I appreciated the power of the Bain network while I was with the firm, but I value it even more now that I am away from it.

• Background

  I grew up in Korea and studied electrical engineering at Seoul National University as an undergraduate. As I considered my career path beyond school, I knew I wanted a job that would allow me to pursue my interests in business, let me work closely with people, still have an analytical component and make an impact. Consulting felt like the natural choice.

  When it came down to choosing Bain over other firms, it was the people that made the difference. Between friends who were already at Bain and new people I met through the application process, I could tell Bain's culture was unique. Everyone was energetic, smart and friendly; it felt like the kind of place where I would not only learn a lot, but also enjoy myself in the process.

• My experience at Bain

  I stayed at Bain for four-and-a-half years - four years in the Seoul office plus a six-month transfer to Chicago. I worked on many different cases (probably close to 20) and ended up with somewhat of an industry focus in private equity and insurance. On the capability front, I was able to get a lot of experience with turnaround strategy and post-merger integration work.

  During my years at Bain, I became skilled in getting up to speed quickly on new companies and industries, and learned how to approach a problem in an efficient and effective manner. I also became quite adept at learning from those around me - either internally on my Bain team or externally through my clients or industry experts.

  I really appreciate Bain's bottom-up approach to creating action-oriented solutions for its clients. We don't simply talk to the CEO about his perspective, but rather closely involve the middle managers, who are truly running the day-to-day operations of the company. I often found the "answer" to the challenge at hand within this group by listening to them carefully and asking thoughtful questions rather than simply swooping in with a final recommendation for them to implement.

  Bain's culture is also very pragmatic. I distinctly remember one particular case in the steel industry. I was trying to get pricing and cost data from the client's procurement manager, who was notoriously skeptical of outsiders - especially consultants. I was getting nowhere and decided to go down to the facility myself. I stayed for several weeks, got to know the culture, earned their respect and ultimately became a trusted adviser whom they knew was there to help.

• My alumni experience

  While at Bain, I went on a six-month transfer to the Chicago office, which gave me a global business perspective. I learned that the way business gets done in different cultures can be incredibly dissimilar, but the actual problems facing companies are still very much the same.

  Being abroad opened my eyes to the vast number of opportunities beyond Bain that existed for me. Spending time in Chicago built my confidence to apply for business school in the US and ultimately helped me end up at Stanford Graduate School of Business. I considered different post-MBA career paths, primarily in operating roles in industry or in finance and investing. I ended up choosing Tiger Asia Management, a long-term-oriented hedge fund in New York where I am now an Associate Director.

  In determining whether a company is over-valued or under-valued, one must look at both the financial indicators and the operational indicators of the business. I think many fund managers over-emphasize the financial piece (because it is often easier to understand) while only doing superficial research about a company's operations. However, I believe I have done particularly well in my field, in part due to my Bain training and the skill set I bring to valuing a company's operations, which are much better indicators of future success.

  I continue to stay in touch with the Bain community on a regular basis. I have a close group of colleagues in Korea who provide me with tremendous advice, contacts and friendship. I appreciated the power of the Bain network while I was with the firm, but I value it even more now that I am away from it.

  Whenever I am back in Seoul, I get together with peers, some of whom are still at Bain and others who are working across a variety of fields. I think of my time at Bain very fondly and deeply appreciate its culture, which valued my contribution even as a junior member of the team and gave me opportunities to learn and grow while propelling me into an exciting international career in business.