Strategy Simplified S22E20: Consulting Unpacked | The Best Decision I Made in My First Year at Bain
Mar 6, 2026
A consultant recounts a counterintuitive career move in her first year that accelerated her learning. She describes taking non‑prestige assignments, from business development research to a challenging turnaround model. The episode highlights why saying yes to unpopular work can build credibility, responsibility, and rapid growth. Practical staffing realities and mindset shifts for early-career advancement are explored.
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Expect Staffing To Be Out Of Your Control
- New consultants often enter with favoured industries and assume they'll staff into them, which can create entitlement.
- Jenny Rae expected healthcare and media work but learned early that assuming control of staffing is a misunderstanding of firm culture.
Turning A Research Staffing Into A Career Edge
- Jenny Rae accepted a non-revenue business development research role when first staffed and treated it as a learning opportunity.
- She gained unlimited partner access, research resources, and concrete insight from that first pitch that shaped her early credibility.
How A Death Care Case Fueled Rapid Learning
- Jenny Rae took a three-week death care (funerals and cemeteries) client engagement and embraced it despite initial reluctance.
- The team made massive, fast changes and the project became one of her most formative business and teamwork experiences.