But, most Germans speak better English than Americans. An American can converse with a German finance professional without a problem (evidenced by the fact you are posting on this forum).
Do you really believe that most Germans speak better English than Americans, or did you not finish your sentence ?
Also, not trying to start an argument, but I am not sure what you are trying to illustrate with your last post. Many Germans have a good command of the english language ; it doesn’t mean that English is replacing German in any way in Europe. One may even argue that German is actually becoming more important in Europe, with the increasing immigration of Europeans that are coming to Germany to study and work.
I am not German, FYI.
Clients will be from the mainland, most dealflow will be from mandarin-speaking clients. Then again, they are also likely to speak English too. Cantonese is more useful for day-to-day life in HK, not really when it comes to your career.
I speak business Mandarin, and basic German and French. Languages are not a golden ticket but they do help you to stand out, another feather in your cap. Personally, I just think it’s good to speak another language and have an understanding of a culture that is not your own.
My point is that if you are dealing with a front office German finance professional, their command of English will be more than adequate for a meeting. I would bet on it. I would not bet that a given front office US born finance professional will have a sufficient command of German to conduct a meeting.
I’d say that the most valuable language to learn in America (USA) is Spanish, however there is an over supply of native speakers who would likely replace you. I grew up hearing Spanish from my grandparents who were Cuban, but never really spoke until later when I lived in Spain. Although they often spoke to me in Spanish, I always responded in English out of embarrassment. However I do think it is necessary to hear a language when you are very young in order to learn it fluently unless you are able to spend a sufficient amount of time in a foreign country. I was once offered a job with a major wirehouse as a product consultant (Which I turned down) for the Latin American market. Other than that I have never really had an opportunity to use Spanish in the finance industry. I’d love to move back to Spain assuming it’s economy ever improves.
Maybe sometime in the next half century.
Klingon and Galic would be my top choices.
^^
I honestly think that some Amerindian languages sound awesome.
I love the sound of Mohawk, and from what I have heard in movies Pawnee and Cherokee sound pretty cool too.
Sad thing is that in one generation, no real native speaker of these languages will remain on the face of the earth, as all of them will have a better command of English than their native language.
Learning Quebecois French is useless in toronto/english canada unless you want to work for the government or some firm that works closely with the government.
I think it’s handy to differentiate yourself with a second or third language, but becoming business proficient in a new language takes years and by the time you do become proficient, it will probably not be useful on your resume anymore (ie you are already in a more senior role). You will also not reach a good level until you are immersed in it for an extended period of time, or you were born into that language. You really need to know what area you’re targeting to work in, and whether you actually have the linguistic ability to absorb it. I know personally I am not great with learning languages.
One issue with listing languages on your resume is you never know who will interview you. In more diverse cities, its very possible the interviewer would like to test your abilities and you are not as fluent as you stated. This happens all the time here, so be truthful about your abilities.
Is standard French more useful ?
Do people even learn Quebecois French ?
You ‘avin’ a laugh mate?
In the public and secondary school system here, most of the teachers learned Quebec french, and that’s what they teach. I have never heard of a french french teacher.
Would standard French be more useful than Quebec French in Toronto / English Canada ?
French will not help your career in Toronto, and if it did, having a horrible québécois accent would not be a clincher. If you insist on learning French… Go standard French.
^^
Even as a Québécois, I am afraid that I have to agree with you. Québécois accent can sound horrible.
Your comment on the usefulness of French in Canada made me check out efinancialcareers with “French” as a search criterion for Canada. The result was only one posting outside of Quebec.
Interestingly, the same search brings out pages and pages of postings in Germany…
The only country where I have regularly met front office finance employees who cannot speak good Engligh is in Japan. Some do speak fluent English, but I’ve had lots of awkward meetings through translaters which are a pain. For some reason, the original Japanese seems to go on much longer than the English translation!
Viceroy, I have never met a German employed in any financial services role who does not have fluent English. So from the perspective of a native English speaker, learning German will add very little career wise.
Having good language skills can be useful in some career paths, but I don’t think finance is one of them.
In France, the french will tell to you that they don t speak english…but they damn sure do.
^^
Most of them understand it. But most of them don’t speak it.
In the general population that is true, but not for those in front office or client facing finance jobs. In my experience at least.