Seeking advice to land an offer from Bain

Hi Manel!

- Do you know how does the behavioral fit test go? what questions are generally asked?

The typical questions: why Bain, why consulting  + personal stories that cover convincing someone to do something, leading a group, creating something in challenging environment. Dm me for a summary of this part of the case with a strong example.

- Any Rex on the cases that are given by Bain?

The traditional type of cases, that may be related to different problems, such as market entry, investment decision, pricing, competitive response, profitability, public sector and unconventional ones. You can check prep lounge cases filtering by “Bain” and good casebooks. If you don’t have access to casebooks, let me know.

- What type of questions are we being asked in the 30min english test?

I’m not familiar with it, will let my colleagues here help. At least at McKinsey, usually the “English test” is the behavioral or the case interview conducted in english.

- Any specific advice and tips? maybe also more specifically to the Paris office

All offices are very similar in terms of recruitment process and interviews. I recommend you to study for both parts of the interview (case and behavioral, both equally important) using good resources and casing with strong partners / coaches that can actually help you identify your gaps, strengths and put you in the right path.

Feel free to dm me for a 15min free chat if you want to evaluate the benefits of a study plan and coaching session. 😊

Best,

Mari

Hi Manel,

Congrats on starting the process!

1. Behavioral/fit interview: Expect standard fit questions (e.g., why you, why consulting, why Bain), behavioral questions (e.g., leadership, teamwork, problem-solving) along with some hypothetical scenarios (e.g., what would you do if...). Bain places strong emphasis on structured storytelling and demonstrating impact.
2. Case interviews: Bain uses a variety of case types and contexts (see below for more tips on that). Some offices also conduct individual market sizing interviews - if applicable, this will be mentioned in your interview invite.
3. English test: Similar in format to standard English proficiency tests like TOEFL. It typically assesses reading comprehension, grammar, and logical reasoning in English.
4. Bain Paris: While core processes are global, each office has its own nuances. If you can, connect with someone from Bain Paris (alumni, LinkedIn, or events) to gain insight into what they emphasize in interviews.

Now on to the general prep:

• The key reason why candidates fail their case interviews and don't improve with practice is because they never learn the right approach and techniques to begin with. They might go through 30-40 cases, just repeating the same mistakes over and over again. There is often no strong baseline.

• Make sure you understand and learn the basics for each part of the case (structuring, charts, math), which is

  • A replicable step-by-step for each part of the case interview

  • The right thinking techniques around the individual parts (e.g., what's a framework, what is evaluated, how can I ensure I think about it the correct way, what are some shortcuts to get to the answer quickly, etc.)

  • Simple communication templates to help you communicate your insights as well as ask for data in the right way to drive the case forward

• There are several approaches you can take, such as hiring a skilled coach, reading the right materials, or enrolling in relevant courses. For example, my book provides direct guidance tailored to modern case interviews. It covers all the essential points mentioned here, and more, while also offering a detailed preparation plan. You can find it on Amazon

• Avoid generic advice and framework memorization approaches. This will only hurt your performance and waste a ton of time (why -> check out the first post here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-goodrelevant-is-the-case-in-point-book-for-case-prep-1984)

• Once you have that baseline it's time to practice and internalize the skills to create the right profile, polishing your strengths and lifting your weaknesses to a robust-enough level

• Practice drills alone (structure, chart, math) and practice full cases with other excellent candidates that know the right habits and approach. It is crucial that you are practicing with really good peers, otherwise, it's a waste of time. Practicing drills on your own is a huge effectivity and efficiency booster since you can go over many more questions in a shorter amount of time compared to practicing with peers. Do both in parallel! You want to spend your time where it is most useful, e.g., if you struggle with math focus on math drills, etc.

• Focus on quality over quantity. Doing 50+ cases does not mean much if you are not applying the right habits to score high and do a detailed debrief after every case to improve. You want to move from bad to good for your weaknesses and good to great for your strengths --> use the feedback from your previous experience and tailor your prep accordingly

• Consider booking at least an initial coaching session to get a detailed and objective evaluation of your performance + learn the right habits for every case regardless of context and framework + get a tailored preparation plan out of the session that will set you up for an effective and efficient prep.

• Don't forget the fit interview part. Prepare answers for all the typical fit questions and stories (3-5 hours) and rehearse them a couple of times (5 hours)

All the best,

Florian