Which role to apply to Bain and what recuritment process ?

Hi there,

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

• First of all, I would advise you to apply as a Consultant. If the recruiter feels that your experience is not yet appropriate for the Consultant role, they will tell you so.
• Moreover, and contrary to what other coaches have said, with the exception of Bain's London office, the application processes seem to follow global standards with two rounds of interviews, the first consisting of two case study interviews and a “behavioral” interview, and the second consisting of two mixed case study and personal fit interviews.
• Lastly, yes, you will most likely have to take the Bain Sova or TestGorilla pre-interview assessment. However, and contrary to what other coaches have said, the TestGorilla pre-interview assessment seems to be used only in the Benelux countries.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming Bain applications, pre-interview assessments and/or interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hey!

You should apply for the Consultant position as it aligns with your 3 years of experience in strategy consulting. Bain typically doesn’t have a specific “Senior Associate Consultant” application link—internal assessments decide the exact level during the process.

For recruitment at Bain London, Paris, and Amsterdam, the process usually includes:

1. CV screening and possibly a cover letter.
2. A quantitative/analytical test (depending on the office, e.g., Bain Math Test or SHL-style tests).
3. Case interviews (2–3 rounds, with business cases and fit questions).

Best of luck!

Alessa 

Dear,

I would advise to apply as an experienced hire - as a consultant. During the interview, they advice you a certain starting level (AC/SAC/C). The interview process at Bain EU includes a quantitative focused test. 

Feel free to reach out if you have further questions. 

Mattijs

Hello! Speaking from the Asia perspective so things may be a bit different in Europe, but 3 years of experience qualifies you well for the Associate Consultant role at Bain although Consultant is also possible if you are already in the industry. Depending on your interview performance, applying for an AC role and getting bumped up to SAC is actually a possibility. What is more likely though is that you’d be considered for an AC2 role, meaning you join as a second year AC and you can be promoted to SAC within 6 months to 1 year instead of the usual 2 years from AC to SAC. 

Understand an Associate consultant role may not be ideal if career progression is what you want to optimise for, however Bain tends to want to set you up for success and so having a bit of a runway to SAC and subsequently Consultant has actually helped a lot of new joiners, even former consultants, from my observations.

All the best, regardless! Hope that’s been helpful

Hi there,

• Go for the Consultant position
• Screening tests usually vary between SOVA and TestGorilla and candidates are usually not informed what they will face to prevent them from preparing (it's the same preparation nonetheless)
• Rest of the recruitment process is typical: Mix of market-sizing interview, case Interview, often blind fit interview, usually two rounds

All the best,

Florian

Hey there, 

My general best practice recommendation to questions like these is that you should speak to recruitment on matters that involve eligibility - as they would invariable guide you most appropriately. 

That said, Consultant seems the most appropriate given your work experience. The stages you'd go through are:

• CV and profile screening
• Online tests (SOVA / Test Gorilla)
• Case & behavioral interviews

All the best