Bain return offer - tranfer

Question

Hi everyone!

I have a question that i would appreciate past / current Bainees to answer. I'm finishing my Masters this year (in the US), and I currently have 2 MBB offers. Bain Dubai, and BCG NY. For personal reasons (i.e, boyfriend and preferences), i had tried to ask bain if they would move my return offer to San Francisco (i interned in Dubai one summer) - and they were (quite rude) against this. However, the SF recruiters seemed happy when I asked. I was told by the Dubai office that Bain absolutely does not do this. Can anyone let me know if they ever heard of someone trasferring a return offer between offices at Bain? For context, I was able to get the BCG Associate offer based on an internship in europe years ago, so i was very surprised by how angry Bain was.

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi there,

I have only heard rare examples of that - one person, for instance, had a return offer for Zurich and then switched it to Berlin for personal reasons and it worked.

I think you can also approach it quite directly with Bain, explain your situation to the HR and see how they react. In general, transfers are coming back fully in 2025 globally, so it could be that they will be more relaxed about it.

Best,

Maja

Answer 2

Hey there,

I have friends at Bain that have transferred similar to your situation because of personal reasons. So it is possible, but they did a lot of networking in the process with the transferring office to get buy-in from that side

At the end of the day, these requests can be accepted based on how well you motivate them and the region / office appetite to accept.

All the best

Answer 3

Hi there! I understand your situation and can offer some insights based on my experience. While Bain’s policies on transferring return offers between offices can be quite strict, it’s not entirely impossible. However, it often depends on various factors including the flexibility of the specific office and the policies of the firm at the time. In general, transfers like this can be more challenging due to the internal policies around staffing and client projects.

That said, it's not unheard of for some Bain offices to accommodate transfer requests, especially if the destination office has vacancies and if you have a strong case to make for the move. It might be worth discussing this with the recruiting team at Bain San Francisco directly, as they seemed more receptive. You can also reach out to Bain’s internal mobility or HR teams for clearer guidance on this matter.

Good luck with your decision!

Alessa :)

Answer 4

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offers!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

First of all, I wonder why you ask about cases where the transfer of a return offer worked when you have already asked about it and received a negative answer. What is the reason for this?
Moreover, there are certainly cases where transferring a return offer worked, but this depends on the leniency of the offices involved. In general, however, you have qualified for the return offer in a specific office, which is handled this way with almost all consulting firms.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen