u/Big_Benefit_9141

I applied to Bain for the third time. AGAIN, I failed at the TestGorilla stage, this time for the Shanghai office.

I had been waiting for months with no response. I cold-reached out to around 40 people who appeared to work at Bain’s Shanghai office. Finally, one person was kind enough to respond and said he could check with HR for me. I was then told there were two head counts left.

HR told my LinkedIn friend who told me that I needed to complete the TestGorilla assessment first, although I had already done it before for other offices. I didn’t really understand why I needed to do it again. I still prepared seriously and completed it. Most of the questions were simple and easy as how I expected they were.

Everything went silent for another month. I had to reach out to my LinkedIn friend again to check the status. HR then told my friend that she was on leave, which was why there had been no response. Later, I was told that my test score was not good enough to proceed to interview.

Unless I had chosen EVERY SINGLE wrong answer on purpose, I honestly doubt my score could have been that bad.

Man, I understand all these random factors in getting a job – luck, and referrals often matter more than just practising mock questions. But honestly, this still hurts like a mf.

I am open to any recommendations and opinions. Thank you.

I am at a stage of my life where I am very confused about what I should do for the next step. I am a permanent resident while pursuing a law degree. At this moment, I am very hesitant if I should continue living in Australia and finish my study.

I completed my Bachelor in Australia. I met all my friends at university. All of my friends now either have left Australia for good in the last few years or moved to another city or just disappeared... I have been working in Australia ever since my graduation. I thought I could feel more connected to Australia after years went by, but I literally don't feel it at all. I thought I could endure the loneliness and isolation all that because this was nothing new to me as an immigrant. Yet one year, two years, three years… with the time adding up, I realised this not the case.

My parents are living in my home country. I could only visit twice in the last six years due to COVID. Otherwise it'd be at least once a year. I understand living in Australia and working in law, or any industries and any countries, need have some connections. This is not for career development but also needed for being normal person. As an immigrant, I only realised few months ago that how hard it is for me to build a community, i.e. a stable group of friends etc., in a foreign country.

Has anyone experienced the same before? Any ideas would be much appreciated. Cheers.

Hi y’all. Okay, it’s unbelievable, yet it has happened to me: I need to appeal the decision to cancel my GMAT result, lol.

Everything went well during the exam. The proctor was comfortable with everything during the exam. Neither was I told that there were any issues during the exam, nor did the test security team list any factual grounds for this cancellation. I have now initiated the appeal process, so let’s see what happens.

I looked through some answers on previous Reddit posts and noticed that some people in the community questioned why certain test takers choose to take the exam online. My answer is that not everyone lives in a major city, nor can everyone afford to travel to a test centre and stay overnight. For someone like me who lives in a remote town, online testing and online study genuinely provide more affordable opportunities.

Many employers aren’t so understanding, moreover, that they would allow employees to take a day off just for a test, especially when that test is potentially linked to the employee’s future resignation or career advancement.

Anyway, I will keep y’all updated.

Hi all, I applied for the associate consultant role at Bain through the experienced hire portal four weeks ago. The offices that I chose were Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Dubai. I didn't have any referrals. I haven't received any interview invitations from any of these offices. Does this mean I should move on?

Hi all, I applied for the associate consultant role at Bain through the experienced hire portal four weeks ago. The offices that I chose were Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Dubai. I didn't have any referrals. I haven't received any interview invitations from any of these offices. Does this mean I should move on?

CV summary: graduated from ANU in 2022. GPA 6.2
Studied humanities. Worked in a policy role in the public sector ever since graduation.

I applied for entry-level roles, i.e. junior associate at McKinsey; Junior Generalist Associate at BCG; Associate Consultant at Bain, for three times.

Failed at the CV screening every time after online test. No referral.

May I please ask what I should do to increase my chance of getting an interview?

Many thanks 🙏

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CANDIDATE PROFILE
Early-career professional with experience in policy, stakeholder engagement, market analysis and project coordination.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Industry Association / Policy Organisation | Australia
Policy and Strategy Adviser | 2024 – 2026

• Supported senior leaders on policy, strategy and stakeholder engagement matters across multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Translated high-level organisational priorities into practical workplans, consultation processes, evidence requests and briefing materials.
• Analysed policy, trade, regulatory and stakeholder issues affecting business operations and market access.
• Prepared executive-ready materials, including options papers, presentations, briefing notes and stakeholder messages.
• Coordinated with internal teams, external advisers, government stakeholders and industry partners to align priorities and support delivery.
• Helped manage cross-border stakeholder engagement and adapted communication for different cultural and institutional audiences.
• Monitored risks, deadlines and implementation issues, and helped develop practical solutions under tight timelines.

A local government | Australia
Project Support Officer | 2024

• Supported cross-functional digital and operational projects through project planning, risk tracking, governance updates and stakeholder reporting.
• Built Excel and Power BI dashboards to track milestones, surface risks and communicate progress clearly.
• Drafted concise briefings and updates to support approvals and maintain accountability across technical and non-technical teams.

Boutique Consulting / Advisory Firm | Australia
Market Strategy Analyst | 2021 – 2024

• Conducted market, policy and regulatory research to support client strategy, partnership and market-entry decisions.
• Produced market intelligence reports translating complex external developments into actionable recommendations and next steps.
• Built comparative frameworks covering regulatory environment, incentives, consumer dynamics, execution risk and go-to-market options.
• Packaged findings into clear slides, narratives and client-ready materials under tight timelines.

TOOLS AND INTERESTS

• Tools: Excel, Power BI, R, STATA, Tableau, Word and PowerPoint.
• Skills: policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, market research, project coordination, briefing materials, KPI tracking and presentation development.
• Interests: cross-border e-commerce, global market expansion, consumer trends, AI-enabled operations and international business strategy.

EDUCATION

Australian University
Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations
• Strong academic performance.

Honours Degree in International Relations
• Quantitative research thesis using R.

CV summary: graduated from ANU in 2022. GPA 6.2
Studied humanities. Worked in a policy role in the public sector ever since graduation.

I applied for entry-level roles, i.e. junior associate at McKinsey; Junior Generalist Associate at BCG; Associate Consultant at Bain, for three times.

Failed at the CV screening every time after online test. No referral.

May I please ask what I should do to increase my chance of getting an interview?

Many thanks 🙏