MBB Switzerland

Question

Hi guys,

My goal is to land a MBB offer in Switzerland (Geneva or Zurich).

I speak English (C1) and Spanish (native). I’ll do a Master in Finance at IE (April 2026 intake), with a little bit of luck and discipline I’ll get the CFA Level II passed, FMVA and I’m confident I can land an internship at a good boutique asset management firm in Spain. I want to ask the following questions:

- First the language, how much more challenging will it become without French and German

- How do Swiss offices see IE Business School and the IE MiF

- I know the CFA is not meant for strategy consulting, but I hope it isn’t worthless? What do you think?

- I also know that my profile is really finance heavy. Would that become a bad thing? What other thing (besides networking and case prep) should I do to increase my chances?

Sorry for the long text. I really appreciate it.

Answer 1

Alejandro,

Happy to provide a perspective on these questions as well.

1. Language

Unfortunately, Switzerland is quite strict about this. You might want to check in advance with each firm that you're interested in whether the language requirements are mandatory.

Aside from language, there's also a question about having the right to work in Switzerland. You might want to do a couple of coffee chats with foreign consultants now working in Switzerland to understand how that works.

2. Perception in IE

IE is seen as a top school across Europe and beyond. I wouldn't worry about that. But consulting, especially for the top firms is competitive and you can expect the other candidates to have similar credentials.

3. CFA

Not useless, definitely. It counts. So it's great that you have it. But it's also not a requirement.

4. Finance background

That can also help. I would recommend that you check whether you could apply directly for the finance practice of a firm because there you will have a competitive advantage.

Best,
Cristian