Bain case interviews are the most difficult part of the interview process. Bain interviews include case interviews, behavioral or fit interview questions, and written case interviews for some offices. You will need to pass every single Bain case interview in order to land a Bain job offer. 

If you have an upcoming Bain case interview, don't worry because we have you covered.

I'm a former Bain Manager and interviewer and in this article, I'll cover exactly what to expect in your upcoming Bain interview and how to crush your Bain case interviews.

 

Specifically, we’ll go through in detail:
 

• The Bain interview process

• What is a Bain case interview?

• What does a Bain case interview assess?

 

• How to solve a Bain case interview

 

• The most common types of Bain case interviews

 

• Bain case interview examples

• Bain case interview tips

• How to prepare for Bain case interviews

 

• How to solve Bain written case interviews

• Bain written case interview tips
  

 

• Bain behavioral and fit interview questions

• Recommended Bain case interview resources

If you’re looking for a step-by-step shortcut to learn case interviews quickly, enroll in our case interview course. These insider strategies from a former Bain interviewer helped 30,000+ land consulting offers while saving hundreds of hours of prep time.

 

The Bain Interview Process

 

The Bain interview process has the following steps:
 

1. Resume and cover letter screening

 Bain’s resume and cover letter screening is similar to other consulting firms. Two or three weeks after the application deadline, you should hear back from Bain on whether or not you have been invited to a first round interview.

2. Bain math test (only used by a few offices in South America)

 

In a few offices in South America, Bain uses math tests to screen candidates before interviews. For the vast majority of candidates, you will not need to worry about taking a test.

There are two types of tests. The first one is based on questions that are similar to GMAT questions, a graduate level exam for entry into business school. You’ll have 25 minutes to complete 15 critical reasoning, data sufficiency, and problem solving questions.

 

The second type of test is similar to the McKinsey PST and BCG Potential Test. You’ll get two business cases with text, charts, graphs, and tables. You’ll have 45 minutes to answer 15 questions.

3. First round interviews

First round interviews consist of two 40-minute interviews. The interview may start off with one or two behavioral or fit interview questions, but the majority of the time will be spent on the case interview. You'll be interviewed by a mix of Senior Associate Consultants, Consultants, Managers, or Senior Managers.

4. Final round interviews

After your first round interviews, you should hear back from Bain within a week or two on whether you have been invited for a second round or final round interview.

Final round interviews consist of two to three 40-minute interviews. One of the interviews will be focused on behavioral and fit interview questions with a mini-case if there is time. The remaining interviews will focus primarily on case interviews. You'll be interviewed by a mix of Senior Managers, Associate Partners, and Partners.

In some countries, Bain uses a written case interview in their second round of interviews. You’ll be given 90 minutes to review a 20-page packet of information to fill in 5 pre-made slides.

After completing your final round interviews, you should hear back from Bain within a week on whether or not you are being extended an offer.

What is a Bain Case Interview?

A Bain case interview, also known as a “case” for short, is a 30 to 60-minute exercise in which you and the interviewer work together to develop a recommendation or answer to a business problem.

 

These business problems can be anything that real companies face:

 

• How can Amazon increase its profitability?

 

• What can Apple do to increase customer retention?

 

• How should Tesla price its new electric vehicle?

 

• Where should Disney open another Disneyland theme park?

 

Bain case interviews simulate what the consulting job will be like by placing you in a hypothetical business situation. Cases simulate real business problems that consulting firms solve for their clients. Many Bain case interviews are based on actual projects that interviewers have worked on.

 

While consulting projects typically last between 3 to 9 months, case interviews condense solving the business problem into just 30 to 45 minutes.

 

Bain case interviews can cover any industry, including retail, consumer packaged goods, financial services, energy, education, healthcare, government, and technology.

 

They can also cover a wide range of business situations, including entering a new market, launching a new product, acquiring a company, improving profitability, and growing revenues.

 

Although Bain case interviews cover a wide range of industries and business situations, no technical or specialized knowledge is needed.

