This blog post is part of the Professional Stories Series, which collects stories about professionals with a degree in Spanish who did not follow the traditional path of being a school teacher or a university professor. Questions focus on skills, strategies for the job search, and career advice.
In today’s post, we interviewed Toni Gozalbo Torner, a Supplier Relationship Manager. Toni speaks Spanish, English, and Catalan. Toni also has language proficiency in French and German.
What is your job title and what do you do?
My job title is "Supplier Relationship Management" and I am in charge of sourcing and scouting for new products. Perhaps the most important part of my job is to cultivate deep relationships that will last over the long term. I do all of this in line with the company's core values.
What are the three most important skills needed for the job that you do?
You have to know how to listen to your interlocutor in order to know exactly how you can help him or her. If you listen, you can tune in to that person, identify their interests, how you should talk to them, what they are interested in, and so on. If you do this, all your doors open. On the other hand, it is essential to speak several languages, because I deal with people from very different countries. And as a third skill, I would mention leadership ability, because it is a position where you need to involve many people.
How was the job search? What strategies did you implement to get the job? How did you tailor your résumé?
In my case I traveled for many years, you know, jumping from country to country. This came to the attention of a distant acquaintance, who approached me at a party to ask me about these experiences. It turned out that this person is the owner of a company with an international scope, so we can say that I started my application long before I was aware of it. Anyway, this person asked me for a resume and I designed a sort of 16-page "magazine" in which I explained many aspects of myself. I also put a QR code linked to a video in which I introduced myself in several languages.
How does a degree in Spanish help you to get your current job? How often do you use the language at the workplace or in activities related to your job?
I speak Spanish daily at work and it is also my native language. In my case, literature is especially important to me, because in general, I am interested in people. I mean relating to them. When you have read Moby Dick or Don Quixote and you meet someone with similar traits to Captain Ahab or Don Quixote himself, it is much easier for you to connect with that person. That's why they are classics: because they describe a "type" of person and immortalize them. Well, if you identify -at least partially- an individual with a character, you know what he thinks, what he fears, what he needs, and above all, what he wants. And this is very important in my job of creating relationships, among other reasons because it allows you a much higher level of tolerance.
What career advice can you offer to a student doing a Minor or a Major in Spanish?
I don't know if I'm in a position to advise too much. However, I would say that speaking a foreign language is fine, but it is not enough. owadays it is taken for granted that you speak 2 languages and have a master's degree. If you really want to stand out, you need to speak more languages. The good news is that a student in a Modern Languages Department has the possibility to learn other languages since he/she lives with people who speak all kinds of languages. So my advice would be: don't limit yourself by learning a new language, learn as many as you can, at least a base. Every new language you speak opens doors to new countries. And that means you can move with a special freedom in places where you are actually a foreigner. You can get to know people and with that, new ways of thinking, new habits, new business possibilities, new experiences that you were not used to, and so on. In general, every new language opens up a new world.
You can connect with Toni via LinkedIn.
I hope you can see that you have multiple opportunities with a degree in Spanish.