Management

Bain
Consulting
Resume
Resume
Sample
Sample

Bains rigorous screening process

Crafting a great management consultant resume is probably one of the biggest challenges applicants
face. As the consultancy employment market is extremely competitive, most aspiring consultants
are qualified for the vacant position. With such steep competition, your job application must reflect
outstanding professional experience, skills, and achievements.

Most aspiring consultants dream of working at global management consulting firms such as Bain &
Co. And like other world renowned firms, Bain utilizes a rigorous and competitive screening process.
Candidates who wish to work at this reputable company must be able to devise an interesting and
relevant application.

This means you have to submit a customized resume in order to pass Bains initial screening process.
When crafting your application, keep in mind that only a small percentage of applicants get an
interview at Bain.

In this presentation, you will learn:

What Bain looks for

Tips for writing a Bain resume
Parts of a Bain resume
Common consulting resume
mistakes

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What Bain looks for in applicants

To determine which candidates are eligible to move on to the interview stage, Bain developed a points
system to evaluate their applicants educational attainment, work experience, and related
extracurricular activities. Recruiters look for individuals who possess the following:
Excellent problemsolving skills

Bain searches for aspiring consultants who have the ability to frame complex
problems while using creative analytics to generate a pragmatic solution.

Proven leadership
experience

Whether work or school related, Bain places a great deal of importance on

strong leadership skills and experience.

Passionate about
consulting

You cant teach anyone to be passionate about something they dont really
like. In order to excel at Bain, you need to be enthusiastic and driven in
solving client problems. Passion means energy and energy means
achievement.

Results-oriented

Bain also looks for candidates with a results-oriented track record.

Regardless of your background, the firm will be impressed by the
quantifiable impact you had within an organization.

Bain recruits talented and experienced professionals to fill their Associate Consultant positions from a
variety of placesfrom colleges and universities and top graduate schools to meet-ups and networking
events.

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Know your target firm

Before you start creating your

consulting resume, allot some time to
researching your target firm.
Acquiring knowledge about Bain will
guide you in writing your application.
As your resume has to be targeted to
the company and the position,
obtaining information will help you
build a connection with them as a
potential employer. You can find
relevant information on their
company website including their
goals, values, and other essential
details.

You can also follow their social media accounts in order to stay updated on recent activities and
events. You wont be able to include all the information you find on your resume, but you will
definitely benefit from the knowledge, particularly if you are selected to be interviewed.

Moreover, seek the advice of colleagues who have worked or are currently working for Bain. You may
just learn relevant information about what the company is currently looking for, preferred
methodology, skills, etc.

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Craft your Bain resume

In general, the format of a resume includes the following
categories:

Header with personal information

Summary and objective
Work experience and achievements
Educational background
Interests/activities

However, most consulting resumes do not include a

summary or objectives section. This is because as an
aspiring consultant, your summary and career objectives
must be clearly demonstrated through your achievements.
Besides, recruiters at top-tier consulting firms like Bain
are busy people; they dont want to see any irrelevant
information.
Also, remember to structure your resume to address the
needs of the recruitment consultant. Place your name at
the top of the page and mention your employment history
in reverse chronological order, or starting with the most
recent position.

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Parts of a Bain resume

Personal
information
section

In this section, mention all relevant personal details: your name, home address,
email address, and contact numbers. To convey a more professional feel you can
add the URL to your online portfolio or website. It is also recommended to use a
larger font for your name.
In addition, make sure you provide a simple and professional email address. Using a
funny email address will not help you get a job at Bain. In fact, according to a
survey titled Confession of the Recruitment Agency, 76% of applications that
contain an unprofessional email address are rejected. It is recommended to use
your first and last name when setting up an email account for business and
professional use as in the example below. Lastly, ensure the contact numbers you
provide are accurate and functional.

John Doe
123 Vanowen Street, Van Nuys, CA 91405 / (+145) 987-6543 /johndoe@gmail.com
Professional
experience and
achievements

When developing this section of your Bain resume, remember to include your
accomplishments in addition to your responsibilities. Under each job heading, you
may use bullet points to detail your achievements; make sure you mention the
most impressive ones first.

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Parts of a Bain resume

Professional
experience and
achievements

Simply listing your previous position titles and role descriptions will not suffice.
Bain wants to know about your tangible contributions. You can also include major
projects that youve worked on in which you demonstrated key skills. Top-tier firms
are interested in quantifiable achievements, not responsibilities.
When conveying your accomplishments, use numbers and statistics. Your
prospective firm will translate these numbers into a solid record of quantifiable
success.
Business Product Manager, US Telecommunications, CA

Educational
background

Planned and implemented a sales campaign that yielded a 23% response rate
and 20% increase in target sales.

