Breaking into consulting looks very different when you hear it from someone who has actually done it.

In this episode, we sat down with Jey Varshini Vijaya Pandian, ex Bain & Company and an HEC Paris graduate, to talk about what consulting actually looks like once you are inside the firm and what most candidates misunderstand while preparing.

We spoke about her journey into Bain, how recruiting decisions are really made behind the scenes, and what interviewers are actually listening for when you answer a case or a fit question. Not the polished buzzwords, but how you think, how you explain, and how you handle ambiguity.

We also got into what makes some candidates stand out early, why many strong profiles still struggle in interviews, and how expectations change once you move from campus hiring to lateral roles. A lot of this came from her own experience working on cases, sitting in rooms where decisions were made, and seeing patterns repeat across candidates.

If you are preparing for consulting or strategy roles and want a more grounded view of what really matters, this conversation will help you recalibrate how you prep.