Real People, Real Jobs — Grace B.
A Consultant at a firm where only the top 1% of applicants get offers
I didn’t understand the concept — and indispensability — of a “work friend” until I met Grace B.* In fact, my friendship with Grace began before I even officially met her. The summer after my freshman year, I’d secured an internship at a think tank in London; when I landed at Heathrow, I proudly announced to the customs official that I was in the UK to work. It took less than a minute for my pride to devolve into panic, as the official told me I didn’t have the proper visa, dropped me into a holding pen in the middle of the airport, and demanded I start researching return flights to Los Angeles. When I called the think tank, Grace picked up, her bright English accent a foil to my urgent plea for help.
Thanks to Grace, I was able to leave the Heathrow holding pen and embark on my most memorable college internship. It was 2016 and the UK was abuzz with anticipation for the Brexit referendum; the night of the vote, Grace and I were tasked with working our office’s all-night watch party, and we accompanied our boss to his appearance on Christiane Amanpour’s CNN segment in the shadows of Parliament. Together, we sold adverts for the think tank’s magazine, Grace coaching me on my English accent as we cold-called local summer schools and radio stations. Mostly, we took lunches that far exceeded our allotted hour, critiqued every wedding featured on Cynthia Cook Brides, and analyzed each real or suspected romantic relationship taking place in our musty four-story Westminster office.
Since that summer, Grace and I have become real friends, and she’s gone on to have a much more serious job at one of the renowned Big Three consulting firms. Here she is to tell you all about it.
*Grace asked that her last name be withheld.
Grace B. is a consultant at Bain & Company. Grace started in Bain’s Boston office in 2019 and has since worked in their New York and London offices. She’s interspersed her six years at Bain with various externships and an educational leave to do an MBA at INSEAD, splitting her time between their France and Singapore campuses. Here’s what it’s really like to work at one of the world’s most prestigious and competitive corporate institutions, where only the top 1% of applicants get an offer.
When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to work, I spoke to just about anyone who would speak to me at various companies. It’s the best way to figure out what is a good fit for you, and it works the other way too; if you feel comfortable and confident when you’re networking and interviewing somewhere, that’s a good sign and it probably means you’re going to do well in the interview too.
On a workday in her life: Monday, March 17, 2025
Today was Monday so I try to start my week the way I mean (but always struggle!) to go on. At 7am I left home and went to the gym downstairs in the office where there’s a spinning bike and did a quick Peloton class, showered, and went upstairs for my “SOD” (start of day meeting with my team) at 9:30am where we aligned on our priorities for the day. My team is an “M+6,” so there are six of us plus my manager. SODs and “EODs” (end of day meeting) are 30 minutes each and we do a round the table of priorities by work stream (there are three work streams each with two people). My current project is a client doing a big capital expenditure project, so after the SOD my associate and I spent most of the day building slides and analysis to break that down. I started having a direct report about two years ago and I love it. It’s fun to work closely with someone and it changes the role because it becomes not just about individual contribution but also about coaching someone.
I had lunch with a few friends from my team in the cafeteria and then kept going through the afternoon, pulling up to chat to my manager who gave me input and the associate I’m working with who I helped problem solve. I also prepped for a meeting on something I worked on a few days ago that lands tomorrow morning. After our EOD at 5:30pm, I headed home at 7pm and finished up work there at 9:30pm. I watched an episode of Severance to unwind (but it had the opposite effect!).
On a misconception people often hold about her job:
That it’s just slides. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of slides, but there is much more knowledge than there is slides. I think a slide is like the tip of an iceberg, and I’ve learned that a slide is just a conversation starter in a meeting. That means you’d best be able to answer for anything you put on that slide, and when you work with really smart people, they’re going to ask you lots of questions. My memory sometimes fails me so I keep copious, copious notes in OneNote with everything from key numbers to screenshots to acronym de-coders.
