How to Get Into a Top Management Consulting Firm | Tips from a Bain Consultant

Hi, I'm KChoi, welcome back to my channel. I'm very excited for today's video because I interviewed my friend, Judy, who is an ex-Bain consultant about her experience and she had so much good stuff to share about recruiting and interviewing and the culture, so can't wait for you all to see it. But before we get into the interview, I want to thank Squarespace for sponsoring today's video. Squarespace is an all-in-one platform where you can build a website, whether it's a blog or an online store or a portfolio, and it comes with marketing tools and analytics to help you build your online presence. I'm currently working on building my own blog where I can share even more career and education and adulting advice with all of you in a different format than YouTube. And Squarespace is a really intuitive tool that makes it very, very easy to create something that's sleek and beautiful. As you may know, I was an English major in college and so I love writing and I'm really excited to be blogging and writing and using Squarespace as my platform to develop all of that. So if you're also looking to create a website, then you can go to squarespace.com slash ktroy for a free trial, no credit card required. And once you're ready to launch, you can use the code KTROY to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or a domain. So thanks again, Squarespace for sponsoring this video and to all of you for helping make this possible. So Judy and I went to high school and college together and she's actually a year younger than me, but I've always looked up to her because she's such a hard worker and a go-getter. A lot of you have requested content around working at a large consulting firm. So I called up Judy and asked her what it was like working at Bain. I've included timestamps in the description box so you can jump around to the topics that interest you most. And with that, let's just, let's just begin. Yeah, I was like getting ready. I was like, well, I must have like a shirt that's not like a t-shirt or like put on my makeup. It's so long. Yeah. Can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself? I went to Berkeley and then after I graduated from Cal, I joined Bain & Company, stayed there for about three and a half this year. And then from Bain, worked at Reformation doing business development for about a year and a half. And now I'm in my first year at HBS. Did you know that you wanted to go into consulting specifically? No, so I actually didn't really know what consulting was my junior year. And I remember it was a friend that was like, oh, you should try this. Cause we were talking about how I don't really know what I want to do with my career. And she was like, well, consulting could be good for you because it gives you a lot of optionality. So I remember I applied to like three consulting firms for my internship, got rejected from all of them. I had no idea what I was doing, but I think throughout that process, I had interviewed at Bain and really, really liked the people. And so I knew even after I didn't get the offer that for full-time, that's where I wanted to be. So that's kind of where I landed. What did you like about Bain when you were exploring? I honestly, it was the people. And I just remember I'd gone to an info session. I didn't really know what I was doing. Like, I didn't really know what the job was, but I just remember everyone at the info session seemed so happy to be there and just seemed so genuinely excited to work there that I felt like there must be something about this place. And then when I was interviewing, I really felt like all my interviewers were on my side and I liked them more as people too. And so I just felt like the right place. This is where I wanted to be. I kind of knew that would be my target going back to recruiting. What advice would you give to someone who's going through that recruiting process right now? One thing that I feel like people should know and that I felt was helpful was that it really is like a numbers game. So there's all the basics, right? Like you should be preparing, like you should have your docs narrowed, you should have a good GPA, all of that. But like at the end of the day, I think jobs and recruiting and especially consulting things in general, it really does feel like a numbers game. So like the more applications you put out, the more likely that you will get an offer. And I think even if you're not really excited about a firm, it doesn't really hurt to apply, even if you just think about it as like practice for the firm that you really do want to get into. And so I think having that mindset of like, okay, I'm not gonna do what I did my junior year and only apply to three firms. I'm actually gonna apply to as many as I can just to get more comfortable with the interview process, just so hopefully that I land a few offers, I think was helpful. And I definitely wasn't somebody that went into recruiting like not having prepped. I think for my full-time recruiting, I prepped a lot. Like I did as many case interviews as I could have done. I talked to as many people as I could have. I tried to figure out what I needed to do before the interview. And I think being fully prepared, feeling