likely I didn't get it?

No, there may be multiple reasons for the delay. If you have another offer, you can contact HR to share that. They will most likely try to provide an answer before the deadline of the other offer.

Good luck!

Francesco

I recently had a similar situation with BCG, no news at all for 2 entire weeks but got the offer. In my case it was because many people (esp. the partners who interviewed me) went on holiday…   

Hey there ,

Best approach would be to reach out to recruiter or HR team, inform them about your pending offer from a different company and request for an expedited response 

Thanks 

Ashwin