Bachelor Career Services
We host three major career fairs every year.
Career Day in September is the first of our three major career fairs. It features companies that recruit intermittently at WHU, or are new to our community. And this inspiring mix – from start-ups to household names – means there is always something for everyone.
Recent participants include Allianz, BASF, Capgemini Invent Germany, Mastercard, METRO, Porsche, Procter & Gamble, PWC, UBS, Qiagen and Valantic.
Founders’ Career Day in November is the second of our three major career fairs – and our most dynamic. This is a large source of internships for Bachelor students.
Many of our fantastic alumni return to campus to recruit for their own ventures, from brand new start-ups to well-established companies.
The day includes short presentations, a career fair, and a networking lounge – as well as on-campus interviews.
The Founders Career Day is a great opportunity to start building your entrepreneurial network - maybe one of these founders will support your own venture one day!
Recent participants include Atlantic Labs, Audibene, Crealytics, Enpal, Liberty Ventures, Natsana, Numa Stays, Packmatic, Patronus Group, ProjectTogether, Tourlane and VictoriaPartners.
Master Your Career in January is the third of our three major career fairs. And this one highlights our long-standing partner companies, mostly in industry and services.
The presentations, fair and the option to apply for individual interviews all provide great opportunities for you to discover and discuss areas of mutual interest with interested representatives from a wide variety of companies and industries.
Recent attendees were Accenture, adidas, Allianz, BASF, Bertelsmann, Deichmann, Henkel, and Kearney.
Other career services
A Bachelor’s at WHU is more than just a degree; we help you discover and work towards your dream career. Our company presentations give you a sneak peek into the working world and help you decide the pathway to that career.
Senior managers and junior employees, including many alumni, as well as HR officers, share their first-hand knowledge of operations, corporate culture, and hiring processes. They hold special presentations for first-semester students, helping to familiarize you with new industries, understand the bigger “business” picture, and provide the opportunity to ask more detailed questions.
And from the second semester, you can connect with company representatives directly, and learn more about their organizations, over an informal dinner in our renowned vaulted cellar following the presentations.
From the second year on you can also participate in virtual formats like the Banking and Finance Evening and the Consulting Evening. Several companies from the same industry present themselves and you can apply for individual online interviews – in the best case those are your first step into an official recruiting process.
In fall 2023 and spring 2024 the following companies were represented with one of those formats: Bain & Company, Bank of America, BCG, Deutsche Beteiligungs AG, EY-Parthenon, Goldman Sachs, Horváth, Houlihan Lokey, ING Deutschland, Inverto, J.P.Morgan, McKinsey, Monitor Deloitte, ODDO BHF, Oliver Wyman, Perella Weinberg Partners, Retail Capital Partners AG, Roland Berger, Siemens Advanta Consulting, Simon-Kucher & Partners, Singular Group, Strategy&, TD Cowen, Thyssenkrupp Management Consulting, WMC Healthcare GmbH, zeb, Zumera.
Every week, we will send you a newsletter packed full of career events and job opportunities. And tailored to the needs of your Bachelor class.
For this offer, we use Handshake, an innovative platform that brings students, companies and the Career Center together. Handshake combines the best of both worlds: You benefit from offers that are also aimed at students from other European universities, while at the same time the platform enables companies to publish offers exclusively for the WHU community. Thanks to many years of cooperation and experience with - or as - WHU graduates, some recruiters like to rely on the skills, commitment and motivation of our students and graduates.
Handshake puts opportunities in front of you. But we also put you in front of opportunities – your profile and CV. Partner companies can view the profiles of our students in Handshake and reach out to candidates directly.
Through your profile, you can receive invites to job interviews, recruiting events and even specific job offers from companies that are genuinely interested in you and match your future plans. You can already create your profile during your first year of study and keep it up-to-date with your current interests and needs.
From day one, you will be part of our supportive, WHU community.
We know that not everyone is comfortable applying for a new role, meeting new people in a networking situation, or developing a meaningful career plan.
That is why, in your first semester, we will organize and hold an application training event in partnership with professionals from renowned companies.
And why, throughout your time at WHU, we invite you to come in and discuss your career plans and questions in a personal and confidential career counseling session.
We are also available to give feedback on your application documents. And we have an open-door policy, which means there are no fixed office hours, and you do not necessarily need an appointment to meet with us.
Career related questions? Chances are you'll find some answers in our resources!
We publish extensive information, templates, and guidance on career topics on our internal platforms. These will help you to search for internship and job offers, create convincing application documents, and prepare for interviews.
But that’s not all. Because our best resources are often each other.