like I was fully prepared was really helpful. So you kind of like built up confidence and then you also kind of also got like a thicker skin because you just like put yourself out there and didn't just limit yourself to like your top three places. Yeah, and I guess at the end of the day, like sometimes it's some of this out of your control. You know, like you might get an interview question that's totally out of your ballpark or something. You might, you know, you might get one that you're super passionate about. Like I remember I got one that was about makeup and that was super easy. And then I got another one that was about rock quarry. So like, I had no idea. And so like, I think you just kind of have to play to the numbers and see where you land. What was your favorite thing about working at Bain? And then what was like the most challenging? The favorite thing is easy, but definitely the people. And I know it's like such a cliche, but it was really fun. I mean, like I think as a 22 year old, whatever, like graduating from college, it was just so, it was so much fun. Like you're with people that are relatively young. Like you start with a class that feels like it feels very collegial and your mentors and your bosses are also relatively young. And I think I have nothing but good things to say about the people for sure. And even if I hated the job, which I did, and I actually really liked it, I would do it all again, just for like the friends that I made and the mentors that I met. And I think that was by far, you know, my favorite thing and remains my favorite thing. I think for the challenges, I think it's twofold. One is when you do a really good job at Bain or any consulting firm, really, like you get rewarded by getting even more harder work and like more work and like more difficult projects. And like, on the one hand, that's really great. And like, you get a lot of learning opportunities and it's really exciting and you feel like you're progressing. But on the other hand, I think if you don't really know how to manage like your work-life balance or manage where your threshold is, it's really easy to get burnt out. The hours I could see being definitely more challenging if you like have a family or if you, you know, need eight hours of sleep every day or whatever it might be. Like that, I feel like your lifestyle probably doesn't align itself as well to the job. I feel like that too. And like, I feel like my hours are pretty good and like I have pretty good work-life balance, but like I still do a lot of travel. And so I don't know how people who like have families like manage it. And somehow they do, which is amazing. But it definitely is, it can be really challenging for sure. The other thing that actually comes to mind, both good and bad. So like one good thing that I think I benefit now more than maybe what I didn't realize while I was in the firm is that I think having like the brand and the network means a lot more as you kind of progress throughout. And that I am very grateful for. Like even now, as I look for like internships, like there's connections and like people that I didn't know that I was connected to. And like the brand value on my resume is really helpful. So I think that's like a more like post view that I appreciate. And then the challenge that I felt a lot more acutely towards the end of my time at Bain was that until you're quite senior, you don't have a lot of control over the type of work you do. And so, you know, by year two or three, I might be so sure that all I wanna do was customer work in retail, for instance. Or I might be really sure that I really only really wanna work in utilities. They will take that into account and, you know, that's great but like that's just not how the business works. And so your ability to control the type of work you do, I don't think you get so much later. Did you know that you kind of wanted to be at Bain for like a few years and then move on to something else? Did you kind of have all of that in mind or did it kind of just more evolve as you were working there? When I joined Bain, I was so sure that I was gonna do two years at Bain, go to business school, get sponsored, come back for two years and then figure out my life. Like that was just like a set plan. I think two years in, I realized like I wasn't ready to go to school. I didn't even know what I wanted to do. You know, I did my externship at Reformation, realized I really liked retail and kind of, it just kind of swerved a little bit. Like I stayed there a little bit longer because I liked the people and work at Bain. I joined Reformation because for me, it felt like a fail-proof way to try something. Like if I hate it, I can always go to school and go back to Bain. If I loved it, I found something that I love. And so I think the more I work, the more I realized, okay, this like two, two, two thing probably isn't gonna work out. Bain was where I actually thought like the seed of business school, I guess, was planted. And I met so many people that had such wonderful experiences that like, I feel like that's kind of where I made up my mind that I wanted to go to school, kind of no matter where I ended up. Can you tell me more about like the externship program or opportunities? I don't remember the exact policy, but