Best Business School to work in consulting in France?

Question

Hi everybody,

I am new on this forum, so let me introduce myself:
I am a French student, 22 y.o. who have completed a bachelor degree and intend to integrate a master program (Msc) from next september.

After my graduation, I will probably start my career in France (for personal reasons), and would like to join a leading consulting company. I have good grades, good internships, and a good GMAT (700).

I sent my application to the following schools:
Uni St-Gallen (HSG), Strategy and International Management (SIM) programme, Switzerland, application sent
Uni Bocconi, Msc in International Management, Italy, admitted
London Business School, UK, application sent
IE Madrid, Msc in International Management, Spain, application sent
Esade Barcelona, Msc in International Management, Spain, invited to an interview
EM Lyon, European Master in Management (EMM), France, interview done

Due to my background (french Bachelor), I can't apply to the best french Business schools (HEC, ESCP, Essec).

All of the foreign schools I applied for seem to be better than EM Lyon. However, I am not sure of their recognition and reputation in France.

Last question (and I'm pretty sure some of you have some experience about it): Is it a problem for a non-native speaker to work in a consulting company abroad? Ex: I don't talk spanish, could I work in Spain and talk english?

If you could give me some advice, this would be great!

Julian

yuxiao85 · Answer

INSEAD?

Umberto · Answer

Insead is rather for executive education

I will join a Msc programme!

Tgt · Answer

I am not an expert, but as far as I know, yes, it is; usually consulting firms require you to be fluent in the language of the place you will work in.
However, you could check company's websites and job postings, or send emails to the recruiters to further clarify that.

Cantona · Answer

If you want to work in France, I'd say you have picked some good schools. However, some of your schools I am unsure about (ESADE, Bocconi are amazing, but they feed into Spain/ Italy).

To work in France, HEC / ESCP are going to be your best bet. I don't see why you can't apply to a 1 year masters there? Don't look at the Grand E'cole, just the 1 year programs.

Second, I have noticed that France feeds best to England and vice versa. This may just be my observation. However, LSE/ LBS would be your follow up bets for working in France in my opinion. I would go as far as to say that LSE may be the better choice for a masters, simply because its CEMS program is tied to HEC... but that is splitting hairs.

Best, 
-C

Umberto · Answer

Hi Cantona,

Thanks for your answer! I can't apply to HEC ESCP because their one year programme "masteres spécialisées" require a french master degree or a foreign bachelor degree. It's quite frustrating and I called them to check that...

I have been admitted to Bocconi and will meet some graduates to ask them about the recognition in France. I will do the same for Barcelona.

But LBS would be great for me!

My question is not about HEC or ESCP, but would be EM Lyon better than ESADE or Bocconi?

Cantona · Answer

Hey -

That is really strange about HEC. But if you already called then I'll remember that !

ESADE and Bocconi operate on a separate tier from EMLyon. However, since France is so picky... I honestly can't give you a good answer. If you went to Bocconi / ESADE you'd probably have to do your own recruiting to some extend to get back to France. Consulting in Italy/ Spain will probably require knowing the local language at an advanced level. However, at EMLyon you may not have access to the top tier **I don't know this for a fact, check employment reports!**

Umberto · Answer

Exactly, France is so picky! Sometimes i'm just frustrated to be french. Frendh recruiters prefer sometimes french schools.

But Bocconi or Esade have in their recruiter top consulting companies, not EM Lyon...

Cantona · Answer

I would lean towards ESADE/ Bocconi. However, I would first maybe call the admissions people there and ask exactly what you've asked here. I also think that you could potentially learn Italian pretty quickly, so keep that in mind!

Umberto · Answer

Thanks for your answer!

I will do that and continue ask people on linkedin!

If anyone has some experience about it, don't hesitate to share it!

Best Business School to work in consulting in France?

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