 

Unless you are interviewing for a consulting firm that specializes in a particular industry or function, cases are designed to be solved by someone that has general business knowledge.

 

Nailing your Bain case interviews is critical to get a job at Bain. There is no way to get a Bain job offer without passing your case interviews.

What Does a Bain Case Interview Assess?

Bain case interviews assess five different qualities or characteristics: logical and structured thinking, analytical problem solving, business acumen, communication skills, and personality and cultural fit.

 

1. Logical and structured thinking: Consultants need to be organized and methodical in order to work efficiently.

 

• Can you structure complex problems in a clear, simple way?

 

• Can you take tremendous amounts of information and data and identify the most important points?

 

• Can you use logic and reason to make appropriate conclusions?

 

2. Analytical problem solving: Consultants work with a tremendous amount of data and information in order to develop recommendations to complex problems.

 

• Can you read and interpret data well?

 

• Can you perform math computations smoothly and accurately?

 

• Can you conduct the right analyses to draw the right conclusions?

 

3. Business acumen: A strong business instinct helps consultants make the right decisions and develop the right recommendations.

 

• Do you have a basic understanding of fundamental business concepts?

 

• Do your conclusions and recommendations make sense from a business perspective?

 

4. Communication skills: Consultants need strong communication skills to collaborate with teammates and clients effectively.

 

• Can you communicate in a clear, concise way?

 

• Are you articulate in what you are saying?

 

5. Personality and cultural fit: Consultants spend a lot of time working closely in small teams. Having a personality and attitude that fits with the team makes the whole team work better together.

 

• Are you coachable and easy to work with?

 

• Are you pleasant to be around?

 

All of these five qualities can be assessed in just a 30 to 60-minute Bain case interview. This is what makes case interviews so effective in assessing consulting candidates.

How to Solve a Bain Case Interview

 

Bain case interviews are candidate-led. This means that you will be expected to lead the direction of the case. You will propose what areas to investigate, what analyses to do, and what the next step should be.

There are six steps to solve any Bain case interview.

 

 

 

1. Listen to the case

 

The case will start with the interviewer giving you the case background information. During this step, make sure you are taking notes on the most important pieces of information. You should focus on understanding the context, company, and the objective.

 

2. Verify the objective

 

Understanding the business problem and objective is the most important step of the case interview. Answering the wrong business question is the quickest way to fail a case interview.

 

Therefore, you should ask clarifying questions to better understand the business situation and issue. Make sure that you confirm the objective of the case with the interviewer. This will ensure that you start the case on the right track.

 

3. Create a framework

 

Next, create a framework to help you tackle the business problem. A framework is a tool that helps you structure and break down complex problems into simpler, smaller components. Think of a framework as brainstorming different ideas and organizing them neatly into different categories.

 

Walk the interviewer through your framework. They may ask a few questions or provide some feedback.

For a complete guide on how to create tailored and unique frameworks for each case, check out our article on case interview frameworks.

 

4. Develop a hypothesis

 

After creating a framework, you should develop a hypothesis that answers the business problem. A hypothesis is an educated guess on the answer based on the data and information that you have so far.

 

Your hypothesis does not need to be correct because you’ll be continuously testing and refining your hypothesis throughout the case. The purpose of having a hypothesis is to guide your analysis and ensure that you are spending your time answering the right questions.

 

5. Test your hypothesis

 

The majority of the case will be spent testing your hypothesis. 

 

Sometimes, your hypothesis will be completely wrong and you’ll need to develop another hypothesis to test. Other times, your hypothesis may be correct, but you’ll need to refine and narrow down your hypothesis further.

 

Throughout this process, you’ll likely be answering a mix of quantitative and qualitative questions. Make sure that after each question, you explain how your answer impacts your hypothesis and state your new hypothesis.

 

6. Deliver a recommendation

 

In the last step of the case interview, you’ll present your recommendation and provide the major reasons that support it. It is also good to include potential next steps that you would take if you had more time or data.

