Searching in Europe - language barriers?

searcher profile

November 14, 2020

by a searcher from INSEAD in Sydney NSW, Australia

For a search in Europe, to what extent would speaking English be enough vs. speaking the local language? And if local language is required, what level of fluency would be necessary? Conversational or fully business fluent?


I would imagine places like the Netherlands or Scandinavian countries would be easier to get by with just English vs. Spain - would Spain be a no go without full Spanish fluency?

Thank you!

3
6
57
Replies
6
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
in Madrid, Spain
I would say that in Europe is pretty important to be fully business fluent in the local language, maybe not in the nordics but in the rest it would be very difficult to communicate let alone to build rapport with the owners, which in the search fund case usually are 60+ years old. This segment of the population is usually not that fluent in English and even if they speak it they will not feel comfortable negotiating in that language.

In addition, having a strong network in the country where you want to do your search is critical in my opinion, which is also complicated if it's not the country where you have grown up / studied.
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from Rice University in Frankfurt am Main, Deutschland
For some more international industries, the local language is not as important as for others, but I'd say what Juan said is accurate for most industries. I wouldn't even say that's exclusive for Europe. Not speaking the local language is a huge barrier anywhere in the world.
commentor profile
+4 more replies.
Join the discussion