German for IB
Greetings,
I am going in 3rd year of a non-target UK university(think Uni of Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds).I will also do a masters at a target uni. I already speak German to a level of B2.1. I am extremely interested in making a career in IB/PE. I just wanted to ask you all, if I reach a C1 level fluency in German, will it add to my prospects.
Lot of people say languages are so important for IB, but will my C1 German skills be credited by companies, as I am non-EU who never lived in Germany.
Will I be wasting my time, if I go from B2.1 to C1.
American here-
Had an interview with a German PE fund in Frankfurt, they wanted C1. Lots of the work they do is with mom and pop shops, so understandable that c1 is a requirement. Best of luck
Hey are you German or grew up in Germany, or have some other strong connection to Germany. If you have C1, does that mean your language skills will be credited or do they want only native speakers and not just "fluent".
They want you to be able to speak German to a Bavarian baker that doesn’t know any English whatsoever. That’s how it was described to me.
If anyone has experiences with jobs with German requirement in General, I will be grateful if you could share your experiences
Many jobs can be done with English, but the cultural requirement is that staff should speak German or attempt to learn it. I have seen finance teams where most people spoke German during the day, with recent immigrants expected to quickly get a grab of the language. Technically the entire thing could be done in English, but that's often not how it is done.
You could try finding a team that is mostly British or American expats.
German here and interned in MM IB in Frankfurt and a small PE shop in Munich so can give some insights.
I advise to do the C1 exam because (1) it signals your commitment to learning German (2) testifies fluency, as opposed to the B2, and (3) either way you have to learn German to the point you are fluent, so why not take the C1 as a nice add-on.
Make sure to clarify in your cv and maybe even in your cover letter (?) that you are fluent and have no issues speaking business German (only if it's actually the case, but don't lie about it haha). In the end German is a hard criterium and most banks conduct a first phone interview (15-30mins) so they will see whether you are fluent or not. I have seen a few non-natives that have learned fluent German and then joined German IB and PE so it's definitely possible!
Maybe an additional concern would be the visa? Idk about the new work regulations since Brexit but worth researching beforehand. All the best!
From my experience this varies substantially across roles and shops. In S&T and asset management, it's quite common to find highly international teams in Frankfurt, where English is the primary working language. While I don't have personal experience in IB/ PE, most of my peers in these fields are proficient in German, typically at least at a C1 level.
Yes, German is not the easiest language to learn, but in my experience, Germans are very welcoming and appreciative when someone makes an effort to learn their language. They are not overly particular about it and are generally pleased to see people trying also in the corporate environment.
So I do think it’s a valuable (and priced) skill, also for coverage related roles in London, and definitely not a waste of time. It will take a few years before real-time translation software makes speaking foreign languages a redundant skill 😉
this is the first im hearing about real time transalation, can you elaborate?
I was mostly referring to ChatGPT‘s ability to live-translate conversations as presented in the 4o keynote a few weeks ago. Check out this short video if you’re interested:
Funnily enough google‘s translator has had this feature for quite some time but ChatGPT‘s conversation prowess make the conversations a lot more organic
My partner learned up to C1 and received a job offer from a German speaking region (in an industry that otherwise doesn't speak German). She does not live in that region and only travels to it occasionally, meeting clients or partner firms.
So, it does help to have languages and opens up more employers. Like others have said, it's the ability to learn, adapt and shows progress towards a goal.
Just wondering, as a native German speaker who has done some interviews in German but not got to the technical stages yet. Is it looked down upon if the technical part of the interview is asked to be done in English? I have no issue doing behavioural in German, but can often get lost in technicals as I don't know the finance terms.
As a native speaker in German, why would anything be done in English for a job interview in Germany (i.e. Frankfurt)?
I understand where you are coming from, many "industries" are mostly English speaking, but the German language has no challenges at all in using their own terms for finance. Didn't you study in German/at a German uni?
Some Germans have spent decades abroad in the US or the UK and they might feel a bit lost on some terms... but they probably won't come back after such a long time to work in Germany? Also, there are a few Germans who are leaving London due to the weak job market and are recruiting for a market they have little experience in on the mainland..
I grew up and studied in the UK. I'm German by nationality and would say I'm fluent but more on a conversation level despite rarely speaking German at home, so I think it would be easier for me to do the technical part in English. Mostly, the behavioural part/ competency questions have never been an issue. But I would assume, that doing the technical part in English would put me at a disadvantage to other applicants who can do the entire interview in purely German. However in one past interview, I was told it was fine to say the finance terms in English.
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