 

The Most Common Types of Bain Case Interviews

 

While you can be given any kind of business situation or problem, there are three types of cases that are by far the most common in Bain case interviews:
 

• Profitability case

 

• Market entry case

 

• Merger and acquisition case
  
  

 

Bain Profitability Case Interview

 

A Bain profitability case interview might look like this: 

 

“An electric car manufacturer has recently been experiencing a decline in profits. What is causing this decline and what should they do?”

 

There are three steps to solving a profitability case.

 

First, you need to understand quantitatively, what is the driver causing the decline in profits? Is the decline in profitability due to a decline in revenue, an increase in costs, or both?

 

Next, you need to understand qualitatively, what factors are driving the decline in profitability that you identified in the previous step. You’ll likely need to look at customers, competition, and the market to understand why this decline is happening.

 

Have customer needs or preferences changed? Have new competitors entered the market? Are there new technology or regulatory changes?

 

Once you have identified why the decline is happening, you can brainstorm potential solutions and prioritize the solution that is the most effective and practical.

 

Bain Market Entry Case Interview

 

A Bain market entry case interview might look like this: 

 

“Facebook is considering entering the smartphone market in the United States. Should they enter?”

 

For market entry cases, there are typically four major areas you want to investigate in order to develop a recommendation:
 

• Market attractiveness: Is this an attractive market to entry?

 

• Competitive landscape: How strong are competitors and how easy is it to capture meaningful market share?

 

• Company capabilities: Does the company have the capabilities to successfully enter the market?

 

• Financial implications: Will the company achieve its financial goals or targets from entering the market?
  
  

 

After determining whether or not the company should enter the market, you can look into potential risks, the market entry strategy, or explore alternative options that the company has. What you choose to do depends on the context of the case.

 

Bain Merger and Acquisition Case Interview

 

A Bain merger and acquisition case interview might look like this: 

 

“Walmart is considering acquiring a company that provides an online platform for small businesses to sell their products. Should they make this acquisition?”

 

For merger and acquisition cases, you first want to understand the reason why the company is looking to make an acquisition. For example, are they trying to gain access to more customers, acquire intellectual property, realize synergies, or diversify sources of revenue?

 

Next, there are generally four major areas you want to investigate in order to develop a recommendation:

• Market attractiveness: Is the market that the acquisition target plays in attractive?

 

• Company attractiveness: Is the acquisition target an attractive company?

 

• Synergies: Are there significant revenue and cost synergies that can be realized?

 

• Financial implications: What are the expected financial gains or return on investment from this acquisition?
  
  

 

Afterwards, you can consider potential risks or consider alternative acquisition targets. What you choose to do depends on the context of the case.

 

Bain Case Interview Examples

 

Bain provides a few videos that show what their case interviews might look like:

1. Food Co. is a multi-billion dollar client that is looking to enter the alternative milk category. They are trying to determine what is the best way to enter the alternative milk market.

2. PrintCo case interview example: Market entry case focused on helping a restaurant menu printing company decide whether to enter the electronic restaurant menu market. This case is in a video format and is helpful in understanding what an associate consultant-level interview looks like (post-undergraduate role).

 

 

3. A company is looking to introduce a revolutionary 3D television. They are trying to determine the market opportunity and how they would go about designing the product and entering the market.

 

Bain also provides two practice cases that you can do on your own. We've also included our own videos covering how to solve every step of these practice cases.

1. CoffeeCo case interview practice: Market entry case focused on helping a friend decide whether she should open a coffee shop in Cambridge, England.

 

2. FashionCo case interview practice: Profitability case focused on identifying how a fashion retailer can increase revenues.

 

For more practice, check out our article on 23 MBA consulting casebooks with 700+ free practice cases.

