Which MBB European offices hire pure English speakers and sponsor VISAs outside of the UK?

Question

Hi, I'm finishing a degree from a target school in France (top 3 Grande Ecoles for business) but don't speak French fluently. I want to leverage on its European brand reputation by applying to MBB English-speaking offices in Europe, outside of the UK.

I would love to learn about other English-speaking offices outside of Europe where I should consider applying. I have a couple of internships and strong extra-curriculars, including an Amazon Luxembourg stint, but I am afraid that all the case prep will be for nothing if I can't get my CV through the first screening. Thank you for your help in advance.

Answer 1

Hi Sam,

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

Answer 2

Hi Sam,

thanks for asking your question on our Consulting Q&A!

As far as we know, in Germany, MBB requires decent to fluent knowledge of the German language:

McKinsey: The case interviews are usually in both German and English. Thus, a decent knowledge of German is necessary to pass the interview.
BCG: BCG requires excellent German written and speaking skills for their German clients.
Bain & Company: Bain requires fluent German skills, as well.

So unfortunately, in Germany the language still plays a very important role. I assume that in most part of Europe, it is similar, as consultants are required to speak the language of their clients.

However, based on their business culture and level of English skills, I could imagine that Scandinavian countries or the Netherlands could be countries for you to look further into. Hopefully, our experts can give you further insights into that!

Furthermore, if you ever consider applying to other types of firms, as well, you may be interested in some inhouse consultancies that only require English language in their German offices:

Hope this helps!

Astrid

PrepLounge Community Management

PrepLounge Consulting Q&A Forum

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Answer 3

Hi,

as mentioned before, the Netherlands could give you one shot.
Here McK and BCG both require Dutch skills for their entry jobs, but Bain just requires English skills.

I already interviewed with them for an ACI position without any Dutch skills.

Hope that helps!

Answer 4

Hi,

usually, all companies independent of the industry require you to speak the local language fluently in addition to English, which is reasonable given the fact that you often deal with local clients which not necessarily want to communicate in a foreign language. As far as I am aware, consulting companies explicitly state that when you're in the process of choosing your office.

Regards,

Daniel