Hi all,I am planning on applying to some consultancies (MBB and others) in the next cycle. I would like some opinions on whether it is easier to apply to the offices outside London.I can speak Italian and English fluently, and I have a decent level of Spanish (which I am working on at the moment - I should be fluent by next year). I'm thinking of applying to the Milan, Madrid and Barcelona offices - what do you guys think? Is there a better chance to get into those offices or is the difference negligible?My logic is that people all over the world apply to the London office while only Italians/Spanish apply there..any input is very much appreciated :)

I cant comment much on this, just wanted to point out that in terms of language proficiency - business fluent is a big step above casual fluency.

Based on my experience, locals are automatically given a preference no matter how good your language skills are. So unless you apply in a niche specialization chances of getting something decent are slim :(

My Italian is fluent, I've been speaking the language since I was 3yrs old so I'm pretty sure I can handle business speak :)I'm just interested since I wouldn't mind working in Italy and if I have a better chance of getting an offer there (since I might have a competitive advantage vs the locals bcos of my English) I would rather make that office my 1st choiceanyone who knows anything about the respective competitiveness of offices in Spain and Italy would help me out a lot if they can offer their input.. cheers!

The test of 'business fluent' is this... could you understand the CEO's joke? As regards Italy, the standard of education is almost universally high, English is widely spoken in business circles, and progression dependent as much on personal networks and connections as it is ability - a point of frustration I hear from many Italian candidates who want to leave the Italian market for this very reason. For the next year or two Europe will be hard to hire in for lack of projects: the strat houses in particular will be suffering and will look for smaller wins outside EMEA. My suggestion is look to apply to what will be the main hubs - London as this is where firms will consolidate resources (I would also say Germany but you don't have German language) or the Middle East/Africa.