 

Bain Case Interview Tips

 

Here are six Bain case interview tips you should follow to improve your Bain case interview performance:

 

Tip #1: Don’t rely on using memorized frameworks

 

Interviewers can tell when you are using memorized frameworks because not all of the elements of your framework will be relevant to the case. You can make yourself stand out from other candidates by creating customized frameworks for each case. 

 

Tip #2: Have a hypothesis-driven approach

 

A phrase you’ll often hear Bain consultants use is “answer-first.” Bain consultants develop a preliminary answer before they begin solving a case.

 

In your Bain case interview, you should do the same thing. State a hypothesis in the beginning of the case based on the limited knowledge that you have. As you answer quantitative and qualitative questions, continue to adapt and refine your hypothesis.

 

Tip #3: Answer “so what?” after every question

 

Throughout the case, make sure you are connecting each of your answers back to the overall business problem or question. What implications does your answer have on the overall business problem?

 

Many candidates make the mistake of answering case questions correctly, but they don’t take the initiative to tie their answer back to the case objective.

 

Tip #4: Structure your approach before doing any math calculations

 

When given a quantitative problem to solve, resist the temptation to start crunching numbers immediately. Instead, take the time to write out an approach and walk the interviewer through it. This will help you avoid making unnecessary calculations or reaching a dead-end.

 

Tip #5: Talk through your calculations out loud

 

Talking through your calculations out loud provides two benefits. One, it makes it easy for the interviewer to follow your work. If they know exactly what you are doing, they can provide feedback or hints if you get stuck. Two, talking through your calculations out loud decreases the likelihood of you making math mistakes.

 

Tip #6: Be enthusiastic

 

Bain wants to hire candidates that love their job and will work hard. Displaying enthusiasm shows that you are passionate about consulting and working at Bain. Having a high level of enthusiasm and energy also makes the interview more enjoyable for the interviewer. They’ll be more likely to have a positive impression of you.

How to Prepare for Bain Case Interviews

There are seven steps to preparing for Bain case interviews.

 

1. Understand what a case interview is

 

The first step in preparing for Bain case interviews is to understand exactly what case interviews are.

 

When you are familiar with what case interviews are, it is important to know what a great Bain case interview performance looks like.

 

Knowing what a great Bain case interview performance looks like will facilitate how quickly you learn case interview strategies in the next step.

 

Before continuing onto the next step, you should be familiar with:

 

• The overall objective of a case interview

 

• The structure and flow of a case interview

 

• The types of questions you could get asked

 

• What a great case interview performance looks like

 

2. Learn the right strategies

 

Now that you have sufficient background knowledge, the next step in preparing for Bain case interviews is to learn the right strategies to build good case interview habits.

 

It is much more effective to learn the right case strategies the first time than to learn poor strategies and try to correct them later.

 

The quickest, most efficient way to learn these strategies is to go through our Comprehensive Case Interview Course.

 

If you prefer reading case interview prep books instead, the three I recommend are:

 

• Hacking the Case Interview

 

• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook

 

• Case Interview Secrets

 

Hacking the Case Interview provides strategies on exactly what to do and what to say in every step of the case interview. It is a concise and straight to the point guide. I recommend this book as the first book to read for beginners.

 

Case Interview Secrets teaches core concepts such as the issue tree, drill-down analysis, and a hypothesis driven approach. It illustrates these concepts through stories and anecdotes. If you have read Hacking the Case Interview, I recommend also reading this book to get perspectives from a second author. Check out our full review of Case Interview Secrets.

 

Case in Point provides a ton of specific and complex frameworks. However, you likely won’t be using many of these in an actual case interview because many of them are overly complex and specific. If you have time, it may be useful to skim through this book. Check out our full review of Case in Point.

 

At the bare minimum, read either the first or second book. If you have the time, read the first two books so that you can get strategies from two different authors.

 

Make sure to spend sufficient time learning the right strategies before starting to practice cases. It is ineffective to practice cases if you have no idea what strategies to practice and refine.