At WHU, we have a long-standing tradition of students helping students, which we support by facilitating the exchange of internship information.
Many students voluntarily provide information about their internships on our internal platform, and will indicate if they are available to answer individual questions.
Welcome to a lifetime of support from 7,000+ alumni in 65 countries across six continents.
Our alumni are a key part of our close-knit WHU community. They are active across all industries as well as in nonprofit organizations, public service, and academia. And with our strong history of entrepreneurship, we also count a number of founders among our alumni.
We foster relationships between students and alumni by cooperating closely with the In Praxi alumni association, which unites more than 90% of all graduates.
Alumni often participate in recruitment events on campus, and this strong network will play a large role in your search for internships, jobs, or even partners for entrepreneurial projects.
In addition, we sometimes organize informal events and conversations with alumni about their personal experiences and career paths.
Frequently asked questions –
Additional career-related information.
Last year, nearly 60 companies in consulting, banking and financial services, large industry and services, German small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and start-ups participated in our events on Campus Vallendar. Most top-tier consultancies and investment banks recruit here every year, and several large industrials regularly participate in our fairs (see information above on fairs for current examples). Companies also support student events such as Campus for Finance and other “Campus for” conferences, forumWHU, IdeaLab!, and SensAbility.
Internships range across industries, companies, and locations depending on individual interests and needs. Banking and finance, marketing and sales, business development, strategy and consulting, and supply chain management are all common sectors. A large group of students also intern with start-ups.
You will have two mandatory internship periods as a Bachelor student, each a minimum of 4 weeks. One of the internships must be outside of the German-speaking region. Most students do 10-12 weeks in the summer between May and August, depending on their class schedule, exchange semester, and vacation plans.
Our job database regularly features international internships and jobs, and we inform all of our partner companies about this specific student interest and need. Companies visiting WHU usually represent the German branches and often recruit mainly for the German-speaking market. One main exception is that most international banks come with their European recruitment teams. Some companies that come to campus, especially large industrials with international operations and accelerators/venture groups with portfolio companies abroad, may recruit for international internships alongside their traditional offers.
After each internship, you will write a report that can then be read by fellow students. Students are often also available to answer individual inquiries about their internships. Very often, students can open doors for each other and provide valuable practical advice about the international internship experience.
When considering where to go, do not forget that you need permission to work legally in that country. We cannot assist with work visas – you should arrange that directly with your employer. Non-EU citizens may face additional challenges in Europe since the German student visa only allows you to work in Germany (and not other EU countries).
More and more Bachelor students are deciding to take a gap year after graduation rather than directly continuing their education or entering the workplace. The possibilities for a gap year are endless, but many graduates use this time to clarify their professional interests through several internships or gain additional practical experience, develop entrepreneurial projects, travel, or work for nonprofit organizations. A number of our partner companies also organize attractive and popular gap year programs.
WHU’s alumni organization In Praxi has more than 7,000 members corresponding to over 90% of graduates from all programs. Our alumni are active across all industries including consulting, banking and financial services, industry and services, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and family business, as well as some in non profit organizations, public service, and academia. WHU has a strong history of entrepreneurship and we count a number of founders among our alumni. While the majority of our alumni live in Germany, the network covers more than 65 countries across six continents. With nearly 30 regional chapters and increasing, In Praxi organizes events for local members around the world.
The student visa allows non-EU citizens to complete their mandatory internships in Germany, as well as work for an additional 140 days per calendar year while enrolled at WHU. Due to the program’s intensity, it is unrealistic to pursue part-time employment during the semester. EU citizens (plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland) have unrestricted access to the labor market in Germany and the rest of the EU.
In general, non-EU citizens can remain in Germany to look for employment for 18 months after graduation and are entitled to work in a business-related field. Check the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs for up-to-date information on work eligibility.
Without question, the more German you speak, the more opportunities you will have. Prospects differ by industry, company, and position. Regardless of German skills, companies here look for candidates with strong intercultural competence who will succeed in the local workplace.
All top-tier consultancies and most banks require business fluency; some specialized consultancies will consider candidates with solid but not fluent German. Select business areas, such as transaction advisory, or more specialized financial services firms may hire students with limited German skills. Large industrial companies and medium-sized “hidden champions” that compete globally may also be flexible, depending on the company, sector, and functional area. Start-ups, especially in Berlin, are often open to those with limited German.
It is possible to become business fluent in German during the three-year program, but this requires a lot of discipline. WHU offers free German courses for students at various levels. Improving your German as much as possible is imperative if you plan to stay here after graduation, as every increase will open more employment opportunities. An additional option for international students is to take an intensive German course after graduation.
Would you like to know more?