Language capabilities - An advantage in PE?

Hi everyone,

I have been thinking about making the jump from management consulting to PE but I wonder if I, currently, have a strong/interesting enough background.

I have 2 years industry experience, supporting CFO/CEO in corporate development, fund-raising and operational improvement, and currently work for a London based consulting firm. I've been with them for 3 years, working both strategy and operations project, incl. corporate strategy, firm valuations, and market studies, with multiple international engagements and 6 months on site work in the US.

I've been contacted by a recruiter who is looking for someone with my particular language capabilities for a mid market PE firm. I wonder how much importance a firm will place on language skills and if they would overlook me not coming from IB. Any thoughts on this?

Furthermore, would it be better to spend some time building a stronger foundation in finance (training courses, networking, etc.) before going into a PE interview process, and skip on this opportunity, or is it worth the risk? I worry I'll burn my one chance at making the switch...

Eternally grateful for any help:)

-- AE