 

Before moving onto the next step, you should at least have strategies for the following parts of a case interview:

 

• Developing unique and tailored frameworks

 

• Solving quantitative problems

 

• Answering qualitative questions

 

• Delivering a recommendation

 

3. Practice 3-5 cases by yourself

 

Once you have learned the right strategies, the next step in Bain case interview prep is to practice.

 

When practicing case interviews, it is usually better to practice with a case interview partner than to practice by yourself. Casing with a partner better simulates the real case interview experience.

 

However, when you are just starting to practice, I recommend doing the first 3 – 5 cases by yourself.

 

There are three reasons for this:

 

• You can get the hang of the case interview structure and format much more quickly working by yourself rather than having to wait to schedule a time with a partner

 

• There are many aspects of case interviews that you can practice without a partner, such as structuring a framework and solving quantitative problems. You can get much more practice working through these parts by yourself

 

• You may have difficulty finding a case interview partner if you are a complete beginner. Without having done any cases, you likely won’t know how to properly give a case or provide good feedback

 

4. Practice 5-10 cases with a partner

 

The next step in preparing for Bain case interviews is to case with a partner.

 

Casing with a partner is the best way to simulate a real case interview. There are many aspects of case interviews that you won’t be able to improve on unless you practice live with a partner.

 

When practicing cases with a partner, ensure you are spending enough time after cases to deliver feedback.

 

For a case that takes around 30 – 40 minutes, spend at least 15 – 20 minutes for feedback. Much of your learning and improvement will come from these feedback sessions.

 

Do not move onto the next step until you have done at least 5 – 10 cases and are beginning to feel comfortable with case interviews.

 

5. Practice with a former or current consultant

 

At this point, I highly recommend asking former or current consultants to give you a practice case. This will significantly help you prepare for case interviews.

 

Doing a mock case with a former or current consultant is highly advantageous because they know exactly how to run cases and give feedback. You’ll receive incredibly helpful feedback that your previous case partners likely missed.

 

If you feel that you are plateauing with your case partner, that is a sign you should do a mock case interview with a former or current consultant.

 

You can find former or current consultants among:

 

• Friends

 

• Classmates

 

• Colleagues

 

• People you met during the consulting recruiting process

 

• Your broader LinkedIn network

 

I would not ask a consultant that is involved with the consulting recruiting process for a case too prematurely. Although these practice cases are not evaluative, some firms will actually make note of how well you perform during the practice case.

 

At this point, you will have accumulated a long list of improvement areas from all of the different people you have cased with.

 

6. Work on your improvement areas

 

In this step of preparing for Bain case interviews, you will work on strengthening and fine-tuning your improvement areas. Examples of common improvement areas include:

 

• Creating a more complete and mutually exclusive framework

 

• Performing math calculations quicker or more smoothly

 

• Providing more structure to your qualitative answers

 

• Leading the case more proactively

 

• Delivering a more succinct recommendation

 

Try to focus on improving one thing at a time. This is much more effective than trying to improve everything at once.

 

For some areas, such as math, it will be better to work independently. For other areas, such as learning to proactively lead the case, it will be better to work with a case partner.

 

If you are looking for more cases, look at the resources listed in step four. If you are looking for specific drills or practice problems for a particular part of a case interview, check out The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook.

 

Do not move onto the next step until you have finished working on all of your improvement areas.

 

7. Stay sharp

 

If you have progressed this far, congratulations! You have almost finished preparing for Bain case interviews.

 

Once you feel that you have no more improvement areas to work on, the key is to not burn yourself out by doing too many unnecessary cases.

 

While each case that you do makes you slightly better, there is a point when doing too many cases can create case fatigue right before your interview. Case fatigue can negatively impact your interview performance.

 

On the other hand, you also don’t want to go weeks without having done a case. You may end up forgetting strategies or become rusty and slow.

 

Once you have achieved case mastery, I recommend doing no more than 2 cases per week in the weeks leading up to your interview. This ensures that you remain sharp for case interviews, but don’t have case fatigue.

