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MBB London tolerant to French speakers ?

Hello, 

Thanks for all your answers to my last post ( https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/mckinsey-london-final-interview-15253), 

I got an offer to Mckinsey London as a summer Associate which I will accept since I really cliked better with my Mckinsey interviewers than the 2 others.

As a french speaker, I am nowhere as eloquent in english as I am in French. I can sometimes struggle to communicate in a concise way in english when I am in a high stress situation. This has more impacted my interviews at Bain and BCG. But My strong profile has helped me so far . However, I am concerned of starting the job and being the girl with a french accent and making vocabulary mistakes during presentations. 

I am currently doing my MBA in the UK. I can still see that my english is not as good as native english speakers.

Do you have any advice about what to do from now to June to strengten my speaking?  Is it possible to perform well and to get promoted in the MBB when you are not working in your native tongue.

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Dennis
Coach
am 26. Jan. 2023
Roland Berger|Project Manager and Recruiter|7+ years of consulting experience in USA and Europe

Hi,

congratulations on getting the offer. That sounds exciting. 

First of all, they saw you in the interviews and made you an offer - that means they trust in your ability to succeed on the job. In consulting, it is pretty common to work in international teams and communicate in English on many projects, even if you are not necessarily based in an English speaking country. 

However, this is a great opportunity for you to immerse yourself in the language and improve your skills during your time at McK.

To get a head start on your English skills up until June, it's really just the basic approach to learning/practicing any language:

  • Watch English movies, shows, documentaries (in your case preferably British stuff for the accent)
  • Read books, newspapers and business reports in English
  • Find a “language buddy” for regular conversations - e.g. a native English speaker who is trying to learn French so you can take turns
  • Get an English teacher for business English

All the best and good luck

am 27. Jan. 2023
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success: ➡ interviewoffers.com | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi PT,

Congratulations on the McKinsey offer! In terms of your question:

Q: Do you have any advice about what to do from now to June to strengthen my speaking?  Is it possible to perform well and to get promoted in the MBB when you are not working in your native tongue?

Good question! I am studying a few different languages and definitely understand the struggle. Here are my 3 top tips:

  1. Find a teacher. I am personally using preply.com, another alternative is italki.com. You can filter teachers based on languages, reviews, budget, availability, etc, similarly to PrepLounge coaches. I am using it for a couple of languages and it works really well. In your case, you should probably target teachers willing to help you with business terms. Working with a teacher is relatively cheap and helps enormously if you manage to stick to a weekly class.
  2. Study daily new words. I recommend the app Anki, which uses the SRS system, which I believe is the best way to learn new words. Focus on the words critical for your job – usually, if you master the 1000 most important ones, you can talk and understand relatively well your niche.
  3. Gamify your learning. I tried a few apps and the one I liked the most in terms of gamification is Memrise (focused mainly on building vocabulary) – you should probably target a course based on business terms in your case (you can add for free one of those created by the other users, besides the official ones offered by the app).

If you work in advance on your language skills there should not be problems with your performance at work.

BONUS: find a good business book on Audible, check if you like the style of the speaker and listen to it during breaks/downtime. You will learn new things and improve your English at the same time.

Best,

Francesco

am 31. Jan. 2023
#1 rated McKinsey Coach

Hi there, 

Congrats on the offer!

It might sound obvious, but just try and speak to other people as much as possible, i.e., immerse yourself in the language. 

Aside from this, try reading some of the publications from the MBB you got hired by. This will educate you not only on the work that they do, but also on the sort of language they use. 

Best,

Cristian

Florian
Coach
am 27. Jan. 2023
1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 600+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

Hi there,

I don't think it will be a big problem unless you make it one. Remember.

You made it through the MBB interviews all the way to the end, IN ENGLISH! That fact alone should put you at ease as 99% of native speakers don't get there…

That being said, if you want to work on your English, I'd focus on material that is relevant for consultants. 

Instead of watching a movie in English, read books like the Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto (ex-McKinsey) on how create strong and convincing arguments.

Trust me, you already have a strong enough level and it will only improve from here.

Enjoy your time with the firm!

Cheers,

Florian

Hagen
Coach
bearbeitet am 28. Jan. 2023
#1 recommended coach | >95% success rate | 8+ years consulting, 8+ years coaching and 7+ years interviewing experience

Hi PT,

First of all, congratulations on the offer from McKinsey London!

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

  • As a non-native English speaker, it's completely normal to have concerns about communicating effectively in a professional setting. However, it's important to keep in mind that you've already succeeded in the interviews with McKinsey, which suggests that your English skills are more than sufficient for the job.
  • That being said, it's always a good idea to continue to work on improving your language skills, and there are many resources available to help you do so. Some suggestions include:
    • Practicing your speaking with native English speakers as much as possible. This can be done through conversation exchanges with friends, colleagues at university, or language partners.
    • Listening to English-language podcasts, news broadcasts, and other audio content to improve your comprehension and pronunciation.
    • Reading English-language books, articles, and other written materials to improve your vocabulary and grammar.
    • Joining an English-language conversation group or taking an English course at university to practice speaking in a supportive and encouraging environment.

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

Best,

Hagen

Pedro
Coach
am 27. Jan. 2023
Bain | EY-Parthenon | Former Principal | 1.5h session | 30% discount 1st session

You still have a few months until your summer internship. While doing your MBA, you should make sure that you are fully immersed in an English-speaking environment. All day long.

I've seen people whose English did not improve significantly during their MBA, while being in an English-speaking country, they would spend most of the time with people speaking their own language, or did not make much of an effort to speak…

If you do this, after a few months you'll be “good to go”. In any case, as other said, your english was good enough to get an offer at Mckinsey… 

Moritz
Coach
am 27. Jan. 2023
ex-McKinsey EM & Interviewer | 7/8 offer rate for 4+ sessions | High impact sessions + FREE materials & exercises

Hi there,

Well done on getting into McKinsey!

I can speak from experience how tough this can be when you're not a native speaker since I am German and joined McKinsey in Chile, which is Spanish speaking and that definitely wasn't my strength.

When I started, I barely spoke Spanish and was way behind you in your current situation. I felt awful at first but I also got plenty of encouragement from the firm because rather than focusing on my weaknesses they were much more focused on leveraging my strengths i.e., my unique experiences and skills that marked me out from the rest. 

Hence, I focused much more on leveraging my strengths and merely mitigating my weaknesses, which is McKinsey's entire people development philosophy, also reflected in their strengths based feedback approach.

Hope this way of thinking helps you, too!

Best,

Moritz

Ian
Coach
am 28. Jan. 2023
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Salut!

D'abord il faut savoir que vous allez apprendre rapidement et au fur et à mesure vous s'y aller mettre plus à l'aise.

Remember that MBB is full of foreigners and the UK in particular is well accustomed to non-native speakers. 

Now, how can you improve before getting there? Here's what I use:

  1. Brainscape app - the best for flashcards/vocab
  2. Hellotalk - the best for conversational practice
  3. Podcasts - “listen” on low volume while you sleep
  4. Italki - best for cheap tutors/teachers

Good luck!

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