I think it's like if you join out of undergrad, I think it probably works good if you're an MBA. I don't remember, but you join out of undergrad. And after like two years, I think typically you are allowed to go on externship, which means you can spend six months working at a company that's not Bain, and then you have the option to come back. Actually, you have to come back, not the option to come back. You have to come back and finish out your three years. And so a lot of people do kind of crazy things. So like a lot of people will go to a startup or they'll go to like a portfolio company of a PE firm that we work with. And there's like a posting where companies can post, like, hey, we're looking for an extern to help with a go-to-market strategy, or like we're looking for an extern to help with sales or cost reduction, whatever it may be. I'm not sure what the actual goal is, but I think for the company, it's actually really beneficial because it works as a really great retention mechanism. I think they recognize that these people, kids come out of undergrad, don't really know what they want. They're doing this job that's probably great, but you're still kind of always searching, and you know, what else is out there I wanna know? And like, all I knew was Bain, and I knew I wanted to see what else was out there, and I was always passionate about retail. So it kind of allowed me to explore retail, but also have the safety net of like, if I don't like it, I could always come back and finish out my three years. And then if I do like it, you know, at least I know that's an option once I finish out my Bain tenure. Yeah, and then you ended up actually working there later, right? So what was that like, the transition from working at like, a top-tier consulting firm, and then going like, in-house to a retail brand? So I would say the externship and my full-time roles felt very different. I think actually full-time transitioning from consulting to ref was honestly pretty great. Like, I would say that skills are so transferable, and I didn't realize that until I came to ref. I think you really learn how to like, figure stuff out. And I think that was like, my biggest value add, that like, I can just figure stuff out, even though I don't really have a lot of experience in retail. I had a lot of like, analytical experience, and a lot of like, business acumen, just like, good judgment on how to move things forward, and how to work with people, like different types of people. And so I felt like I had a lot of value I could add to this like, more younger organization without processes, without a lot of, you know, Excel models running around. And so I think it felt good to be able to say like, okay, I don't really know a lot about retail yet, but I can really come in and like, put a lot of rigor around these analysis, or like, help with the forecast, or like, help vet these new business ideas. And it felt really versatile. I felt really versatile, which was kind of like, a pro and a con, I think, as you get more senior, but the versatility, I think, was by far the biggest value add. I know there are a lot of people who maybe don't have a background in business, or like, maybe they didn't study business, or they're coming from like, a different career. Do you have any insight on that in terms of like, any coworkers that you had who like, had maybe a different, more non-traditional background, and what skills were able to bring them into Bain? I feel like undergrad is like, it doesn't even matter what you major in. Like, I majored in business, but if I'm being really honest, like, I love college experience, but I came in like, a sheet of paper. Like, I knew nothing. Like, I didn't know how to model. Like, I didn't know anything really about accounting, despite having taken like, four accounting classes. And so I think you're like, really just not starting off from like, really any sort of bad baseline. I feel like if you were a history major, or if you were a neuroscience major, or if you like, majored in, you know, literally something totally unrelated, like engineering, and I had a lot of coworkers that actually did do that. You know, I had a neuroscience major who just like, killed it at the job. I had a lot of like, English majors or history majors, as well as like, business and econ majors. And I don't think it was a good tractor by any means. The transferable skills are the things that people are looking for, aren't so much like, your technical skills from an undergrad level. It's more like, does this person have intellectual curiosity? Like, do they have the horsepower to learn the analytics? Like, do they actually like learning about businesses? And you know, is this like, actually a passion of theirs? And so I think if you can show that in your resume, then like, you're good. And the case interview kind of screens out for your ability to have that analytical horsepower. I truly don't think there's any hard skills that you need to bring to start the job. I think it's probably a little bit different for MBAs, but I think for, at least for undergrads, I think you're like, golden. What made you ultimately decide to apply to business school? You said it was while you were working at Bain that the seed was planted, and you kind of went down