As a tough economy leaves some soon-to-be graduates struggling to find jobs, UI senior Rob Pick had more than one option lined up.

With offers from several top-ranked strategy consulting firms, Pick decided to join Bain and Co. at its Chicago office. His backup option was Monitor Group, where he held an internship in Los Angeles last summer.

While both companies are highly ranked American corporations that offered him strong starting positions, Pick said, he chose Bain because he thought it was a “better cultural fit.”

“Bain is sort of the fraternity of the business world,” he said. “It offers a lot of different office trips. I liked the people there, and it just felt right when I interviewed.”

The Ankeny native said he wanted to stay closer to home, leading him to work in Bain’s Chicago office. Pick noted he is only the third person from the UI to be hired by Bain in the company’s history, and most other hirings are graduates from such top-ranked universities as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.

What made Pick so competitive for a spot at Bain was most likely his résumé. He is set to graduate with distinction from the UI, and he is majoring in political science, economics, and finance.

Pick was one of 50 incoming freshmen chosen for early admission to the UI Tippie College of Business. He joined Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity in 2005 and served two terms as president. Pick is also a Hawkinson Institute of Business Finance Scholar, a competitive program that prepares students for a career in financial services and consulting fields.

He fulfilled his interest in political science by serving in the UI Student Government and on the College of Business Judicial Board.

“I knew I wanted to get as involved as possible when I got on campus as a freshman,” Pick said. “I’m paying for my own education, so I wanted to do everything I could to make the most of it.”

In addition to his many academic achievements, Pick has also gained work experience through a few internships. In spring 2007, he worked for a member of the House of Commons on Parliament in London, at one time briefing an MP on a meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Summer 2007 kept him closer to home when he worked in Des Moines for Principle Financial Group. Summer 2008 took him to Los Angeles to intern at Monitor Group.

After he graduates, Pick will spend the summer in Iowa City until he starts work for Bain in the fall. His first assignment on the job is to spend three months working for a nonprofit organization in England, New York, Australia, Fiji, or Madagascar. Once he returns in January 2010, he will begin training for Bain.

Pick said he hopes to stay at Bain for a while because it will pay for him to go to graduate school after a few years on staff. His long-term goal, he said, is to pursue politics on the state or national level.

“Rob inspired me to get more involved at the university and helped me prepare my own Hawkinson interview,” UI freshman Patrick Cornally said. “When he wants to achieve a goal, he’s willing to put in all the effort and time to do so.”