Which Language Should You Learn to Break Into Investment Banking?
Right after the merits of the CFA, GPA rounding, and the ranking of schools and banks, the question that spawns the most debate is which language you should learn to break into investment banking.
And there are many candidates, each supported by a combination of logic and zeal:
- Spanish: Latin America!
- Portuguese: Brazil!!!
- Mandarin: China!!!!
- Arabic: The Middle East!!!!
So which one should you learn to maximize your chances?
Or is the real answer not even on this list?
The Punch-Line
None of the above.
Learn English or improve your English skills – even if you’re a native speaker.
Probably not the answer you were expecting – so let’s first look why this is the answer, and then why other languages are less useful in business than you would expect.
If you’re learning English as a second language, you’re doing it because… um, it’s the standard business language and almost a requirement to travel or do international business.
Plus, it opens up the US and the UK – 2 of the biggest financial markets – and plenty of other regions like Australia and even the Middle East, apparently.
Even if you’re a native speaker, you could always improve your communication skills by writing, giving speeches, and so on – and MDs in banking care far more about your communication skills than your knowledge of advanced LBO models.
Now for part 2, where I get to convince you that even the CFA might be a better use of your time than learning another language.
You Are Racist / Politically Incorrect / Ethnocentric!
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t learn another language - I’m saying that you should not learn another language solely to break into investment banking.
You might see a job listing on a career site that looks something like this:
“Seeking investment banking analyst with 2 years of experience in M&A; must be fluent in Arabic.”
You might see that job posting and think, “I can learn Arabic for 4 years in school, study abroad in Jordan or Lebanon, and then go work at an investment bank in the Middle East!”
But you’d be wrong. Here’s a more accurate translation of this job posting:
“Seeking investment banking analyst with 2 years of experience in M&A; must be an Arabic native speaker and have attended school in the Middle East, and then studied abroad in the US, Europe, or Australia.”
Got Perfection?
There is no room for miscommunication in investment banking – you might get an A on your exam with 90% correct, but in finance 90% correct just means that 10% is wrong – which is equivalent to a natural disaster.
Understanding 90% of an article or a news broadcast in a second language is pretty good – but you’re still missing 10% of it.
That’s OK for everyday life, casual discussions, and language classes.
But if you’re responsible for recording all details of a conference call – as analysts often are – that is a serious problem.
And no matter how much you study, you’ll never be perfect in a second language that you started studying as an adult.
(More on how important languages are in investment banking in Latin America.)
Don’t Be Misled by Exams, Either
For example, to pass the JLPT Level I (the highest level) you can get 70% correct.
That’s an impressive accomplishment – but it’s still far from sufficient to advise clients on M&A strategy or to analyze non-recurring charges in the footnotes of financial statements.
Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic
Even if you dismiss the argument above and believe that you can become 100% perfect in both conversation and reading/writing, there’s another problem: speed.
Working in banking or PE requires a lot of speed reading – if you get a 10-page teaser and it takes you an hour to read it, your day is hosed.
No matter how much you study, you’re unlikely to ever be quick at reading other languages – especially ones like Arabic, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin that have different character sets from European languages.
Cultural Elements
This question of which language is “most useful” in finance is also an incomplete one, because you need to consider cultural elements as well.
I won’t mix words: in some countries, no matter how good you are at the language you will never be accepted in the business community if you’re a foreigner.
I want to keep this as boring and uncontroversial as possible so I’m not going to name specific places, but they exist across multiple continents.
That’s not always the case, and there are plenty of countries with more diversity – but you need to keep the above points in mind before you end up disappointed after years and years of study.
The Competition
And then there’s the competition: you’re up against people from elsewhere in the world who are not only native speakers of their respective languages, but who have also studied English since elementary school.
This one comes up a lot in China, where silly foreigners somehow get the idea that they can just march in, “learn Mandarin” and then work there like a native.
Please, don’t bother: even if you assume that only a fraction of the local population is fluent in English, that’s still tens of millions of people.
And banks in Hong Kong or on the mainland would much prefer to hire them over you.
The CFA is Better Than Something?
I’ve been critical of the CFA before – but for once I have something good to say.
Even though the exam requires a ridiculous amount of time, at least it gives you a conclusive result at the end: you pass, or you don’t pass.
If you pass, you can write it on your resume and everyone recognizes your accomplishment.
Language study, on the other hand, is more random, subjective, and possibly even more time-consuming than the CFA.
