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

Great idea!

I'd also recommend the following to improve your skills:

1. Conversational: Download the app HelloTalk. It pairs you up with people that are opposite to you (i.e. learning your language, but native in English) and you chat via text, audio, call etc. It has awesome features (such as edit functionality so the other person can edit your messages for correctness).

2. Vocabulary: Use either handwritten flashcards and/or the app Quizlet. Review these whenever waiting (i.e. on the bus, cooking, on hold, etc)

3. Listening: Download English podcasts and listen while you sleep. I.e. put the phone next to your bed, at a soft enough volume that you can sleep, but loud enough that you cna hear the words. You'll be amazing how your listening improves.

4. Dedicated/tailored training: Go to www.italki.com. It's the PrepLounge for languages!

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

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!

Hi there,

in terms of vocabulary, besides reading, this is what is helping me the most with a couple of languages:

• Find a teacher. I am personally using preply.com, another alternative is italki.com. You can filter the 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 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
• Study daily new words. I recommend the app Anki, which uses the SRS system – the best way to learn new words. Focus on the words critical for your job – usually, if you master the 1000 most important one, you can talk and understand relatively well your niche
• Gamify your learning. I tried a few apps and the one I liked the most in terms of that is Memrise – you should target a course based on business terms in your case

Best,

Francesco

Hello!

I´d say it depends on your target.

In case you want it as a general skills, I would focus on "fun" things to keep it alive:

• Books & articles (Economist, etc.)
• Press (e.g., The New York Times has a free bulletin that it´s delivered every night to your mail)
• Movies and TV shows - available with subtitles everywhere

In case you are preparing for MBB or consulting interviews in general, YES, it´s fundamental skill and I would add, on top of the rest:

• GMAT verbal part
• Cases

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Hi A,


I was in your shoes back in 2011-12, when I also came from Ukraine to start i Germany, and search for consulting jobs. So I can really understand your challenges. Regarding slow down in August, it could really happen, because most HR people plan for vacations for August. Therefore, in general it is a slow season. So I would rather recommend you to apply in June-July or later, in September.

As for the second question, I recommend you to practice cases in German. It would be very tough n the beginning, but I also did it and I practiced 100+ cases in English and in German, and that is what help me to get all the offer, including MBB and then finally choosing Roland Berger.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

Best,
André

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

Hi Anonymous,

Thanks for all the information provided.

For non-experienced hires (like in your situation), offices usually require to speak their local language, at least up to some level (it's not black or white..). It's also important for yourself on office Fridays to not be left out from some information conversations and being really part of that office. Also, for local projects it's important to speak local language - even though official language might be English, you will never bond the same as in local language though.

(For experienced hires - if there is a need for a certain resource/skill-set in the respective office for staffing some projects - the language is less important ..).

The most secure way to get to on-site interviews is always to network your way into that, and have some consultant (the higher in the ranks, the better) forwarding your application to HR. Unless your application documents are a complete mess, with that route you surpass the first HR screening and get invited to on-site interviews directly. Oftenly this is easier said than done - but with Xing/Linked-In etc. you have good tools in your hand to do some research and try to find some connections, unless you anyway have some acquaintances "somewhere" around close to those firms you are targeting.

In respect to the real requirements, you can always give HR a call upfront just to find out if local language is an absolute requirement from their side as well. Don't by shy to call them on the phone, it's their job to service potential hires!

Hope that helps - if so, please give it a thumbs-up with the upvote button!

Robert

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 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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