that path. If I'm being totally honest, I think business school, like, it was more of a present to myself in the sense that, like, I think when you come from consulting and I had majored in business, like, I wasn't looking for a huge career switch. Like, I wasn't looking to break into a field that I couldn't get into with business school, which I think is, you know, a super legitimate reason to go to school. If you, you know, were a teacher and you want to go into consulting, or if you want to make a really big career switch, whatever it may be, those are usually, I think, a more like, quote unquote, legitimate way to go. But that really wasn't what I was looking for. I think I was like, looking back on my life and the moments that I found really gratifying, whether it was college, or even like, Bain, or even like, Rep, were finding cohorts of people that I really valued. And for me, business school was the last institution that I can leverage to get by. And it was a lot more about, you know, when else will I have time to spend two years on myself, to meet really cool people, and to take a step back and figure out what I actually want to do for the next five, 10 years. Knowing that it's quite a luxury, you know, it's not cheap and it's time, but having talked to people that had gone, and like, nobody seemed to have any regrets about it. And so, I felt like, it felt like the right move. Yeah, like, I didn't get my MBA, but like, I did my master's. And like, a lot of it was like, oh, it's so that I could kind of switch careers and like, get that foundation. But a lot of it really is just like, building a network and investing in yourself, for sure. Yeah, and it's just like, so much fun too. It is so fun. Like, I also feel like it's a luxury because it really is so much fun. Like, it's expensive, it's a lot of time, but you meet a lot of really cool people and it's really, really fun. How has HBS been so far? It's good, it's been really fun. I think it's, on the one hand, I think it can be like, socially overwhelming, but I kind of thrive in socially overwhelming situations, so it plays really well to what I like, because there is always something going on. I mean, not really now because of corona, but it's incredible how like, your schedule will follow up. On the other hand, I think I feel really lucky in the sense that that environment has fostered some really great relationships and I feel like I've met really, really great people, really great friends, really great professors. So I feel like I'm having a good time. I really like it. Grades like, really, grades truly don't matter at HBS. Like, it has no bearing on anything. And so, they've done a really good job where the impetus is for you to learn. So like, I have to take some classes, but if I don't care about them, I could give the bare minimum effort, it has no repercussions. So I think the whole experience is designed around you maximizing what you want to get out of it, whether that's social or whether that's learning finance or whether that's learning mark, whatever it may be. And so, I think you get more flexibility to kind of really just hone in on what you want to do. Any advice you would give to people who want to pursue a career in consulting and particularly like, really are aiming for a top three consulting firm? Truthfully, I don't want anything that's what I sound cliche. Yeah. It's really hard. I really think that consulting interviews is one type of interview where effort pays off. Like, I have friends that crushed it without prepping at all. I was not one of those people. Like, case interviews, consulting interviews, like, you can beat it, quote unquote, beat it. Like, it's just like a numbers game in terms of the number of cases you practice and the people you practice with. And so, I think if you really put in the effort, it's really hard not to do well. Because there was such a stark difference between my junior and my senior year. Like, Bing was one of my last interviews. By then, I had a few offers lined up. And like, I think once you get to the place where you feel like, I put in, like, as much effort as I possibly could, it's just kind of peaceful. Because you're just like, if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. It just wasn't meant to be. But most likely it will, and you'll be happy. Hard work and discipline. And practice. I know, so cliche. But it's true. Yeah, no, it's true. True for so many things in life. And like, literally everything in life, which is surprising. Yeah, I think that's a good message. Well, thank you. I'm so glad that you were able to come on my channel. And so many people are very curious about working at a top three firm and all that. So, I'm glad you were able to share some of your experience. Okay, well, let's say bye. And then, we'll like, not actually cut it. Okay, bye. So, whether you're looking to work at a top three MBB firm or not, I hope this video was helpful. Please let me know in the comments what other types of interviews you might want to see on this channel. And I'll see what I can do. Thank you again to Squarespace for sponsoring this video. To Judy for taking time to be interviewed. And to all of you for watching this video and supporting my channel. And I guess I'll see you in my next video. Bye.