I applied through university. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Bain & Company (Johannesburg) in Oct 2011
Interview
Received the interview after applying through the on-campus interview process at my B-school. I had indicated Joburg as one of several international locations, and provided some justification in my cover letter. I received the invitation to interview through email, separately from the on-campus process. The process consisted of two roughly 30-minute interviews. The fit portion of each was much more shallow than my experience with any other firm. Quick and dirty, why consulting, why Bain, why Joburg. One case was very ambiguous, more of a conversation, and nothing I was able to write much about (although that could be why I didn't do so well). Other case was more traditional. Received phone call (ding!) within 45 minutes, but I could tell it was coming.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Look at this graph describing the characteristics of an ambiguous industry, and answer questions about it for 30 minutes.
I applied online and got a online assessment after ~1 week. I completed the online test but I haven't heard back since then. The timeline is a bit uncertain to me.
First round case interviews. Got standard questions about profitability and market entry. IMO the most difficult part was reading complex charts and distilling the key insights with time pressure. There was little behavioral.
The interview was overall efficiently run and very professional. It had 2 stages; a case interview typical of management consuting interviews and a fit interview to assess cultural fit with the firm.
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