Excellence in

Management
Education

Employment Report
MBA Graduating Class of 2017
Executive Summary
The WHU MBA Program offers a unique learning experi-
ence – creating a challenging and inspiring learning envi-
ronment for students who seek to grow and reach their
full potential. We provide them with the tools and skills
to become successful managers in a global business
world. We believe that excellence in management not
only requires superior knowledge of management con-
cepts and tools, but that effective leaders should also
have a strategic vision, team spirit, and a deep sense
and appreciation of ethical behavior and responsibility.
Dr. Christine Menges, Director MBA Career Center
With small class sizes we ensure excellent mentoring bet-
ween professors and students, a strong bond between our
over 4.000 alumni and students, as well as individualized The strong German economy attracts many of our
and tailored career support. students – the majority of them remain in Germany
upon graduation to pursue their careers. Due to the
We are proud that on average our students more than shortage of skilled workers in the job market, the
doubled their pre-MBA income: from an average pre- German government offers international graduates
MBA salary of € 36,220 to an average post-MBA salary from German universities an 18-month jobseeker’s
of € 74,761. These numbers highlight that investing in visa. In addition, changing a jobseeker’s visa into an
the WHU MBA advances one’s personal and professional employment visa is a simple process. The future looks
development and provides value for money. Over 82% of bright for MBA students in Germany.
our students secured top positions within three months of
graduation and 89% changed either function, industry, or
location – proving that our students are willing to trans-
form their careers in order to make the next step.
 3

Class Profile – Graduating Class 2017

OUR STUDENTS

Combine academic excellence with a solid grounding in the real business world
Possess several years of work experience at MNEs, SMEs, or start-ups
Have in-depth industry knowledge and up-to-date customer insights
Are equipped with new frameworks to tackle problems and create opportunities
for igniting growth
Add value and make a positive impact

62 76% 40% 3.7 29

Students International Women Average Years of Average Age
Students Work Experience
 Employment Report // MBA Graduating Class of 2016 4

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND FUNCTIONAL BACKGROUND

Business & Economics 38% Finance 18%

Engineering 26% Operations & Logistics 17%
Arts & Humanities 13% Marketing & Sales 17%
Sciences 10% General Management 12%
Other 8% IT 12%
Law 5% Consulting 8%
Project Management / Engineering 8%
Other 8%

GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND

29% 49%
8%

1%

11%

2%

SECTOR BACKGROUND

Industry/Manufacturing 70%
Finance/Banking 15%
Consulting 5%
Gov./NGO 5%
Other 5%
 5

Employment Report –
Graduating Class 2017
The MBA marks an important and exciting point of
transition in our students’ career. Whether they aspire
to change industry, job function, location or to become
a successful entrepreneur, our team at the MBA Career
Center is dedicated to support our students to define
their career vision and to turn this vision into reality.
We provide an individualized and tailored approach in
supporting our students, and we are proud that our
students made a 106% salary increase this year, which
proves that the WHU MBA program truly offers value
for money.

SALARY

€ 36,220 106%
€ 74,761
Average Pre-MBA Salary Salary Average Post-MBA Salary
Increase
Minimum: € 50.000
Median: € 66.000
Maximum: € 125.000

CAREER CHANGERS EMPLOYMENT BY SECTOR

Industry/Manufacturing 33%
Changed function 67%
Consulting 19%

Changed sector 64% Tech/Start-Up 15%

Consumer/Retail 15%
Changed location 60%
Finance/Banking 10%
Triple Change 31%
Other 8%
(Function, Sector, Location)

“The Career Center’s support was invaluable for my tran-

sition to the consulting industry. Particularly, the personal
coaching sessions, company presentations and interview
trainings were very helpful.“

Marieke Otto
MBA Class of 2017
Consultant
AlixPartners
 6

EMPLOYMENT BY FUNCTION EMPLOYERS MBA 2017 (SELECTION)