People list all sorts of different proficiencies on their CVs/resumes: What exactly is the difference between “Fluent” and “Conversationally fluent” and “Proficient”?
All of these labels are ambiguous unless you write “Native speaker.”
And if you exaggerate your abilities it will come back to haunt you.
The CFA might require 900 hours of study, but becoming nearly perfect at the most difficult languages for a native English speaker – Arabic and the East Asian languages – will require even more time.
OK, So What’s Your Solution Then?
To reiterate: I’m not arguing that you shouldn’t learn other languages. I’m saying that you should not base your study decisions on what will be most “useful” for investment banking.
These days it’s almost expected that you will have some proficiency in other languages, even if you’re not perfect – so you pretty much have to learn something.
The Better Way to Use Languages
Rather than using a second language to work in the country of your choosing, use it as your “interesting” fact in interviews instead.
Combine it with a study abroad or volunteer abroad experience and use it to stand out.
See this article on how to prepare for your full-time banking job – there are several examples of how you could spin even a few months into sounding like a life-changing experience there.
After you get back, set expectations low and say that you can have a basic conversation but that you’re not good enough to use it for business.
Talk about all the cool stuff you did while studying abroad, and use that to hypnotize your interviewer into giving you an offer.
This approach gives you most of the benefits of language study without all the pain and uncertainty:
- Casual Study and Study Abroad Experience: Can get results in 3-6 months and hype up the experience while downplaying your actual proficiency.
- Super Hardcore, Fanatical Study: You might spend 4-5 years studying and write detailed reports and papers in the language, but you still won’t be good enough to use it for business.
Gaming the System
We still haven’t answered the question of which language you should learn, regardless of whether you take the casual or hardcore approach.
I’ve never ranked the banks or schools or anything else and I’m not going to start here – but I do have a simple suggestion: pick the most exotic option.
So if you’re non-Asian, studying European languages doesn’t stand out as much as Asian languages, and vice versa if you are Asian.
That may sound racist but it’s also true: interviewers will be much more impressed by a random white person who studied abroad and learned the language in Asia vs. an Asian person who did the same.
If you don’t already have a burning desire to visit a particular country or learn the language there, pick whatever’s the most exotic for you and go with it.
Got Ruby?
You could also make an argument that your time is better spent learning a computer language if your goal is simply to impress in interviews: most bankers won’t even be able to test you, and they assume that anything related to engineering is more difficult than finance.
It’s not easy, but it still takes far less time than learning an actual spoken language to a high-level.
And If You Really Want…
If you really want to go into hardcore super-study mode, go right ahead – but only do this if you have a burning desire to learn the language and are so obsessed you will stop at nothing until you’ve done it.
Otherwise, you will waste time and lose motivation at an “in-between” level, resulting in a high sunk cost and limited usefulness in interviews.
Exceptions, Footnotes & Disclaimers
The above discussion applies to corporate finance roles – investment banking, private equity, equity research, business development, and so on.
For trading, you don’t need to be perfect because you don’t talk to people or read documents all day – lots of foreign traders at large investment banks in Japan, for example, are nowhere near good enough to use the language for serious business.
In sales, you have to be perfect because you are speaking with clients all day.
There’s considerably more leniency with English as a second language simply because it is the most widely learned second language worldwide.
So if you’re not a native speaker, don’t start panicking about an accent or using the wrong word occasionally.
As long as you can read and write business documents without errors, you’re fine.
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Great Article again! :)
If your native language is xyz but you have grown up speaking English (but can speak xyz) then do you put xyx (native) and fluent in English on your CV?
In the UK application form its says ‘fluency in a second language would be beneficial’ (Morgan Stanley Application) – do they mean European language? Or any language?
Never write “Fluent in English” if you are submitting a CV/application in English as it’s assumed. In Europe a European language would be the most useful but others could help as well.
I’m in partial agreement here. I’ve been looking at London-based Associate level PE jobs, and tons of these require or prefer language skills, as PE is a European-wide market here. And while most people who make the bar are likely to be native speakers, I do know some people who have gotten through to some top PE houses with very advanced but non-native language skills – and in one particular case this persons langauge skills were the differentiating factor.
So if you’re 22 and want to pick up a language to add to the CV = useless.
But if you are starting with ok/intermediate language skills and you’re 18/19/20 years old, and you have the opportunity to study language intensively at Uni plus some study abroad and work abroad programs, this could be a huge asset for a career in Europe.
