Prepping for Your Putnam Associates Interview? Read This Overview

Last Updated May, 2023

Rebecca Smith-Allen

Former McKinsey Engagement Manager

Putnam Associates Overview

Key Info:

Year formed:

Number of offices:

Firm values:

1988

4 – Boston (headquarters), San Francisco, New York, and London

Client-focused, meritocracy, rigorous problem-solving, accessible senior management, work/life balance. See this page for more details.

Putnam Associates Areas of Specialization:

Capabilities:

Putnam Associate specializes in serving pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostic and medical device clients. They also work with private equity and venture capital companies.

Putnam Associates Careers:

Recruiting Approach:

Putnam Associates hires both Consultants and Life Science Consultants. While consultants have a more general business background, Life Science Consultants have deep knowledge of pharma or biotech.

Who do they hire?

Summer Interns Yes. Their application deadline for 2020 was January 31. Resume, cover letter and transcript are required.
Undergrad Yes. Economics, Finance or Science majors preferred.
MBA Yes.
Masters/Ph.D. Yes. PhDs in Biomedical Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics or Engineering are most desirable for their Life Sciences Consultant role.
Experienced hires Yes. Experience in the Pharmaceutical or Biotechnology industries is most desirable.
See this page for more details.

IMPROVE YOUR ODDS!
Because Putnam Associates specializes in serving pharmaceutical and biotech clients, working knowledge of one or both of those industries is a prerequisite for its consultants. Take relevant coursework and highlight this expertise in your resume and cover letter.

Putnam Associate Roles:

- Associate Consultant – undergraduates.
- Consultant / MBA Consultant – MBAs, masters degree students, or experienced hires from the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries.
- Life Sciences Consultant – Ph.D. program graduates within one year of graduation.
- Senior Consultant
- Manager
- Principal
- Partner

Putnam Associates Offices:

Boston (headquarters), San Francisco, London and New York.

Putnam Associates Salary:

See this page for information on Putnam Associates salaries.

Get the Putnam Associates Interview

The Putnam Associates Interview Process:

First round interviews at core schools are on campus.
Applicants from non-core schools are pre-screened via phone interviews.
Final round interviews are at the Putnam Associates offices. They consist of 3 back-to-back interviews. 2 interviews are hybrid case + resume interviews; the 3rd is a resume + fit interview. After the interviews, candidates are invited to lunch with junior team members.
Typical questions include:
- Case:
  - Estimate the market size for a new drug.
  - Size the market-potential for a new drug given two potential regulatory outcomes.
  - What factors do you need to know to estimate the monthly cost of treating a patient with a certain disease with a given therapy?
- Fit:
  - Why do you want to work at Putnam Associates?
  - What prior team experience do you have?
  - Why do you want to work in healthcare consulting?
Recruiting timeline: over 4 weeks.

What they look for:

In undergraduate recruits, Putman Associates looks for analytic abilities, a rigorous quantitative background, and strong problem-solving skills.
In MBAs, Putnam Associates looks for strong analytic abilities and prior work experience at consulting firms or in the pharma or biotech industries.
In Life Science Consultant recruits, Putnam Associates looks for Ph.D. candidates a year from completion of their degree in Biomedical Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics or Engineering.

IMPROVE YOUR ODDS!
Putnam Associates case questions frequently cover sizing the market for drug therapies. Practice answering this type of case before your interview.

Putnam Associates Target Schools

CalTech, UCSF, McGill, Bowdoin, Boston University, UCLA, UC – Berkley, Yale, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Tufts, MIT, UPenn, Harvard, Cornell, Boston College, Dartmouth, Tufts.

Putnam Associates also recruits from non-target schools.

Land the Putnam Associates Job

Check out the following pages to find resources you need to pass your interview!

Consulting Cover Letters explains how to write ones that will get interviews.
Case Interview Prep explains what a case study interview is and how to ace it.
Case Interview Examples provides links to dozens of sample questions and answers.
Case Interview Practice provides tips on getting good at casing.
Case Interview Math will help you brush up on your consulting math skills.

Need Help Preparing for Your Putnam Associates Interview?

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