MBA Career Center –

On average, around 30 companies in consulting, banking and financial services, large industry and services, German SMEs, and start-ups participated in events for our MBA students on Campus Düsseldorf. Companies also support student-led events such as the Entrepreneurship Roundtable.

All of our students have gained several years of work experience before entering the MBA program. Therefore, our program does not require you to complete an internship. However, we do recommend that all international MBA students as well as students who seek to change their industry and/or job function, consider completing an internship. You have the opportunity to combine your Master's thesis with an internship, which will provide you the chance to network, and if you do well you might be offered a position afterwards.

Our MBA alumni assume a broad range of positions directly after graduation, depending on their individual goals and interests as well as on the industry. For example, in industry and service companies, students often start their post-MBA career in strategy-related roles, participate in leadership programs or work in business analyst, business development, marketing, finance or operations-related roles. In the field of consulting, MBA students usually assume Consultant or Senior Consultant positions, as consulting companies often have a strict hierarchical structure. At start-up companies and accelerators, graduates typically assume advisory, senior-level, and entrepreneur-in-residence functions.

To date, WHU’s alumni organization In Praxi has more than 6,000 members, equaling approximately 90% of graduates from all of our academic programs at WHU. They all have different roles in various industries, including consulting, banking and financial services, industry and services, SMEs and family businesses, the non-profit and the public service sectors, and academia. At WHU, we also have a strong history of fostering entrepreneurship, many of our alumni have founded their own company. The majority of WHU alumni lives and works in Germany, however, you can also find our alumni in more than 65 countries and six continents. For those alumni, In Praxi organizes a number of events worldwide through their 35 regional chapters.

Usually, our recruiting activities focus on the German-speaking (DACH: Germany, Austria, Switzerland) region. Consultancies, in particlar, tend to recruit solely for this region. However, some of our partner companies operate internationally and thus, may be able to provide job opportunities in other countries, too. Some of our students—primarily EU citizens who don't face any visa issues and can move freely within the EU—started their post-MBA careers in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia.

We are happy to help you prepare applications for the European, UK, and North American markets. International MBA students from outside the EU are advised to focus their post-MBA career search on either Germany or their home country, as non-EU citizens face challenges when looking for jobs in other EU countries, including language barriers, different job markets, and strict visa requirements. A German student visa only allows you to work in Germany and not in any other EU countries.

The majority of our MBA graduates started their post-MBA careers in Germany, and about 98% started their careers in Europe. Most of our international students start working outside their home country after graduation.

For international students, we have designed several trainings and workshops. Our approach to guiding you is based on our experience and our understanding of your needs. In one-on-one counseling sessions, we help you identify appropriate companies and sectors, based on your individual skills, background, and career goals. Additionally, we work with the recruiters from our partner companies to point out positions for candidates who aren't fluent in German, however, we recommend that you improve your language skills as much as you can to prepare yourself for working in Germany after completing your MBA.

The number of our international alumni in Germany is constantly increasing. Many of them are happy to share their own experience and insights and are a valuable resource for you to learn about opportunities, challenges, and best practices.

With their student visa, non-EU students are allowed to complete an internship and work for an additional 120 days per calendar year in Germany while being enrolled at WHU. However, the MBA program’s tight and intense schedule typically does not allow students to work part-time during the semester. EU students as well as students from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland do not face any restrictions on the German job market.

Non-EU citizens are allowed to stay in Germany to find a job for up to18 months after graduation. They are entitled to work in a business-related field. Our international graduates often meet the requirements to obtain an EU Blue Card. We encourage you to check the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs for up-to-date information on work eligibility and visa requirements.

Generally, the better your German skills, the better your job opportunities. It greatly depends on the industry, company, and position, but in general, language requirements are becoming less strict as the labor market tightens. Aside from German skills, companies look for candidates with strong intercultural competences to ensure they succeed.

Usually, the top-tier consultancies as well as most banks require business fluency in German. However, some specialized consultancy companies will consider candidates with solid, but not fluent, German skills. Transaction advisory or very specialized financial services firms may also accept candidates with limited German language skills. Large industrial companies and medium-sized “hidden champions” that operate and compete on the global market might also be more flexible in terms of their language requirements. Start-ups, especially those in Berlin, tend to be open to candidates with rudimentary German skills.

WHU offers German courses for different proficiency levels throughout the program, in order to enhance your profile for the German job market.

The available courses include: 

• 1-3 sponsored* German language course(s) offered by the Goethe Institute 
• integrated German language classes (included in tuition)
• one-year access to online platform Rosetta Stone to complement German language studies at your own pace

If you would like more information, please contact the recruiting team.

^{*WHU partially sponsors up to 550€ per course. The remaining cost must be covered by the student.}