Another Year with Bain & Company

Bain & Company is one of the leading global firms in the management consultancy field and has been annually visiting the American University in Cairo (AUC) since 2006 in coordination with the Career Center, believing that the university provides them with high caliber future human capital. In fact, George Keriakos is an AUC alumnus who reached the position of the first Egyptian partner at Bain & Company Middle East, advocating for the AUC talent pool ever since he joined the company. He emphasized "Bain can be described as an Impact-oriented firm; it focuses on the growth of both its clients and its employees, making sure that that it leaves a positive mark on all those who interact with it."

Representatives from the firm who were mostly AUC alumni, delivered an information session on campus to explain to undergraduates the nature and the culture of the company. Omar Ahmed, an Electronics and Communications Engineering graduate, said “I was greatly moved by the firm’s values and their people-oriented approach, feeling that the session in itself was an eye-opening experience”. The following day representatives coordinated a workshop for senior students who registered through the Career Center. Indeed, students worked in teams to solve cases similar to the ones that a Bain Associate Consultant would face on a normal basis. They got to experience a simulated work environment with the guidance of the representatives and understand what Bain was really about. Sarah Bahgat, an Economics graduate, mentioned “the firm’s culture matches the AUC’s warm and friendly environment ” and she felt that the workshop solidified her decision to pursue being a consultant at Bain & Company, because she admired how the firm was able to combine professionalism with compassion.

The next stage of the process was interviewing the 25 shortlisted candidates. Khaled Zikry, Manager at Bain & Company Middle East, highlighted that the firm puts a lot of investment in finding high quality caliber because its number one asset lies in the exceptional standard of the employees that it recruits. He mentioned that AUC is one of the prime universities in the Middle East that the firm recruits from because of its local relevance to the region and its well-rounded talent, emphasizing “the university’s liberal arts educational system is a major advantage to AUC students as it cultivates interdisciplinary individuals with good
knowledge in different fields.”

On the other hand, applicants had been preparing for the interview for months, hoping to land a full time job at Bain. Mostafa Badawy, Mechanical Engineering graduate, mentioned “after enough exposure to the corporate world, I decided to apply to Bain for the reputable employee satisfaction rates that they have and the opportunity to interact with influential people worldwide.” Being
one of the shortlisted candidates, Badawy was grateful for the chance to be interviewed by such a prestigious company and felt
that regardless of the interview’s outcome, the whole process had given him a strong insight into consultancy.

Moreover, Bahgat added, “ I felt that the interviewer was very friendly and I greatly enjoyed the case interviews. I liked how I was
asked to solve a real life case. It had me thinking in a practical sense because I was solving someone’s problems rather than trying
to impress the interviewer with a good answer.” Sarah reflected on the journey and was thankful for all the strong connections that
she had formed with the other applicants and especially the connection that she had with Maha El Moslemany, Associate Director
of the Career Center’s Employer Relations, who Sarah regarded as a highly supportive older sister figure. Sarah also wanted to
advise future applicants, saying that it was crucial to practice the fit part of the interview because applicants tend to put all their
focus on cases and forget to develop their personal story.

For more interviewing rounds to come, Bain & Company is proving that their input in our students experience is becoming
rudimentary and enhancing to their personal and professional lives. The Career Center is proud to build the fundamentals and
create a base of employers to help AUC graduates to best fit in their dream career fields.