Foreign languages and investment banking – on the face of it you might not think there’s much to link the two disciplines, but it turns out a surprising number of employers look for foreign language skills among candidates’ core competencies.

If your plan is to retire by 40 and live out the rest of your life sunning yourself on the deck of your own private yacht, then without a lottery win, a professional football contract or a colossal inheritance, your options are quite limited.

And then there’s investment banking. Of course, not everyone in the industry is on the receiving end of six figure bonuses, but if you speak a foreign language and have a related degree, you stand a good chance of making your early retirement dreams come true.

Foreign language skills are ‘highly desirable’

The competition to land an investment banking job is understandably fierce, and it’d be wrong to suggest that a foreign language competency is all you’ll need to land yourself a top job in the sector. A first-class or 2:1 degree from a Russell Group University, a passion for finance and the dedication to work 12-hour days will certainly help you along the way. As will your ability to perform well in psychometric tests, and cope with what can be a bullish culture.

However, among the litany of essential attributes, many of the key players in the sector also list foreign language skills as ‘highly desirable’, with some naming the languages that are particularly relevant to their businesses.

What level of language skills do you need?

Recruiters who specifically seek foreign language skills, like us here at Linguistica Recruitment, typically seek candidates who are either native speakers or are fluent in that language. Fluency implies a standard beyond A Level, and the ability to do business in that language. If you list a foreign language fluency among your skills, you should not be surprised if the interviewers switch between languages during your interview.

Employers that do not have a specific need for language may be willing to accept candidates with less developed language skills, while some will even offer language classes so you can improve.

What languages do banking and investment employers look for?

The following is a list of the some of the investment banks in the UK and the foreign language skills they look for:

• Barclays Wealth – Candidates should be willing to spend at least six months working abroad, with languages like Mandarin, Arabic, French and Spanish in particularly high demand.
• HSBC – While specific languages are not listed, this bank implies that candidates with a second or third language have an advantage.
• Goldman Sachs – This bank seeks candidates with a foreign language fluency or native speakers for approximately 50 percent of its roles.
• UBS – Candidates with excellent German speaking skills and international experience, either through study or experience, put themselves at an advantage.

How can we help?

We might not have any investment banking jobs in our list of current vacancies at the moment, but we do have an excellent range of foreign language jobs across the South Coast of England. If you’re looking for your next bilingual job, please send us your CV or apply online today.