 

How to Solve Bain Written Case Interviews

 

Bain written case interviews are used by several offices as part of the consultant and summer associate second-round interviews.

 

The written case interview will require you to develop a recommendation based on a business situation and problem. There is no one right answer or recommendation for these cases. The goal is to present a structured, well-supported recommendation and to participate in a rich discussion with the interviewer.

 

According to Bain, here’s how the written case interview is structured:

• Bain will provide you with 20 to 30 PowerPoint slides describing a client’s situation

 

• You will have 55 minutes to review the slides and handwrite a brief recommendation before the interview begins

 

• You will then have 40 minutes to present and discuss your recommendations with the interviewer, who may challenge your assumptions and ask follow-up questions
  
  

 

Follow these eight steps to ace your Bain written case interview.

 

1. Understand the business problem and objective

 

The first step in completing a written case interview is to understand what the objective is. What is the primary business question you are trying to answer with the data and information provided?

 

2. Read the list of major questions

 

Some written case interviews will provide you with a list of 3 – 4 key questions that you will be expected to address or answer. Read through these questions first since these will be the questions that you will want to prioritize.

 

If the written case interview is more open-ended and does not provide you with a list of key questions, skip this step and move onto the next step.  

 

3. Skim the materials

 

Next, flip through the information packet that is provided to see what information is available. Identify what data you have and what data you do not have.

 

The goal in this step is not to read and analyze every slide. That would take too much time. Instead, by seeing what information exists, you will be able to better prioritize what you spend your time reading and analyzing.

 

4. Create a framework

 

Before you begin reading and analyzing the information in the slides in more detail, you should create a basic framework to help guide your analysis. If you are provided with a list of key questions or pre-filled slide templates, then this will likely be the foundation of your framework.

 

Else, based on what information exists in the information packet, identify the three to four key questions you need to answer or investigate.

 

5. Read and analyze the material 

 

Afterwards, read and analyze the information that is relevant to each area of your framework. As you begin answering questions and drawing insights, make sure to write a one or two sentence summary. This will make it easier to decide on a recommendation later.

 

6. Decide on a recommendation

 

Review the list of key takeaways that you have summarized from answering all of the major questions in your framework. Decide on what recommendation these findings collectively support.

 

Remember that there is typically no right or wrong recommendation. As long as your recommendation is supported by data and evidence, you will be in great shape.

 

7. Create your slides

 

Once you have a recommendation, it is time to start filling in your slides. Usually, Bain provides slide templates that you will need to fill in.

 

If no slide templates are provided, you should use the following structure when creating your slides:

• Slide 1: Present your recommendation and the three reasons that support it

 

• Slide 2: Present your first reason and the data that supports it

 

• Slide 3: Present your second reason and the data that supports it

 

• Slide 4: Present your third reason and the data that supports it

 

• Slide 5: Summarize everything that you’ve covered so far

 

• Slide 6: Propose potential next steps
  
  

 

8. Prepare for potential questions

 

If you have any time remaining, brainstorm potential questions the interviewer may ask you during your presentation. They may want to know how you performed your analysis or how you reached your conclusions.

 

Preparing for these potential questions will help your presentation go much more smoothly. You will also feel much more confident while presenting.

For a full guide on written case interviews, check out our consulting written case interview step-by-step guide.

 

Bain Written Case interview Tips

 

Here are five tips that Bain recommends following to complete your written case interview successfully.

 

Tip #1: Prioritize your time

 

You may not have enough time to read everything in the information packet provided to you. Therefore, prioritize your time by focusing on identifying the most important issues. Then, spend your time getting answers to the most important questions that have the greatest impact on your recommendation.

 

Tip #2: Be concise in the messaging of your slides

 

It can be tempting to overload your slides with every piece of information that you learn. Instead, outline the most important points that you want to make. Make your slides concise and focused on illustrating the most important findings and takeaways.

 

Tip #3: Be prepared to do math and conduct analyses

 

Part of the written case interview will likely involve doing analysis with the numbers that are provided. Do the math that is required and double check your calculations.

