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Cassi McLemore
Former BCG Recruiter
Writing your Bain cover letter is tough! You’ve got just one page to sell yourself to the recruiter. And you can picture the pile of other resumes and cover letters yours is competing with.
Luckily, we can help! My Consulting Offer is a group of former Bain, BCG, and McKinsey alumni, and we’ve got a step-by-step process for writing a cover letter that works.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- What recruiters are looking for in a Bain cover letter
- MCO’s step-by-step guide to writing your consulting cover letter
- Successful Bain cover letter examples + what makes them work
- Common mistakes in consulting cover letters
Let’s get started!
What Are Recruiters Looking for in a Bain Cover Letter?
While writing a cover letter may feel like a daunting and unnecessary task, it’s a key piece to the Bain application process. It’s also an opportunity to set yourself apart from the crowd and go beyond what is included on your resume.
Similarly to your Bain Resume, your cover letter should highlight academic excellence, professional success, leadership abilities, and problem-solving and communication skills. We will dive deeper into this in the next section.
Your Bain cover letter should be concise, neatly formatted, and one page in length. Utilize an easy-to-read black font.
MCO’s Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Cover Letter
At MCO, we recommend following a structured format to ensure your Bain cover letter showcases your fit with the firm, elaborates on key experiences, and displays your uniqueness as a candidate. Ideally, you want to tell 3 to 4 stories that position you as a strong candidate: A professional story, an academic or second professional story, and a personal story.
The goal is for each of your stories to align with one of Bain’s core values: Passion & Commitment, Honesty & Openness, Practical, One Team, and Passion for Results. Dig deeper into Bain’s values on their website.
Rather than selecting 3-4 values and developing stories around them, start by identifying your stories first. Do this so you focus is on the stories that best highlight your achievements and the strengths you can bring to Bain. Consulting firms often share similar values, so adapting your stories to each company’s values is easy. Your stories should remain consistent for all general consulting applications; just align them with the values that best fit each narrative.
Step 1: Utilize traditional cover letter formatting that includes the date, company, and address. Write a brief introduction on why Bain should consider you in 1-2 sentences and include the values you will bring to the firm.
Step 2: Consider your most compelling stories: professional, academic, and personal. If you come up with more than 4 stories, that’s okay! You can eliminate the weakest ones later.
- Professional Story: Select a professional experience that highlights your problem-solving abilities, leadership or teaming skills, and impact. Did you significantly reduce spend for your company or start up a successful business?
- Academic Story: Identify an academic project or achievement that demonstrates your analytical skills, intellectual curiosity, and strategic thinking. Did you lead a team to victory in a case competition or challenging group project?
- Personal Story: Choose a personal story that showcases your passion, resilience, and/or ability to connect with others. Did you found a successful non-profit or become the first college graduate in your family?
Step 3: Write out your stories in full, ensuring they are thorough and substantive. Include key details and avoid unnecessary fluff. Have a peer, mentor, or trusted advisor read through your Bain cover letter to determine which stories are strongest. Each Bain cover letter story should be formatted neatly into a paragraph, with the value listed first and bolded.
Step 4: Write a closing sentence followed by your regards. Include your typed full name and an electronic signature. Ensure that your Bain cover letter does not exceed one page. If you are struggling with space, consider shrinking your margins or using a smaller font. You can use margins as small as .25 inches on each side of the page and font as small as 11pt.
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Successful Bain Cover Letter Examples + Why They Work
Bain Cover Letter Example - Undergrad
Why This Cover Letter Works
- The writer uses professional, standard formatting to address the firm. While our cover letter story and value formula may not be traditional, the formatting should be.
- The writer tells 3 comprehensive stories and does not include unnecessary details. The length of each paragraph is just right, and I’m not overwhelmed as a reader.
- Each story has a conclusion sentence that neatly summarizes the story and reiterates the Bain value it demonstrates.
Bain Cover Letter Example - Master’s
Why This Cover Letter Works
- The writer shows the impact they delivered in both stories, supported by quantifiable data. The use of numbers grabs the reader’s attention right off the bat.