That is a good point, getting to that level is more plausible if you start early and are studying something closer to your native language
Another good one. Thanks!
I’ve meant to post this comment/question in a more relevant article, but do you have a ‘day in the life of a Leverage Finance group’ on your list of articles to come? You’ve spoken about M&A and product groups in general, but Leverage Finance is a group that’s in the news quite often, and I’d love to learn more about their day-to-day, deal process, etc.
Thanks, again — and keep up the great work!
It’s on the list but so far no one has volunteered – these days articles require a lot of outside help because I’ve already pretty much written everything I know about (and can easily get from other contributors listed on the About page).
Great post but I disagree with one point.
Although I don’t work in banking I just don’t understand how a Asian person who spent time learning a European language is more impressive than an Asian person who spent time perfecting an Asian language (i.e. Good fluency base in Asian language –> Studied abroad and studied that language further to reach near native speaker levels).
I came to North America after grade 6 so I have a good fluency base in an Asian language. I am planning on studying abroad in my original country so I can further improve my Asian language skill at a professional level.
If fluency/conversational/proficient/etc. is just cool to see on a resume wouldn’t my plan be more successful in recruiting (especially if I plan on applying for jobs in East Asia)?
If I do feel confident about my language skills do you think it’s OK to claim it as a native speaker?
I think it has to do with how a white guy fluent in mandarin is more memorable and more likely to be on a MDs mind than an Asian person and vice versa: which fits into everything said about being a qualified but interesting person with an actual character
Yes it sounds racist but you are judged based on appearances… how you dress and what you look like and where you’re from all play a role in the interviewer’s view of you.
People judge you based on appearances. In the back of their mind bankers might be saying, “Ok, so he’s from there and knows the language… so what?”
That only applies if you’re trying to use it to sound “interesting” in interviews. It sounds like you’re trying to become good enough to use it for business, in which case you should probably stick with your original plan. If you’re good enough to read an entire newspaper without looking up any words then you could write “Native Speaker” especially if it really was your first language.
I understand what you’re getting at but it just puzzles me as to why bankers don’t view it as an evaluation of utility. Anyways thanks for answering my questions.
Oh, and one other point I just thought of: the scenario you mentioned can actually work against “exotic” people in other countries. For example, some random white person learning an Asian language might be memorable in interviews but he would not be taken seriously in Asia. Whereas you could actually do business there since you’re perceived as much closer to the culture.
I’m not sure about that. I’m white, speak an Asian language, and work in banking in Asia. Most of my internal communication with colleagues is in that language, and there’s no way I could do my job without knowing the local language.
I can see where you’re coming from, esp being in HK. It depends on your team and culture too.
Now I am so glad my wise Italian mom made me study language while in Middle and High school in Bologna!..so now besides Italian and English I speak French, German and Spanish…and do not even want to break into IB! (And I really do not think anyone should learn a language just to break into IB: a language is such a rich experience and allows so much more then that! You can read books in their original language (yes, it is different), feel closer to another culture, sing more songs..oh well, let me stop, I am beginning to speak like a Rosetta Stone sales rep and not like the uberserious (yes I know, I am missing the umlaut…) MBA and CFA Level II candidate I am (really).
Brian, I agree with you: the most important language to learn for IB is English and one should speak it and write it well. Something most of us, even USA editors and copywriters, still overestimate themselves hugely at doing.
Paradoxically, Europeans, maybe because of the obnoxious grammar our languages have (or obnoxious mothers…) have an easier time writing it correctly (I used to correct my boss newsletters)(I am not proofreading this message, do not shoot me if it is full of typos!)
Yeah that is true. A lot of people reading this site are from Asia (as are many of the contributors) so I focused more on that but English to European languages and vice versa is a much easier jump.
Such a great article! It is exactly what’s been on my mind lately, namely I wanted to learn a new language (in addition to several existing ones) and randomly had Hebrew on my mind for a very long time, but I started hesitating thinking that it will be no use in investment banking, and that maybe I should just learn Portugiese for example (for Brazil). Seeing how it won’t be of use anyways, I think I’ll stick with my initial passion which is Hebrew!
Yeah unless you have the time to go into super hardcore study mode I wouldn’t bother – just learn what interests you.
Brian, if you got to a first round interview but got dinged. Is it good if you contact the interviewers the interviewed you and ask them how to improve? And is it also good to just keep in touch even though the programs they recruit only once a year? What would be the best way to go about it after you got dinged but want to work for them?