 

Tip #4: Have a practical recommendation

 

Make sure that your recommendation can actually be implemented in a reasonable amount of time. You can demonstrate sound business judgment by recommending a course of action that is not only effective, but pragmatic. 

 

Tip #5: Build counter-arguments to potential objections to your recommendation

 

You can strengthen your recommendation by looking at the major reasons that support the opposite recommendation. If you can acknowledge these points and build counter-arguments to them, you’ll have an easier time defending your recommendation when the interviewer challenges your assumptions and recommendation later.

 

Bain Behavioral and Fit Interview Questions

 

Each of your Bain interviews may start with the interviewer asking you traditional resume questions to get a better understanding of your background, interests, and career goals.

 

Some interviewers may ask specific questions on your professional or academic experiences. You may be asked to describe a project that you worked on and elaborate on the approach you took to solve a problem.

 

In addition to these questions, your interviewer may also ask a behavioral question, which asks you to describe past experiences and how you handled them. Interviewers want to know that you have displayed qualities of successful consultants in your previous experiences.

 

Bain suggests preparing answers to these ten behavioral and fit interview questions:

 

1. Why are you interested in Bain?

 

How to answer: Have at least three compelling reasons why you are interested in Bain. Among the top three consulting firms, Bain is best known for its incredibly fun and supportive culture. Bain is also the clear leader in private equity consulting work. In addition, you can mention Bain’s focus on mentorship and local staffing model to build stronger office communities. 

 

2. What experience are you most proud of?

 

How to answer: Choose your most impressive, unique, or memorable accomplishment. Structure your answer by providing information on the situation, the task, the actions you took, and the results of your work. Make sure you talk about your accomplishment with passion.

 

3. What experience do you wish you could do over, and how would you do it differently?

 

How to answer: For this question, Bain is looking to see if you have a growth mindset and whether you continuously look for opportunities to grow and improve yourself. Pick a meaningful experience in which you felt that you did not take full advantage of. Speak to what you hope you could have learned from doing the experience over again.

 

4. What is a difficult decision you’ve made in the last year?

 

How to answer: For this question, Bain is looking to see how you make difficult decisions. You could pick an experience in which you used tremendous amounts of data to make an informed decision. You could also pick an experience in which you had to reconcile differing opinions from different groups of people. Show Bain how you tackled and thought through these decisions.

 

5. What is an example of a time when you showed initiative and leadership?

 

How to answer: Pick an example of a time when you were in a leadership role and went above and beyond expectations. Make sure to emphasize the steps that you took that demonstrated initiative and leadership. Also, quantify the results and impact of your work.

 

6. What aspects of your internship did you especially enjoy?

 

How to answer: Mention qualities of your internship that you’ll likely also experience at Bain. You can speak to how you enjoyed working closely in small teams, how you were energized by the opportunity to make a meaningful impact, or how you felt fulfillment from helping other teams achieve their goals. 

 

7. What aspects of your internship did you like less?

 

How to answer: For this question, avoid bringing up aspects that are critical to being a successful consultant. For example, don’t say that you did not enjoy working in teams or working with large quantities of data. 

 

You should mention aspects that you didn’t like that consulting would fulfill. For example, you can mention how you would have liked to make more of an impact or have more ownership and responsibility. 

 

8. What do you most like to do in your free time?

 

How to answer: Bain asks this question to see if you are a fun person that has a life outside of school and work. This is a great opportunity to mention hobbies and interests that you have won awards or recognition for. Avoid mentioning generic hobbies and pick interests that are unique and memorable.

 

9. What attributes would you bring to a case team?

 

How to answer: Identify three attributes that make you stand out relative to your peers. You can mention qualities such as initiative, energy, compassion, mentorship, or positivity. Provide examples to make these claims more credible.