- Both stories identify a problem the writer faced and the solution they delivered. The recruit provides necessary context so the reader can fully understand the situation, task, action, and result of both experiences.
- While the writer did not use the recommended 3-4 stories, they incorporate 2 values into each story. If you struggle to come up with enough stories, showcase how you embodied multiple values in each story.
For more successful examples, see our Consulting Cover Letters article.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Bain Cover Letters
1. Stories First, Values Later
Do not try to write your stories based on Bain’s values. This is one of the most common mistakes candidates make when writing their Bain cover letter. Your stories are your own, and should not change for any general consulting firm application. So, start with your stories and then plug-and-play the values that best align with those stories. Using this formula will save you so much time, I promise!
2. Concision and Formatting Are Key
Each Bain cover letter story should tell one comprehensive story. Avoid trying to include multiple stories in one section as it’s distracting to the reader. I have seen candidates attempt to cram additional experiences into their story, and it detracts from the value of the story you want to tell. While your Bain cover letter stories should be thorough, they should not include any information that isn’t absolutely necessary for the reader to understand the story. I have encountered many cover letter stories where the impact and value delivered get lost amongst excessive details. Read your stories several times to confirm that each sentence is necessary.
In addition, the key values and impacts of your stories should be quickly identifiable to the reader. Using excessive text without proper spacing and neat formatting will overwhelm the reader and reduce the likelihood of your cover letter being read. Within a glance, the reader should know who you are, what values you could bring to the firm, and the impacts from your stories. You can achieve this with the formatting showcased in our cover letter examples. Spacing between the intro section, stories, and conclusion section will make your cover letter more visually appealing to the reader.
3. Conclusion Sentence
I have read many cover letter stories that close without a conclusion sentence that ties in the value. Each story should conclude with a comprehensive summary, clearly linking it to a Bain value. Think of your concluding sentence as the cherry on top of the sundae. It’s also important to include a final sentence after your stories. This sentence should reiterate the Bain values you would bring to the firm and express gratitude for their consideration.
4. Grammar and Typos
Don’t be the candidate who doesn’t get an interview because of typos. Read through your full cover letter multiple times and get feedback from peers or mentors. Additionally, consider using a paid proofreading service like Fiverr before submitting.
5. Be Careful About Name Dropping
Ideally, you want to secure a referral to the firm before submitting your application, making it unnecessary to drop names in your cover letter. A referral is an endorsement of your candidacy by someone who works at the firm. Getting one can help you land an interview.
Read our article on Consulting Networking to learn how to get a referral.
If you can’t get a referral, name-dropping can translate to desperation. If you know someone from the firm but they’re unwilling to refer you, don’t use their name. It will not help your application if the recruiter asks them about you and they don’t have good things to say.
On the other hand, mentioning in your cover letter that you’ve learned something from a specific member of the firm can show that you’ve taken the time to do due diligence. But it’s still best to make sure you’ve left an impression. You can do this by thanking them for their time after a presentation
or informational interview and follow up with them letting them know you intend to apply just before you actually apply. This ensures you’re fresh in their mind.
We hope you found this article helpful and feel empowered to tackle your Bain cover letter with our proven formula!
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In this article, we’ve covered:
- What a Bain recruiter wants to see in your cover letter
- MCO’s formula for writing a winning consulting cover letter
- Successful Bain cover letter examples + why they work
- Common mistakes to avoid when writing your Bain cover letter
Still have questions?
If you have more questions about the writing your Bain cover letter, leave them in the comments below. One of My Consulting Offer’s recruiters will answer them.
Other people prepping for writing their Bain cover letter have found the following pages helpful:
Help with Your Consulting Application
Thanks for turning to My Consulting Offer for advice on writing your Bain cover letter. My Consulting Offer has helped 89.6% of the people we’ve worked with to get a job in management consulting. We want you to be successful in your consulting interviews too. For example, here is how Edwina was able to get her offer from Bain.
Get access to Exclusive Free Training on passing consulting case interview.
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Exclusive Free Training on passing consulting case interview.
Exclusive Free Training on passing consulting case interview.