Master Program Career Service
Expertise that will last a lifetime.
We host three major careers 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.
Many of our fantastic alumni return to campus to recruit for their own ventures, from brand new start-ups to well-established companies.
The event includes short presentations, a career fair, and a networking lounge, as well as on-campus interviews. Giving you every chance to demonstrate your skills and, maybe, even secure an internship offer directly.
The Founders Career Day is a great opportunity to start building your entrepreneurial network - maybe one of these founders will support you in 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.
Presentations, a fair and the chance to apply for individual interviews 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 include Accenture, adidas, Allianz, BASF, Bertelsmann, Deichmann, Henkel, and Kearney.
Other career services
A sneak peek into the working world – a unique opportunity offered by our company presentations.
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 help familiarize you with different industries, help you understand the bigger “business” picture, and provide the opportunity to ask more detailed questions. 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.
We also organize workshops that bring companies together with small groups of students to explore case studies. These events allow students to gain deeper insights in a more intimate setting, and make a memorable first impression.
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 Master class.
Our weekly newsletter may be the most useful newsletter you will ever receive. For starters, the content is bespoke to your Master class. Every upcoming career event is in there, alongside relevant partner company programs – and all the recent posts from our unique job database.
Each year, companies post hundreds of internships and jobs to our internal database. And we send them straight to you.
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 – with your profile and CV in Handshake. Partner companies can view the profiles of our students here and contact interesting candidates directly.
With your profile, you can receive invitations to job interviews, recruiting events and even specific job offers from companies that are genuinely interested in you and match with you and your future plans. You can create your profile at the start of your studies and continuously adapt it to your current interests and needs.
From day one, you will be part of our supportive WHU community. We want that to mean something.
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 a seminar about how to put together a top-notch application, including how to write a convincing CV and cover letter.
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? Check out our resources.
We publish extensive information, templates, and guidance on career topics on all our internal platforms. These will help you to search for internship and job offers, create convincing application documents, and prepare for interviews.
But that is 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.
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 non-profit 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 has over 7,000 members – uniting 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 SMEs, and start-ups participated in our events on Campus Vallendar. Most top-tier consultancies and investment banks recruit here every year, and a number of large industrials regularly participate in our fairs. 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. Internships generally reflect the industry breakdowns above for jobs after graduation. Management consulting, banking and finance, areas related to strategy and business development, marketing, and supply chain management are all common, but we also usually have students in other business areas. The majority of Master students do their internships in Germany.
Your mandatory internship is six weeks (four weeks for the 90-credit track), however most students do 10-12 weeks in the summer from early May to mid-August. You can do a second internship in January/February of your second year (120-credit track) and can also gain extra practical experience by writing your thesis in cooperation with a company.
Positions vary greatly by individual and industry. In consulting as well as banking and finance, students usually assume typical entry-level positions for Master graduates. In industry and service companies, students often start in strategy-related roles, staff units, or top management trainee programs. Advisory, senior-level, and entrepreneur-in-residence functions are more common at start-ups and accelerators.
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, 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 large number of founders among our alumni. While the majority of alumni lives in Germany, the network covers more than 65 countries across six continents. With nearly 35 regional chapters and increasing, In Praxi organizes events for local members around the world.
Our recruiting activities generally focus on positions in the German-speaking (DACH) region, except for investment banks that also currently hire for London. Some of our partner companies with international operations may be able to provide opportunities for employment in other countries, with the exception of consultancies, which recruit almost exclusively for the DACH region.
We can counsel you individually on applications for the European, UK, and North American markets. Nearly 15% of recent German graduates started their careers outside Germany, roughly split evenly among the UK, USA, Austria/Switzerland, and other countries. Moreover, many of our alumni complete international trainee rotations or move abroad with their company after several years in Germany.
We offer several training sessions specifically for international students, and constantly update our guidance based on your needs. With individual counseling, we guide you towards appropriate companies and sectors depending on your interests, skills, and background. Moreover, we encourage recruiters to highlight suitable positions for candidates not fluent in German. We advise you to improve your language skills as much as possible if you plan to stay in Germany after graduation.
The number of international alumni in Germany is increasing and they are valuable resources for learning about opportunities, challenges, and best practices. Approximately half of recent international Master graduates started work in Germany and about 75% started in Europe. Our experience shows that most international students start work outside their home country.
The student visa allows non-EU citizens to complete their mandatory internship 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.
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. WHU graduates often meet the requirements to obtain an EU Blue Card for Germany. EU citizens (plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland) have unrestricted access to the German labor market. 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, but language requirements are becoming less strict as the labor market tightens. 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. Only a handful of international alumni started work in consulting, and most did so abroad. 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.
You will have a demanding schedule that limits the time available for extra studies. In our experience, students who already speak German can enhance their skills while living here, but it is nearly impossible for beginners to become business fluent. Improving your German as much as possible is imperative if you plan to stay here after graduation, as each higher level of fluency will open more employment opportunities.
We strongly encourage you to attend the low-cost, two-week German courses—offered at beginner and intermediate levels—on campus before you start the Master Program. International students should participate in WHU’s free German courses, which are offered at various levels. Some international students choose to take intensive German courses after graduation, before starting work.
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