Why learning a language can be a great way of getting into finance?
As a Senior Transactional Specialist I am always asked by candidates without financial experience how do they get into finance and they always seemed surprised when I say learn a second language. From my 4+ years experience of working in this sector I can see a lot of clients consolidating their finance departments and centralising their processes. Often this means that they are looking for people who are bilingual and often offer training to those that don’t have a wealth of experience specifically in finance.
Why do clients take people without the experience?
Often for more junior roles it is easier for the client to train them in AP, Credit Control or AR. Obviously learning a second language can take a long time but having this skill can be a great way of getting into finance and often shared service businesses offer training to facilitate your journey on becoming a fully qualified accountant.
Which language should I learn?
Most companies in the UK that look for bilingual candidates are looking for candidates who can speak European languages, such as German, Italian, French or Spanish. In my experience these are the four most common languages that at least the clients I work with look for. In addition to these, Portuguese, Dutch and Finnish are also popular to clients.
Has Brexit affected this?
Honestly right now no, as a business over the last quarter we have smashed all of our targets and we are only seeing an increase in requirements on the market. Yes some businesses have invested abroad and some probably will however I work with a number of companies that have shared services based in the UK and they are still investing in their workforce and investing in multilingual candidates.
I hope this offers a bit of insight and for anyone out there that speaks a foreign language and is looking for a move into finance, please get in touch!