| Topic Name: |
Informational Interview |
| Message Name: |
Intransigent Applicant |
| Date Posted: |
02/06/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
The offices outside North America often run their own shows with regard to recruiting. However, I think it's pretty standard throughout the Bain worldwide system to submit a one-page document whether called a resume, CV, or whatever.
Toronto is managed as part of North America and follows the same recruiting schedule as Chicago. Knowledge of French is helpful but not required there, as there are a couple of Quebecois partners/managers. Stockholm prefers people who know a Scandinavian language or Suomi. Bain Cueno (the Italian offices) definitely require fluent Italian. Brussels requires either Dutch or French, and most well-educated Belgians are fluent in at least three languages. Hong Kong and Singapore are officially English, but at least in the case of HK, the social language of the office is Chinese.
The bigger problem in this case is to prove why you want to be in a certain geography. The offices want to see some evidence that you want to be in their location, other than just wanting a job and being willing to move 10,000 miles to get it. Typical reasons cited are family, boy/girlfriends, past business experience there, or educational connections (e.g. Harvard people often prefer Boston).
So yeah, the news might not be too positive, but keep in mind that there are thousands of consulting firms, and only a few of them have the rigid hiring practices I've been describing here. |
| Message: |
I'm quite suprised at these hiring practices which seem to preclude students such as myself - that is those of us who don't know what type of job they want a year and a half in advance of graduation - from seeking employment with a top firm, at least not if we prefer to work with them subsequent to graduation. Anyhow, it's irrelevant except that I'm trying to understand more about the process so I can make better decisions.
I realize it's advisable to look for employment elsewhere at this point though I can't emphasise enough my desire to work for Bain in particular. I knew immediately that it was the company for me for reasons I won't expound upon at the moment. A great feeling of relief and enthusiasm swept over me when I found Bain whereas up until then my job search was characterised by listlessness. Some people have argued that all the top firms are virtually similar, however I can't get past Bain's profile and its various strengths and philosophies which so mirror what I'm looking for in a career.
As for locales, it seems I'm limited realistically to Melbourne, Sydney, and Stockholm... which I will apply to, unless, perchance, some other offices are still willing to accept applications from qualified candidates...? How am to know? Is it possible to apply to more than three locations? I read your comment in another thread about recruiters feeling more comfortable with strong geographic preferences and I could easily elaborate on a history of interest in any one of the countries Bain operates in if the need arose. But the honest truth is I would be outright estatic to go to any (or all, hah!) of those countries. I moved to Italy when I was 18 because I could. I highly value education, especially familiarity with other cultures, and I seriously want to live abroad (or in California even because as we all know, that's not really America ;-) ) So, to reiterate, I'm not so desperate to work for Bain that I'd forsake my life and move 10,000 miles - I wholly wish to move those 10,000 miles and I wholly wish to work for Bain. What would you advise then? Where should I apply?
By the way, I really want to thank you for your time here. Your input is greatly appreciated.
P.S. I looked into the various botqiue firms. My discontent only grew.
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