If you are a fresh graduate, this section should follow your personal details. Your
educational training will help Bain assess how equipped you are for the available
consulting role. If you already have relevant working experience, it is suggested to
place this section after your work experience.
Some of the most vital information to include is the name of your
college/university, your degree, the years attended, and relevant coursework.
Moreover, you may include your GPA, LSAT scores, and other relevant tests you
have taken. It is also recommended to list any awards you received either for
academic excellence or social involvement. If you feel you have an impressive
transcript, you can attach it to your application. See example on the next slide.

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Parts of a Bain resume

Educational
background

Extracurricular
activities

University of California, Berkeley, Marketing Degree, 2009-2012

Cum laude, Notable Achievement Undergraduate Award 2012

GPA: 3.9

It is also recommended to include this section if you recently graduated as it can

effectively demonstrate the qualities Bain looks for in applicants. However, if you
already have plenty of professional experience, this section may be unnecessary.
In this section of you can highlight any of the following:

Leadership experience - Bains website alludes to their interest in

candidates with proven leadership skills. Applicants with innate leadership
skills typically have strong character, a quality essential to succeed in this
industry.

Writing skills - If you wrote articles or editorials for your school magazine
or weekly publication, include this in your Bain application. Management
consultants write a tremendous amount of reports and recommendations,
thus excellent writing skills are a valuable asset.

Volunteer work - Volunteerism is a strong indicator of genuine passion and

commitment. To be successful in management consulting, you must be
committed.

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Parts of a Bain resume

Extracurricular
activities

Below is an example of how this section should look on your resume:

Associate Editor, Veritas Publication, SY 2009 2010

Additional skills
and interests

Wrote news and feature articles; edited articles to ensure high quality and
original content.

If you have other relevant qualifications, you may include them in this section of
your Bain resume. For example, you could include the following credentials:
foreign languages, software expertise, professional group involvement, and
certificates and licenses.

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Common consulting resume mistakes

To ensure that your Bain resume is impeccably written, avoid committing the following mistakes:
Inadequate
spacing or poor
formatting

Appearance definitely matters. Use adequate white space and avoid bulk text.
Spacing is critical as recruiters tend to ignore applications that tire the eyes. Make
sure your Bain resume is reader-friendly with a consistent and clean format.

Lack of
numbers

Include quantifiable attainments. Numbers seem to be the most eye-catching part

of a consulting resume as they indicate a quantitative reflection of your skills.

Insignificant
awards

Only mention honors or awards that are relevant to consulting: academic

excellence and notable social involvement. Bain is not interested in your other
personal accomplishments.

Stating the
obvious

This common mistake is usually made in the professional experience section. Many
aspiring consultants fail to demonstrate the qualities the firm is looking for in
describing their previous roles. Instead of simply stating your contribution, explain
how you achieved the results.

Lengthy

Keep your Bain resume short and concise. Hiring managers dont have the time or
patience to read lengthy applications. Include only the relevant highlights of your
career and keep it to one page if possible.

Texty syndrome

Do not use two words when one will do. For example, led and managed or
completed and processed. If you can efficiently describe the action taken in a
single word, dont use two.

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10

Common consulting resume mistakes

Adding a photo

Attaching a photo can distract hiring managers from your qualifications. Unless
Bain asks for a photo, your application is better off without it.

Incorrect tense

Whenever you describe your past work experience, activities, and educational
background, always use the past tense. Dont write, Managing 30 employees if
you left the company a few years ago.

Information
discrepancies

According to a report by Accu-Screen, Inc., ADP, The Society of Human Resource

Managers, approximately 46% of applications contain discrepancies in what the
candidate provided and what the source stated. As everything can be easily
verified in this age of technology, only include accurate information in your Bain
resume.

Not using power

words

Incorporating action words in your Bain application is a must. Like keywords,

managers tend to look for power words when screening resumes. Some of these
words include managed, supervised, exceeded, implemented, and
developed.

Failing to use
keywords

As recruiters dont spend a lot of time reviewing your Bain resume, use keywords
and phrases in order to make the interview shortlist. Some of the critical words
that consulting firms like Bain look for include business judgment, problemsolving, and leadership. To identify relevant keywords, read the job
advertisement and research the target position.

Landing a job at Bain can be a painstaking process. However, if you are thoroughly prepared for their
application and screening process, youll have a better chance of landing a job at this prestigious firm.

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11

Free Guide: Learn How to Break Into Consulting

Do you want to break into consulting? Download our free PDF guide, which
will show you the necessary steps and best practices on how to prepare.

Consulting Interview Process: Get an overview of the

application and interview process when applying to
management consulting firms. Receive tips on how to write
your cover letter and resume and get prepared for the
written tests and interviews once you get there.
Interview Preparation: Learn what you need to practice to
receive an offer from one of the top-tier consulting firms.
See our step-by-step framework to case study solving, learn
how to develop your own frameworks and get mental math
tips.
Case Study Example: Know what to expect from a case
study interview round. Read a real-life case study interview,
which includes a variety of topics. See the practical
application of the step-by-step framework to case study
solving.

Download this free guide (PDF)