You could do that if you want but it probably won’t make a big difference – just send an update when you have something to report, e.g. another internship, some finance-related project, and so on.
This is an important message to get across to anyone with international aspirations. As a recent American graduate who is currently looking to enter banking in China, I’m faced with not only the language issue, but visa sponsorship as well. Many international banks and companies will not sponsor work visas because the domestic labor supply is quite adequate and the investment is too great, especially for entry level hires. We would all do well to keep this in mind when making plans to work abroad.
If you can get into a top school, an MBA in your target country may be a more successful way to make the switch. I am not yet convinced that an earlier transition is impossible, but I will find out soon enough.
Yup visa issues can be a huge problem as well, hadn’t even considered that.
Any update on this, Ben? I’m curious, when the multinationals post online about positions in Asia, they usually list that “Fluency in English is required, and competence in an Asian language a plus”. What kind of person is that looking for? It would seem that they can take their pick from locals returning from studying abroad who are fluent in both.
What are your thoughts on the English MBA programs in China? Worth a look, or a waste of time?
Good article. It catches my attention when you mentioned JLPT1.
I am an Asian living in Asia-Pacific region, who learnt Japanese (as my 3rd language) at a very young age and passed the exam. Finance was my major.
The problem for me is the HRs. Many local recruitment agencies and investment banks called me up when they have vacanies that need this particular language. They seem to be searching “keywords” that fit their criteria and doing a lazy job. I refused all of the interviews for the reasons you have listed. Furthermore, 99.9% of the finance textbooks are written in English, it is not easy to translate those professional terms accurately and instantaneously for a non-native speaker.
And I do not want to break into IB. I do not like the job. They are too hyper-specialized.
Yeah professional, specialized vocabulary is totally different from what’s tested on such exams… buyer beware.
Great article! That is exactly what I keep telling my friends!
I have a question (though I think I already know the answer…):
I am French, graduating from a French top school and currently applying online for sales positions at BB in the UK. What do you think my chances are since I am not an English native speaker (I spent one full year studying at Berkeley and got a 4.0 GPA but I don’t feel bilingual at all)? Do you think they will consider my application only if they recruit on a desk that speaks to French-speaking clients?
Most banks do not even list Paris as an option for graduate positions…and French banks do not recruit juniors at all, they prefer to take tons of interns all year round and they actually hire one of them every two year. That’s why I’m applying in London. Is it totally stupid?
If you spent a year at Berkeley and earned a 4.0 then you should have no problems in investment banking… furthermore your comment has no grammatical errors so I think you’re fine in terms of reading and writing. Applying for London is a wise move if the barriers to entry are too high in France.
Thanks!
But you write that “in sales, you have to be perfect because you are speaking with clients all day”. Does it mean that I don’t stand a chance because I am not a native speaker? I’m applying in sales, not investment banking. And I guess that in London offices, most desks speak to English-speaking clients. I feel able to talk about stocks and comment news in English, but I am definitely not “perfect”, and I have this French/trying to sound American accent (not great when you’re talking to British, Scottish and Irish clients most of the time).
So, do you think they will consider my application only if they recruit on a desk that speaks to French-speaking clients, and delete it otherwise?
Thanks again!
They always prefer natives of the country for speaking to clients – you can still apply and get the position, but most likely they will put you in charge of any French clients / institutions and you won’t speak to those from the UK as much.
Good article. Seems like jury is still a bit out in terms of running a huge financial institution, even if language of business is English. Was reading about Jain at Deutsche Bank recently, could a non-German-speaking guy ever be CEO of a company that at least domestically has such strong ties with German government. We’ll see!
I think in Germany at least English levels are quite high so it’s less of an issue… that wouldn’t happen somewhere like China.
Deborah, if a German guy can become CEO of an Italian Bank(kick out Profumo, enter Rampl, albeit as an interim CEO) because of a Lybian president, anything is possible.
Hi! I would like to ask what to do in order to get internship in a non-english speaking country, if I cannot speak their language, only english?
That was the point of the article: you can’t do that. Why would I hire someone who cannot communicate with others in the country?
Spot on here, wish I had read this years ago – would’ve saved a lot of anguish.
The one I think where learning a “popular” language to boost your finance career could work is in sales, like equity sales. A native English speaker is the best person for the job for English-speaking clients (just like a native French speaker for French clients etc.) not only because of language, but also culture – the fewer the cultural differences the smoother the relationship generally. If selling let’s say Korean equities to North American clients, that sales person can add a lot of value by speaking Korean – he/she can pick up information not available in the English press, help clients when they want to meet with companies, give cultural insights that would come with learning Korean etc.
