When your resume says fluent in Spanish Forum

[Anonymous User]

So, my resume says I am fluent in Spanish, and I was. I graduated from a top undergrad with honors in a Spanish Lit major where I finished with a 65 page undergrad thesis in Spanish, I spent a year abroad in Spanish speaking countries, and I taught volunteer ESL classes for basically all my adult life up until 3 years ago. BUT short of the occasional podcast, internet article, or short conversation with my undergrad advisor, I haven't actually used my Spanish in like 3 years (2 years WE and 1L year). I just noticed that both partners I am meeting with today at a callback speak fluent Spanish. Is this something that is going to come up and is it better with them that I am honest if asked instead of trying to fake it? I was already planning on taking steps to get back into the flow with the language by taking a class my school offers called legal Spanish and participating in a clinic where a lot of the clients will be Spanish speakers. I really don't know what the move is here. Thoughts??

[Anonymous User]

Be ready to talk in Spanish. Worst case scenario is the entire interview will not be in English - and seems relatively likely.

[Anonymous User]

I wouldn’t put fluent in a language on my resume if I was not currently fluent in that langauage.

It might come up. I had a CB interview at a firm and met with someone fluent in the same second language as me and she asked me questions in that language and I answered them in that language. It was maybe 3-4 minutes of the interview.

My school’s career services office told me to expect to have to speak the language if it is on your resume so don’t overstate your abilities at all.

I’m sure you can still speak and comprehend Spanish. If they happen to ask you questions in Spanish I would try to answer the best you can. If you can’t then I would explain.

I’ve had other interviews where an interviewer speaks the same second language I do and it never came up so it’s by no means a guarantee that it will.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah, be prepared to be asked legal questions (not legalese but basic comprehension questions) in Spanish. I know that firms really want people to speak like native speakers (no accent) and since a ton of people speak it, firms can be selective.

Worst case scenario, he calls you out and you don’t get an offer.

But if your Spanish is/was as you say it was, then I doubt you will have a problem.

This is why I always say I’m proficient. No one can call you out on that

[Anonymous User]

OP here. FWIW the Spanish portion of the interview was very short. Just basic questions about my year in Chile and my undergrad thesis. I followed with a joke (of sorts) about how I hadn't had a real conversation in Spanish in about 3 years and let the partner know about my clinic plus the class I am taking to get my groove back.

Cautionary tale: Think long and hard about what you say on your resume. To be honest, I never considered not putting "fluent in Spanish" on my resume and, even though that was true at one point, it probably isn't the most accurate statement right now. By luck/God/whatever one believes in I was able to avoid a sticky interview situation, but this might not always be the case!

[Schotes]

Fluent > Proficient > Conversational

A non-native speaker is never business fluent without years of working in business and using the language in context.

[inter-associate]

Fluent > Proficient > Conversational

A non-native speaker is never business fluent without years of working in business and using the language in context.

I think this is really absolute statement for such an individual and subjective skill.

There is a business language that everyone (including native speakers) has to pick up to be successful in a business environment. If you are really fluent in a second language you are likely going to pick that up at a pace similar to (or slightly slower than) a native speaker. It takes some time regardless of native-speaker status, but not years (some evidence: (i) the poor quality of emails from first-year attorneys regardless of background, (ii) the unwillingness of senior attorneys to let first years talk in client meetings, and (iii) the large number of non-native English speakers having no noticeable problems picking up business language at firms/companies straight out of school). In fact, it is often easier to attain a high level of fluency in a "business language" because it is such a small slice of the broader language.

That aside, based on my previous experience working and interviewing candidates in an Asian office of a U.S. firm, I would be cautious saying you are fluent if you have any doubts. However, I don't think you should overthink this if you really feel you are fluent (this view is a complete 180 from how I felt before I started working in Asia). My experience has been that most people aren't as fluent as they think they are, but interviewers who test them also recognize how subjective that term is.