Graduate/Leadership Development Programs 9%

ABB (Poland)
MIS/IT 9%
AlixPartners (Germany)
Amazon (Germany and Luxembourg)
Finance 11% Bayer (Germany)
Bayer Business Consulting (Germany)
Daimler (Germany)
Ernst & Young (Germany and Luxembourg)
Consulting 20% GKN Off-Highway Powertrain
Henkel (Germany and Netherlands)
Inverto (Germany)

Operation & Logistics 11% Porsche Consulting (Germany)

thyssenkrupp (Germany)
Marketing & Sales 16% Volkswagen Financial Services (Germany)

General Management 24%

EMPLOYMENT BY REGION

98%*
2%

*80% Germany
 Employment Report // MBA Graduating Class of 2016 7

EMPLOYERS (CLASSES OF 2015, 2016 & 2017)

Top 10 Employers (% graduates recruited) OTHER EMPLOYERS

Abbott
Amazon 6%
Amcor
Arvato
Henkel 5%
Arkwright Consulting
Berenberg
Ernst & Young 4% Bühler
Credit Suisse
Bayer 3% DB Schenker
Delivery Hero
Accenture 2% Detecon
ERGO Group AG
Alix Partners 2% Emerson
Microsoft
Roche
BCG 2%
Stadtwerke Düsseldorf
Strategy&
Metro, HoReCa 2%
Uniper
UPS
mm1 Consulting & Management 2% Vorwerk

PwC 2%

“Capgemini Consulting as the leader in digital trans-

formation reaches out to highly motivated and skilled
pioneers. WHU graduates provide an excellent port-
folio of leading education, high ambition e.g. with
first work experience at start-ups and best-practice
regional business know-how. We value enthusiasm and
expertise in digital solutions which foster innovation
and future-oriented business transformation. WHU’s
digital natives fit our client needs through in-depth local
industry and up-to-date customer insights.”

Alexander K. Ammer
Head of Recruitment
Capgemini Consulting DACH
 8

Recruit at WHU
We are committed to support our MBA students in becoming responsible and successful leaders.
We offer several ways of connecting with our students:

ONLINE

Job/Internship/Thesis postings Upload your job or internship offer free of charge to

our website.

CV/Resume book Browse our CV book and search for interesting candi-
dates.

ON CAMPUS

Company presentations Meet our students after their classes in the evening
to showcase your company. Engage in stimulating
conversations at our networking reception.

Company workshops Discuss current trends and challenges with our

students and explore potential solutions.

Recruiting fairs Get involved in our various career fairs. Meet students
(September, November, January) from different programs in an informal setting.

On-Campus recruiting events Browse our CV book to search for interesting candi-dates
and conduct individual on-campus interviews.

Projects (thesis; case studies) Our students can help you tackle real-life challenges
for your company, providing ideas, analysis and recom-
mendations.

RECRUITMENT CYCLE

Recruitment Cycle (In- Recruitment Cycle

Program Program Start ternship Positions) (Full-Time Positions)

MBA Full-Time September August onwards September

(12-months duration) April March onwards April
 9

Career Center – MBA Team

Dr. Christine Menges

Director MBA Career Center
Email: christine.menges@whu.edu
Phone: +49 211 44709-577

Miriam Kraneis
Manager MBA Career Center
Email: miriam.kraneis@whu.edu
Phone: +49 211 44709-571

About WHU
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management is a
mainly privately funded Business School based in
Vallendar/Koblenz and in Düsseldorf. It is a leading Busi-
ness School in Germany and is continuously ranked among
the top Business Schools in Europe. The range of courses
includes a Bachelor Program, the Master
in Management, Master in Finance and Master in
Entrepreneurship Programs, a Full-Time MBA
Program, a Part-Time MBA Program and the Kellogg-WHU
Executive MBA Program. In addition, WHU
offers open programs as well as customized programs for
management which are tailored to the needs of
the particular enterprise. For more information please
visit www.whu.edu.
 Employment Report // MBA Graduating Class of 2016 10

WHU – Otto Beisheim

School of Management

MBA Career Center

Erkrather Str. 224a
40233 Düsseldorf
Germany

Phone: +49 211 44709-571

miriam.kraneis@whu.edu
www.whu.edu

08/2018