All questions tagged English - Consulting Q&A - PrepLounge.com

Hi Sinisa,

all the candidates I helped recently for consulting interviews in Germany were fluent in German – I am not sure if there are any companies hiring candidates not fluent with the language.

If you just speak English, the best options relatively close to Germany would be London, Amsterdam (certain companies only) and Middle East.

Best,

Francesco

Hello!

First of all, regarding the languages, it totally depends on the office. As a thumb rule, you should think: in this determined geography, do local clients speak English? Or would they need local language to communicate?

Regarding how to best secure an offer without coming from a target school, don´t worry, since i´ts not impossible. There are plenty of cases, I am one of them -I am actually an architect!!-. I would suggest you to (1) leverage or build a network and (2) attend to networking events -the ones from the firms, from Unis, specially targetted for groups, etc.-.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Hi Sam,

For Bain your best chances are the Amsterdam and Nordic offices (Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki) that all hire English only speakers.

Hi Jan,

this is actually not the best section of PrepLounge to find a case partner.

By the way, especially for a profile like yours (PhD), I would suggest getting in touch with an expert (as I am) to tailor a customized preparation. Your peers won't be able to do so. Trust me. If the interviews turn to be successfull, the ROI is incredibly high.

Best of luck!

Hi,

I heard about the cases when MBBs accepted the candidates without the knowledge of German, but it was in Digital teams. So if you have a relevant experience - you have some leverage.

If not - I believe it will be pretty hard to change the process.

Best

Hi Frederic,

To find a suitable partner for practicing, please use the following 3 features on PrepLounge:

• Shout out partner requests to other candidates
• Find local case interview partners via our map
• Find case interview partners via search

Thank you!

Best wishes for your case prep,

Astrid

PrepLounge Community Management

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This wouldn't impact your application one way or another.

Firstly, your interviewer will be able to assess your ability to speak English in the interview, and wouldn't rely on a test like TOEFL to decide if your level of English is good enough.

Secondly, more important than your ability to speak English is your ability to communicate clearly! While you obviously need a certain level of English to be able to communicate, they are two different things. I know some consultants who speak English as their second language and don't have perfect grammar / limited vocabulary, but who are exceptional, clear communicators!

Question 1: Summer is always slower, not only in Germany

Question 2: A few years ago (ok, in the late 1990s), I did what you are trying to do, with a comparable level in German. Some companies were open in saying I wasn't good enough in German; others expressed interest due to my English and French skills. I ultimately got an offer in one of these (CSC Ploenzke, which was at the time the premier German-speaking IT consultancy, on par with with Accenture)

Bottom line: You aren't choosing the easiest path, and may need to find someone looking for a specific skill set that you offer - but it is definitely possible. I think German or Dutch companies (Northern Europe in general) are a lot more open to this scenario than French, Italian or Spanish ones (Southern Europe).

Good luck!