On something about her role that you wouldn’t know from the job description:
I’d say what I didn’t expect when I started was how much my job would change the way I think about the world. I’ve been on such a range of projects across industry from food services to lawn mowers to healthcare providers. What I’ve realized is how much work from so many people goes into almost everything we see and consume, across various business functions and throughout the supply chain. Now when I interact with any company in my life, I can’t help but think about that, whether I’m helping my dad choose a lawnmower or I’m making a health insurance claim.
On what someone who wants her job can do right now to get there:
When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to work, I spoke to just about anyone who would speak to me at various companies. It’s the best way to figure out what is a good fit for you, and it works the other way too; if you feel comfortable and confident when you’re networking and interviewing somewhere, that’s a good sign and it probably means you’re going to do well in the interview too. A good hiring process should simulate the types of problems and environment you’d be working in, so put as much effort in as you can, but don’t force something if it isn’t meant to be. There are SO many interesting things you can do.
On her favorite part of her job:
Everyone says it, but it’s the people. I always feel like the people I work with are in my corner, and I’ve made lifelong friends at work through projects we’ve worked on together, sitting next to each other in the office, or even in global training. I even met one of my best friends at a global training in our first year in 2019 and last year I was a bridesmaid at her wedding!
On the most challenging part of her job:
People say the reward for doing well at Bain is that you get to do harder work. Every time I feel like I’ve really got it all figured out, they give me someone else to manage. I love that I feel like my job is pushing me, but it's not a place to be if you want to sit in your comfort zone.
On her INSEAD MBA experience:
I rolled my eyes a bit when people always said how amazing business school is. But I get it now! And I’m one of those people who says that. It is such a special experience to meet so many new people who you are strangely similar to in many ways but very different from in others. I especially loved being in a small French town for most of the year because it meant that everyone is focused on each other, rather than distracted by a busy city around you.
On why she’s chosen to stay at Bain:
I think Bain embodies the “if you love it set it free” mentality really well, and I think that’s why I’ve stayed. Although I’ve technically done this job since I finished my undergrad, I’ve come and gone and had so many different experiences. In my second year I took leave to work at two different start-ups in London (“externships”), then I left for business school after my fourth year, after which I also got the chance to work at another start-up, before rejoining Bain. I think it can be really easy to sit in one role and think the grass is greener, but I’ve been able to go and smell/see/touch that grass, and it means I keep coming back.
On the differences between working in the US and UK:
I’ve found so many things are similar. I’ve been lucky and always worked in pretty diverse environments with a lot of international people on my teams. And at Bain, the way of working culture is so strong that I find my team in the UK doesn’t feel very different to my teams in the US.
That being said, there are some differences that I’ve felt more in one-on-one relationships. One thing I loved about America is that people are really open and not awkward in the same way that Brits can be. That’s meant I’ve got some really direct feedback which is really what you want at the beginning of your career. Now that I'm back though, I realized I missed the sense of humor in the UK. Contrary to popular opinion, I find people don’t feel a need to sugar coat things, which I really like.
One thing (tool, skill, secret, etc.) anyone who wants her job must know:
Quick mental maths (sorry!)
One person or publication you must follow if you want her job:
Follow the Bain socials to read about the various practices and their work — some of it is really interesting!
Her work-life balance on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = works all the time, including weekends, and doesn’t have any personal free time; 10 = standard 9-5 job with manageable demands):
5 on average but it varies by project. I would say on average, I work 9am-9pm except Fridays when we’ll log off around 6pm. Some teams also have a system where you can protect one weeknight to log off early, which means I can go see a friend for dinner or do something else after work. My weekends are pretty reliably protected too, so it’s hard work but it’s very manageable. And there is a lot of monitoring around how much people are working and how smart we are working. The leadership are very on top of keeping the hours as efficient as they can.
Thank you for reading Business Casual! Share this post with your work friends and let me know who they are in the comments.
This is amazing series. Will be recommending it to many of my friends!
9am to 9pm! I would die