Will a master's degree from a public university in Germany help me enter MBB offices in Europe?

Hi there! 

Let's take your questions one by one:

1. Which other European countries, besides the UK, would you recommend for working in offices where the main language is English?

I am not aware of any other offices where the main language is English. Yes, presentations would be done occasionally or preponderantly in English (e.g., in Eastern Europe for the latter), but the main language of the office will always be the local one and in the larger offices also the language you will work with clients in. 

Now, I have worked plenty myself in Germany, Nordics, Spain for example while not speaking the language, but that was part of the staffing process (when you get allocated to a project after you join a consultancy). I have very rarely, if ever, seen people join a local office without speaking the local language. 

2. Is it possible to enter an MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) office or other European offices with a master's degree from a German public university, or do they prefer candidates who have studied at top-ranked universities? 

Answer to both is YES (if looking beyond limitation on point 1). It is possible to enter from a public university and I am sure you will find on Linkedin plenty of examples. 

It is also true that “top-ranked” universities might be somewhat preferred, but rather in the sense that they already have established recruiting channels between the consultancies and the school. Studying at a top-ranked university would not automatically make you a better candidate. 

3.  During my master's, what other skills or experiences should I develop to make my application more competitive?

Top priority: anything that shows consulting experience or interest. This would be: consulting internships, projects, participation in consulting clubs and at consulting case study competitions and events (bonus points for those: networking opportunities). 

Besides this, a good academic performance often matters as well, followed by an international experience if possible. 

Hope this helps, 

Ariadna 

Hi there!

Happy to provide a perspective. 

Is it possible to enter an MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) office or other European offices with a master's degree from a German public university, or do they prefer candidates who have studied at top-ranked universities? 

Yes, though then your education is less of a distinguishing value proposition. 

Which means that you ideally need other things on your CV to make your profile stand out. 

Think about it if it were a point-based system. 

Top school - x number of points

Consulting internships - x number of points

International experiences - x number of points 

And so on

More ‘points’ = higher likelihood of passing screening. 

You might also find this article helpful:

• Expert Guide: Build A Winning Application Strategy

Additionally, which other European countries, besides the UK, would you recommend for working in offices where the main language is English? 

Nordic offices. Netherlands. Belgium. (Though for the last two you'd need to have a 1-on-1 discussion with the recruiters to ensure the interviews are conducted in English). 

During my master's, what other skills or experiences should I develop to make my application more competitive?

Lots of things to consider, but it boils down to this - showing that you have a long-term interest in consulting and consultant-like experiences. 

So internships, being part of a consulting club, doing pro bono consulting work, all these things matter a lot.

Hope this helps out and do reach out if you have follow-up questions.

Best,
Cristian

Hi there, 

1) Is it possible to enter an MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) office or other European offices with a master's degree from a German public university?

You can check it as follows:

1. Go to LinkedIn
2. Add the university as "School"
3. Filter by each MBB/target company as “Current company” for your target geography

If you find a good number of alumni for a school working there with a background similar to yours, it means it could be a good option. 

If you are not sure what a good number of people could be, you can use a school you are sure is a target as a benchmark.

You can find below an example for Harvard and McKinsey: 

2) Additionally, which other European countries, besides the UK, would you recommend for working in offices where the main language is English?

Usually you have more chances in your home country.

Other regions where they accept English only based on my experience, relatively close to Germany, are:

• UK
• The Nordics
• The Netherlands (only for some companies like Bain, as others require Dutch)
• The Middle East

Even if the local language is not required, you will normally need two things to apply to a different country:

1. Working rights
2. A connection with the country

3) During my master's, what other skills or experiences should I develop to make my application more competitive? 

I would recommend working on the points below:

▶ How to Get a Consulting Interview Invitation

Good luck!

Francesco

If your end goal is MBB then make sure you go to a target school and a target program for MBB recruiting. So for example, University of Oxford is a target school but not all their programs get the same attention (an MPhil in Economics has a higher chance vs an MSc in Social Data Science), and many masters programs are not considered target for MBB.

The best way to find out if your chosen school is the right one is to talk to alumni and see what they say. You can also ask the school about MBB recruitment directly and you can talk to current people at MBB in the offices you want to work at to see if they would recruit from there. Do all your due diligence before you start to avoid feeling disappointed later on.

As for offices that use English primarily - all UK ones, Amsterdam, Belgium, Germany and some Nordic offices are pretty open to English speaking Associates.

Best,

Udayan

Hi there,

Depends on the country - it is not fully possible to make a blanket statement, however, the only really feasible alternative that I see is London, which is the most competitive office in Europe and most other candidates have an Oxford, Cambridge, LSE background.

I would imagine that if you try to apply there without any local connection (as in: studied, worked, lived there before), your application will either be rejected or forwarded to the German office.

Other countries you could think of would be the Netherlands and the Nordics, however, similar feedback applies as above.

My suggestion would be to start in Germany and then move once you are in the firm.

Cheers,

Florian

MBB have preferred schools. They will invariably be top schools in each country. Moreover, a top school is usually a target school for the offices in that country (not for the offices abroad, although exceptions will exist for really top academic institutions).

I don't know specifically about Germany, but I would guess that some of the public universities would be top schools. If they are not, then it is unlikely MBB will be recruiting there.

Hi there,

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your questions:

• First of all, while it is generally possible to get a job in consulting in another European country with a Master's degree from a German public university, your chances are probably not very high.
• Moreover, in addition to the UK, you could also consider the Nordic countries, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
• Lastly, to improve your application, I would highly advise you to gain consulting experience through internships or consulting projects.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen