1st Lt. David Mortlock served as a Marine in Iraq in 2003, but his service didn't stop there. Since returning from his tour, Mortlock—now a consultant with Bain & Company—has continued to help his fellow veterans transition to civilian life. While living in Washington, D.C., he founded Fare Share D.C., a program that recycles partially used Metro cards to provide transportation for homeless and nearly homeless veterans. Since joining Bain full-time in 2007, Mortlock has formed a nationwide support and recruiting network for veterans inside and outside the firm.
Consulting: Why did you start Veterans at Bain?
Mortlock: First, I was looking for an opportunity to connect with fellow veterans. Second, veterans are extremely important to Bain. Our clients look to Bain for advice to lead them through challenging times. Veterans come in with a can-do attitude. Just like in the military, a Bainie never lets another Bainie fail. And veterans believe that in their core.
Consulting: What does Veterans at Bain do?
Mortlock: We start by going to the top business schools around the country. One veteran from Bain gets to know the veterans currently attending that school. Our goal is to help them through the transition from military to civilian life, including advice on how best to translate a resume for non-military jobs.
Consulting: What kind of results are you seeing so far?
Mortlock: We estimate that about 4 percent of all MBA students are veterans. This year, 10 percent of our North American summer internship class was veterans. Next year, we're hoping to raise that to 15 percent. Veterans are succeeding in the Bain interview process. But the goal isn't necessarily to recruit veterans pursuing MBAs into Bain or even into the consulting profession. All we want to do is help them navigate the waters. We reach out to and help all veterans, not just those pursuing consulting careers.
Consulting: Do veterans make good consultants?
Mortlock: Being a good consultant means being able to handle the uncertainty of an engagement; it means working closely with teams; it means answering issues with imperfect information. One has to deal with that every day in a place like Iraq.
Consulting: Where do you see Veterans at Bain evolving next?
Mortlock: We're spending time on retaining the community of veterans we have within Bain. We're building an informal mentoring network, enabling veterans to reach out to other veterans at Bain. We talk about career track and life track issues. As veterans, it's a matter of reaching out to those you feel closest to.
—Jess Scheer
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