Walking into the Bain & Company Information Session, I knew only two important things about the company. I knew that Bain & Company is a Global Management Consulting Firm, and I knew that for a reason unbeknownst to me Davidson students seem to get very excited about this particular job posting each year. As a student who knew very little about the consulting industry, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the presentation other than basic information about how the company functions, and how to apply. And while the representatives did share that important information with attendees, the element of Bain & Company that truly shown through was their deep sense of commitment to community.
The presentation began with a brief run-down of what it is exactly that Bain & Company does. Bain helps CEOs and companies address their most important questions with the primary focus being on results. So, when a company wants to know how it could position itself to be more successful with mobile customers, they call Bain to get an answer. According to the statistics, their clients out-perform the market 4:1 and their return customer rate of 85% is a testament to their success as a company. Then the presentation moved to what one would expect to be doing as an Associate Consultant. The representatives were sure to emphasize that while there is no “typical” Bain experience, an employee can expect to gain case experience, meet with clients, work as part of a team to solve difficult problems, and undergo several rounds of training. However, the final part of the presentation, “Why Choose Bain,” put the rest of the event into context.
In this portion of the presentation two important themes seemed to emerge. Bain & 
Company is a community dedicated to the personal and professional development of each of their employees. The representatives mentioned the Aprenticeship Learning Model where new employees are taught all the basics of finance and how to think about strategy. When Bain employees want to go to school to get their MBAs, the organization is supportive and in some cases will even pay the tuition and fees. And office events like the holiday party or the Bain World Cup (where offices from around the world compete in a soccer tournament) build a community within the office dedicated to seeing everyone succeed. Not to mention their emphasis on the bettering of the global community through their commitment to education and global development. Not only will employees have an impact on 95% of the world’s GDP, but they will also take time out of their work week to volunteer with community service organizations in order to improve our global community. What became clear in the room that night was that “a Bainie never lets another Bainie fail,” and perhaps this commitment to community and service is what draws Davidson students to Bain & Company.
If you are interested in Bain, the application deadline is Wednesday, 9/17 at 11:59pm. View the full job description on WildcatLink.