The same argument can made for research, like equity or economic research, but it would only make sense for the firm to hire a native English speaker to cover a non-English-speaking market if that market is VERY popular with English-speaking investors AND fluent-English-speaking-qualified-in-finance natives of that market are hard to find.
For jobs where client-interaction is rare, like trading, learning the local language can help, but it will never be a major factor in whether to hire you.
In banking, the only situation where the firm might hire you in a non-native language environment is where your team specializes in cross-border deals. I don’t think it’s common to have such teams though (is it?)
That’s a good point, though those markets are not especially common. Cross-border teams usually don’t exist at banks as cross-border deals are mostly just handled by the relevant product / industry team.
I speak basic spanish (learned from my grandma) but now I’m studying and becoming fluent in “business spanish” as I call it. Even if someone is fluent in the language because their family is from the country, there is no way they are fluent in the business terminology important to that language. You are dead on in regards to “keep learning english.” Most people don’t understand the financial words and concepts in english. Learn those and articulate them better. Math, charts, and data are universal. Rely on those if you can’t speak the language. That is what is expected anyway. You are better off knowing customs so you don’t make an ass of yourself that being able to rattle off numbers in the local dialect.
[On the CFA] You should also be mentioning that the CFA Institute requires 4 years of legitimate work experience before you get the letters after your name. So someone passing all 3 levels in the minimum 2-3 year timeframe “to break in” still has 4 years of work experience to get through before they can drop that. Until then they would likely only be able to note they passed all three levels. The CFA has value for someone that is already on the inside, knows their stuff, and has use for the body of knowledge. For everyone on the outside the CFA has as much value as learning a foreign language, looks good but not a huge advantage.
That’s true, but plenty of people write “CFA Candidate” or something similar on their resume even if they don’t have the required years of work experience. At the analyst level no one really has the required work experience anyway, so that’s what most CFA-related questions are referring to.
Really interesting article, I was once the only native English speaking intern/analyst in the department of a European, London based bank, and so I got asked to proof read/reword a lot of documents, which gave me great exposure to senior bankers and allowed me to get involved in the more interesting projects. It was small advantage over my colleagues, who all seemed to able to speak 5 languages.
Yup that’s a good point. Being a native speaker has its advantages…
Unrelated to the article and assuming the goal of 90%+ people on this site is to make as much money as possible. How does portfolio management at a mutual fund, or investment management at a large private bank stack up to IB? Are these two alternate paths into hedge funds?
Those are quite different from IB (and lower-paying) and rarely, if ever, lead to hedge funds. Hedge funds look for traders and ex-bankers and sometimes equity research people but managing a mutual fund is way different from making aggressive bets and trading complex instruments, so there’s little overlap.
I agree with the point that in non-English speaking countries firms would prefer to hire a local native speaker with fluent business English rather than vice versa, but only to a certain extent. This is almost certainly true for local securities firms, but for a global investment bank (e.g. GS/MS/UBS) there will always be 1 or 2 spots available for the ambitious young American/Englishman who has foreign language skills. There was a foreign associate at the BB bank I interned at in Tokyo over the summer who basically started from daily conversation Japanese (when he first started working as an analyst) to engaging in high-level M&A discussions with clients in Japanese. I admit it wasn’t always pretty, but it was more than adequate to get the job done and clients appreciated the fact that a foreigner was putting in so much effort to communicate in their native language
That’s true, and if you’re really motivated to get to that high a level it can pay off. I think Japan may also be a special case simply because English is not an option at all, and so clients would rather put up with a non-native speaker rather than revert to another language (I lived/worked there before).
Hi M&I,
I’m currently choosing my optional modules for next year (I’m an economics UG) and I have a choice between Public Finance (microeco analysis of public finance theory) and Development Eco. I can also choose a director approved unit. I don’t suppose you would advocate choosing a language as the optional? Some other finance related unit or Public Finance?
Does not really matter either one is fine, I would not pick a language unless you are studying abroad in the country or actually plan to get really good
Hi
Is it worth mentioning on your résumé that you are a native speaker of Catalan (language spoken by 11 million people in Spain, official language in Barcelona and Valencia)? Or if you are fluent in French and English anyway, would it be considered irrelevant?
