international students - Top 15 b-schools
Hello guys!
As an international student at one of the top 15 b-schools in near future, I wonder if it's possible to land a job in consultancy in the US, or being a native speaker is a prerequisite for the top MC firms? I know that banks recruit for associate IB positions non-native speakers.
thanks
obviously depends on the level of your english.
do you have a toefl score for reference?
Consultants don't just sit at a cube and make excel models, so yeah, language proficiency is a concern. More so, getting work authorization at any firm is a problem now, even for those at the top schools. Companies aren't exactly struggling to find qualified workers in a sea of overeducated, laid off ex-Wall Streeters, right? So, why would they take a flier on an international (who they have to pay extra to get the work auth for and may have, like you are intimating about, cultural/language issues) over the horde of US people looking?
In general, even for internships, I'm not seeing many internationals placed in the US. At my school, 25% of our MBA class is Chinese and only one got an internship in the US, even though all of them wanted one. The rest went back to China for the summer to work.
I know plenty of Germans who work for MBB in the US. I have a TOEFL 118/120 myself and even though I chose to work in a different country, I am pretty sure my chances for a spot at an office in the US would be at least as good as those of an american applicant all else being equal - my English is excellent plus I'm a native speaker at a second language.
If I understood OP correctly he is not asking whether proficiency is needed, but rather whether non-native speakers are being considered at all. the answer then would have to be: YES - if your english is excellent.
If your English is acceptable, and you're good at case interviews, ignore this comment above: you're more than welcome at the top firms. To share my experience: over a third of summers at my MBB training were international, and half of my teammates are non-native speakers (of Indian, Chinese, and European origins).
Great question. I went through the whole internship recruiting process here in the US earlier this year, and I can honestly say that us as international students have a much rougher ride, especially in the economy we are in. My English is certainly not close to perfection, but I have worked really hard on my accent and thought process, which seems to have paid off.
I am now doing an internship with a 2-tier strategy consulting firm (RB, Deloitte, Monitor), which has been wonderful so far, and I consider myself very lucky. The only consulting firms I know for sure are willing to sponsor international students are MBB and the one I am working at. I know LEK does NOT, not sure about the rest.
I know international students have a good shot at getting offers by applying to offices based in their home countries, although it might be harder in some of the very competitive countries. All I can say is that you need to play your differentiation cards all the way through. Leverage your international experience all you can and combine it with some good storytelling to stand out from the crowd of Ivy kids.
Also, you can check this website which tells you which firms have sponsored H1B visas and green cards, for what positions, when, and if they were granted or not those visas. Hope it helps.
http://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports/Top-Visa-Sponsor-2011.aspx
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