Bain & Company reviews

Bain & Company Milan is not part of Bain & Company network (there's just a revenue sharing agreement in exchange for the brand) - corporate culture is completely different at the point that when participating in global corporate training you feel being part of a different company. Managers and partners do not have respect for personal committments and a 80+ hours workweek might be usual as well as you might have to answer a partner's call on Sunday night. Travelling is generally limited to Italy's border but might be stressful as you're off 5 days on the week (vs. 4 in anglo saxon countries). The Admin staff is well trained to cut expenses and the overall managing of non core office duties is time consuming and very bureaucratic. Library service is pretty inefficient. The way work is organized and structured at Bain Milan is miles away from other offices.

Toxic Leadership and Workplace This place has some of the most toxic people that I've ever had the privilege of working with. In order to progress, you have to be a sycophant. Politics is rampant, even across tenure. Step on the toes of anyone and you could end up a target. Dishonesty is Rampant Bain Partners lie. All. The. Time. Internally, to clients, publicly. I have lost count of the number of times that I've been told to 'massage' my numbers because they did not fit the storyline. During my three years at Bain, I've heard of horror stories where clients adopted Bain's recommendations based on fudged numbers, which ended up breaking their operations or strategies. In any other industry, this would be fraud. Imagine accountants changing their numbers to 'fit the narrative'. But there are no regulations surrounding consulting. The South African tax scandal is just one of many, many scandals - the majority of them are covered up because Bain's clients are required to sign a non-disparagement clause. Cult-like Mentality Do you know why Bain has this many 5 star reviews on Glassdoor? We are asked, periodically, to review Bain as employees, and talk about how positive our experiences are at the firm to improve our exit opportunities. This firm is the literal definition of 1984. If you do not follow the party line you are sidelined and your progress begins to stall. Poor Exit Opportunities Ahh, isn't Bain known for great exits? Sure, if you would like to enter into corporate strategy (which is basically the end of anyone's career), or if you'd like to enter into a tier-2 VC or PE firm in an operations role. But let's not kid ourselves, the exit opportunities after Bain (at least in Indo) ends here for post MBA folks. Oh, and Bain, regardless of whatever they may claim, isn't viewed as on the same level as McKinsey or BCG in pretty much every region (except for North America). So if you're in the recruiting process and are looking to drink the koolaid, think twice. And if you've just started your job, start looking for your exit. Don't walk, RUN!