Sure throw it in there but I don’t think it will make much of a difference. Catalan, incidentally, gave me trouble when I was in Spain last year as I had a super-hard time understanding what people were saying in Barcelona… quite a bit different from Spanish. Cool language, though.
Thanks, and yes it is a nice language.
I am fluent in French and Spanish. I grew up speaking both languages in countries that speak these languages so I am a native speaker/life long speaker whatever you want to call it. It is not a lie in my resume if I say I am fluent because I really am. I do not know business terminology though because I studied (kindergarten through college) in international/American schools. I was asked in an interview one time to “prove” my skills by translating some hyper technical word (don’t remember what it was but it was related to MBS or derivatives), and I blanked . I just don’t know these terms off the top of my head (although when I read them in context I have no problem understanding). I got the job but don’t want this to happen again in the future. While I know that I could extremely easily learn these b terms, how do I caveat in a resume?
Just say conversationally fluent to be conservative otherwise it looks silly if you start writing “(but don’t know certain business vocabulary)” and things like that.
How to improve English? Any recommendations?
Practice writing about anything and everything, get feedback, learn from your mistakes, and continue practicing.
Hi M&I,
I am an undergraduate student very interested in investment banking.
I’m fluent in English and Mandarin (can read simplified and traditional), and have some spare time in college for language studies. Recently I’ve been entertaining the idea of moving my career to Hong Kong/Asia after obtaining a few years of US IBD experience, and have a few questions regarding relevant languages.
1. How much benefit would becoming conversationally fluent in Cantonese as well bring for an IBD, or financial services in general, career in HK? In Asia?
2. Would French or Japanese be a more useful language to know?
I’d been given numerous arguments by different credible sources. Some have said to learn French, as it’s considered a “classy” language and “looked up upon” in Asia. Others have said that Japanese is a language that might actually prove useful in practicality. The argument seems to boil down to whether I want to seem more impressive or learn something more practical.
This would be a simple problem otherwise, but I do have somewhat of a network in finance in Asia, and have experienced firsthand the benefits of “seeming impressive” especially with referrals. Now I’m really not quite sure which will prove more useful in the short and long run.
3. I understand that Japanese might prove useful in other business activities in Asia (e.g. business development, corporate finance), but would it actually be of practical use for finance in HK or mainland China?
I tried to limit my questions to key issues, but I know I still asked a lot haha. In any case, thanks for even taking the time to read this!
Cantonese = useless. Japanese more useful in Asia, French more useful in Europe. Japanese not very useful in HK or mainland China.
Much thanks!
I immigrated from Korea to Canada when I was 5, and attended a french school in Toronto. What would my native language be?
Korean is the first language I learned, and the only language I spoke at home. However, I attended a French school since Kindergarten, so all my classes were in French. On top of that, I spoke English everywhere else.
Obviously, growing up in Canada (outside Quebec), English became my preferred language; but I can communicate in all three (although Korean lacks a little)
Korean & French? I think you’d know better
Just curious haha
But if I were to apply to a job in France or Korea, could I say I’m a native speaker of French or Korean, as I saw fit? Does the order in which you learn the languages really matter?
Yes, no.
Having read both the post and the whole comments-line I still have the following questions: do bankers talk to clients (or during conference call) in the same way as they write e-mails? Or they speak general English? I do not mean specific vocabulary or even IB “lingo”, but business correspondence style with certain, sometimes ridiculous and necessary collocations?
And is there any approved specific investment banking correspondence manual (textbook) in order to improve writing skills? Or business correspondence style is quiet general for all finance-related positions?
Thank you in advance!
Bankers speak English that non-bankers can understand though they do throw in a few phrases here and there that are considered as “IB-lingo”
No, I don’t think there is any approved specific IB lingo textbook. Good question though.
Is 15 too old to try for near native fluency?
You may want to focus on enjoying life when you’re only 15!
Thanks. Completely unrrelated briefly, is something like a chemistry degree from a top university better for getting a first round interview than an economics or business degree from a no name.
Yes. Being from a target/top university is better than from a no-name university.
Is it possible to get an internship at a BB Bank in Moscow, from UC Berkeley, speaking fluent Russian? And then get a full-time offer at the same bank in Moscow after under-grad? Or do they only hire when they need someone in that area?
I am pretty sure it is possible though I believe readers may have better insights!
Thanks Nicole!
Hi, I agree with this post! But may I ask how can I improve English business language since I am an Asian studying in London?
Thanks
Make it a point to listen to Bloomberg/CNBC an hour a day. You can also youtube videos on financial news.