My name is Nina and I’m a 25 year old Management Consultant. I studied Law and Commerce with First class Honours in Marketing and was awarded Bain and Company’s True North Scholarship in 2015.
Why did you become a Management Consultant?
While I thoroughly enjoyed studying [some of my] legal subjects, I knew practising corporate law wasn’t for me –I am ‘action-oriented’ and have always sought a broader
career in business, not limited to the law. To me, management consulting sounded like the perfect industry for those who were ambitious, hard-working, creative and passionate yet had no idea what they wanted to be when they grew up. I applied for consulting because it enabled me to develop and cultivate a diverse array of skills and capabilities that you can transfer to other industries and workplaces while gaining exposure to a range of different industries. Plus, I applied to Bain because the people were so passionate, genuine and down-to-earth!
What do you do as a Management Consultant?
Our work is client and project-based and our office is primarily dependent on where our client is located (which could be interstate or overseas). The type of work we do reflects the toughest challenges the company is facing, meaning the work could be strategy (e.g., how do we increase market share or expand into a new market?), performance improvement (e.g., how do we reduce costs while increasing efficiency?) or customer advocacy (e.g., what initiatives can we implement to increase the number of customers who refer us to others? How do we measure it?). In my time at Bain, I have worked on a range of projects. These include: procurement for a logistics company (how do we “buy and sell” better); full potential strategy for a telco (where should we play and how do we win); marketing return on investment (ROI) for a telco (how do we optimize our marketing spend); due diligences on a currency trading platform and a Japanese phone insurer (should the private equity fund invest in/sell this asset). Therefore, the work is incredibly diverse and for someone that gets bored easily, that’s exactly what I love about it.
What else do you love about consulting?
Constant learning: the learning curve never ends because the work is never the same. The skills you develop range from building Excel models to how to present and speak in front of your client’s CEO
The people: as your project changes your team changes meaning the [brilliant!] people you work with are constantly changing and you are learning something new from them every day.
How do you think management consulting prepares you for your future career?
Due to the diversity of clients and projects, consulting provides you with real-world exposure to an array of workplaces and types of work - you learn what you do and
don’t like, and therefore what you may want to do in the future. Given you are helping CEOs solve their toughest challenges, consulting also equips you with the
problem-solving abilities required to lead an organisation. These are transferrable skills that you will lean on throughout your career!
What are some of the opportunities you get at Bain?
The support that Bain provides not only enables you to succeed across all aspects of your career but also ensures you have a great time in the process! Some of the opportunities include:
Global training with your start class every 12-18 months: the most ‘structured’ fun you can have
International case demand opportunities: complete a project overseas and get to go exploring in the process
Externship opportunities: work at a different company for 6-12 months
Social impact externships: work at a charity / NFP for 6-12 months
Bain World Cup: a worldwide soccer tournament where you compete against other Bain offices globally.
Interested? Visit bain.com/careers to find out more.