Leverage Being Bilingual

Hey guys,

Does being bilingual help you get into certain international groups? Banks?

I speak English and Spanish and was recently recommended to apply at banks in Miami as it is a valuable asset to know Spanish. How much truth does this hold?

18 Comments
 

I guess a client facing role in an area where it matters would offer you a leg up, but are you expecting to be in an IB analyst class with some random spanish-only speakers in the US?

 

Worth putting on your resume, but it's not a big deal and don't expect it to give you a big leverage.

Life is too short to be on WSO. But here I am.
 

This is the most correct statement. My background is in management consulting (a lot of work in LatAm countries) and I live in Miami (so I understand the culture), so take it for what it is worth.

Banking is a relationship game as much as consulting, and having more "home-base" staffing helps. I am specifically Brazilian, and not only speaking the language -- but knowing and understanding the culture -- has helped me tremendously over the years. This comes not only in engaging with the client but providing input to my teams regarding cultural issues as well.

This skill specifically has gotten me staffed on assignments where I would not necessarily have been as strong of a candidate had it been a domestic engagement, and allowed me a pathway to prove myself to Directors/VP's above me -- exposure I would not necessarily have had before.

It is not specifically a game-changer, but conyak is right in mentioning that it diminishes the applicant pool and specifically plays to your strengths -- it helps your odds.

It also helps if you're not only a Spanish-speaker but also from that country -- again, it's not a game-changer, but Latin people seem to gravitate to Latin people. Cabbie told me once "Miami isn't the south of North America, it's the North of South America". Dude was on-point.

 

Bilingual is worthless at the Analyst/Associate level, and really only useful if you have true professional fluency.

"It is better to have a friendship based on business, than a business based on friendship." - Rockefeller. "Live fast, die hard. Leave a good looking body." - Navy SEAL
 

Yuzu, shame nobody has responded. Maybe one of these topics will help:

No promises, but maybe one of our professional members will share their wisdom: Matt-Miszewski threatlevelmidnight @firebi234"

Hope that helps.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

Hi Camondo,

Thanks for your response. I should have clarified in my original post, but I'm looking for full time positions. The on-cycle/off-cycle was referring to the recruiting timeline.

I would be based in the US!

Basically I'm trying to see what the best way would be for me to break into Private Equity for positions that require/cater towards bilingual candidates (Japanese/English) in my case.

Hope that clarifies a bit!

Yuzu

 

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