 

10. Describe a role where you changed the direction of a team. How did you do it?

 

How to answer: For this question, the interviewer wants to see evidence of leadership. Focus on explaining the steps that you took to change the direction of the team and then highlight the results and impact of your work. You may need to speak about your leadership style and how you were able to motivate or persuade others.

For a step-by-step guide on how to best answer all of these questions and more, check out our complete guide on consulting behavioral interview questions.

 

Recommended Bain Case Interview Resources

 

Bain Case Interview Books

 

After free resources, the next cheapest option to preparing for Bain case interviews are case interview prep books.

 

Case interview prep books are great resources to use because they are fairly inexpensive, only costing $20 to $30. They contain a tremendous amount of information that you can read, digest, and re-read at your own pace.

Based on our comprehensive review of the 12 popular case interview prep books, we ranked nearly all of the case prep books in the market.

The three case interview prep books we recommend using are:

• Hacking the Case Interview (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.

 

• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.

 

• Case Interview Secrets (available on Amazon): This book provides great explanations of essential case interview concepts and fundamentals. The stories and anecdotes that the author provides are entertaining and help paint a clear picture of what to expect in a case interview, what interviewers are looking for, and how to solve a case interview.

 

Bain Case Interview Online Courses

 

Case interview courses are more expensive to use than case interview prep books, but offer more efficient and effective learning. 

 

You’ll learn much more quickly from watching someone teach you the material, provide examples, and then walk through practice problems than from reading a book by yourself.

 

Courses typically cost anywhere between $200 to $400.

 

If you are looking for a single resource to learn the best Bain case interview strategies in the most efficient way possible, enroll in our case interview course.

 

Through 70+ concise video lessons and 20 full-length practice cases based on real interviews from top-tier consulting firms, you’ll learn step-by-step how to crush your Bain case interview.

 

We’ve had students pass their Bain first round interview with just a week of preparation, but know that your success depends on the amount of effort you put in and your starting capabilities.

 

Bain Case Interview Coaching

 

With case interview coaching, you’ll pay anywhere between $100 to $300 for a one-hour mock case interview session with a case coach. Typically, case coaches are former consultants or interviewers that have worked at top-tier consulting firms.

 

Although very expensive, case interview coaching can provide you with high quality feedback that can significantly improve your case interview performance. 

 

By working with a case coach, you will be practicing high quality cases with an expert. You’ll get detailed feedback that ordinary case interview partners are not able to provide.

 

Know that you do not need to purchase case interview coaching to receive a consulting job offer. 

 

The vast majority of candidates that receive offers from top firms did not purchase case interview coaching. By purchasing case interview coaching, you are essentially purchasing convenience and learning efficiency.

 

Case interview coaching is best for those that have already learned as much as they can about case interviews on their own and feel that they have reached a plateau in their learning. 

 

For case interview beginners and intermediates, it may be a better use of their money to first purchase a case interview course or case interview prep book before purchasing expensive coaching sessions.

 

If you do decide to eventually use a case interview coach, consider using our case interview coaching service. 

 

There is a wide range of quality among coaches, so ensure that you are working with someone that is invested in your development and success. 

 

If possible, ask for reviews from previous candidates that your coach has worked with.

Summary of Best Bain Case Interview Resources

Here are the resources we recommend to learn the most robust, effective case interview strategies in the least time-consuming way:

 

• Comprehensive Case Interview Course (our #1 recommendation): The only resource you need. Whether you have no business background, rusty math skills, or are short on time, this step-by-step course will transform you into a top 1% caser that lands multiple consulting offers.

 

• Hacking the Case Interview Book (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.

 

• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for intermediates struggling with frameworks, case math, or generating business insights. No need to find a case partner – these drills, practice problems, and full-length cases can all be done by yourself.

• Case Interview Coaching: Personalized, one-on-one coaching with former consulting interviewers

• Behavioral & Fit Interview Course: Be prepared for 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours. We'll teach you exactly how to draft answers that will impress your interviewer

• Resume Review & Editing: Transform your resume into one that will get you multiple interviews