Bilingual and internship

[virgoox]

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Has anyone seen the real life "edge" to being bilingual ? One of my profs. stated this will make me competitive but I have yet to reap any rewards from this- unless if you count Affirm. action which is what my co workers think got me the job- so actually I have a deficiency and not an edge.

Wondering if anyone has experience with this being considered, all things being equal, among applicants for internship. I am thinking maybe in cities with large populations of spanish speakers- but even then, they would have to have some form of medical insurance and actively seek tx. That is why at my location, it is sort of irellevant, they can't be billled for but it is nice to have me around for PC purposes.

Any experiences from the inside or has anyone actually seen this be a factor in selection.

 

[krisrox]

Has anyone seen the real life "edge" to being bilingual ? One of my profs. stated this will make me competitive but I have yet to reap any rewards from this- unless if you count Affirm. action which is what my co workers think got me the job- so actually I have a deficiency and not an edge.

Wondering if anyone has experience with this being considered, all things being equal, among applicants for internship. I am thinking maybe in cities with large populations of spanish speakers- but even then, they would have to have some form of medical insurance and actively seek tx. That is why at my location, it is sort of irellevant, they can't be billled for but it is nice to have me around for PC purposes.

Any experiences from the inside or has anyone actually seen this be a factor in selection.

I'm bilingual in Spanish and English and it has definitely given me opportunities. I got m RA job BECAUSE I spoke Spanish; The lab has a Spanish-speaking subsample. I also brought it up in interviews and faculty told me that it will make me a competetive applicant for practicum sites that cater toward Spanish-speaking families and internship sites that do the same.

 

[PSYdMHC]

I think the the fact that I speak Spanish really helped me to secure an internship position and also get interviews. I have some friends that did not get interviews at some sites because they did not speak Spanish.... When you search for sites on the appic website, there is an option for minor and major rotations where Spanish is needed..... I'm sure it largely depends on the populations served and the locations where you're applying..... Good luck applying!

 

[docma]

Being fully bilingual is a definite advantage in many settings and in employment may qualify you for specific positions or a salary differential.

That said, be sure you are clear in applying about your level of proficiency and don't represent yourself as "bilingual" if you cannot deliver services in the language. We do part of our interview in Spanish to assess fluency and it is always awkward when the candidate has stated they are bilingual but is actually only at a basic conversational level and cannot discuss a case in Spanish or would clearly struggle is working with a native-speaker/monolingual client. You can state your level of comfort and certainly some bilingual skills are better than none.

If you are fully fluent and interested in public health settings, school settings, and serving the underserved you will find it a great advantage.

 

[Wapote84]

Has anyone seen the real life "edge" to being bilingual ? One of my profs. stated this will make me competitive but I have yet to reap any rewards from this- unless if you count Affirm. action which is what my co workers think got me the job- so actually I have a deficiency and not an edge.

Wondering if anyone has experience with this being considered, all things being equal, among applicants for internship. I am thinking maybe in cities with large populations of spanish speakers- but even then, they would have to have some form of medical insurance and actively seek tx. That is why at my location, it is sort of irellevant, they can't be billled for but it is nice to have me around for PC purposes.

Any experiences from the inside or has anyone actually seen this be a factor in selection.

I'm bilingual in Spanish and English and many of my professors told me I would be more competitive because of it. In many places that wasn't the case, but in some it was. For example, the institution I am going to attend has a study related to latinos and the faculty member (who isn't my POI) has shown interest in me helping her on the project because NONE of the people working on it speak spanish. They have had to outsource people to help with the project. In addition, they were interested in me due to my knowledge and experience with the culture and were interested in my assistance as a cultural consultant on the project at times and with some research in the spanish language.

Where I'm going, there aren't many latinos in the city, but there is an existing population and some of the externships are interested in spanish-speaking individuals because of the latinos that due come in. They aren't a majority by far, but they do seek service and need people to assist them.

Another place was interested in my abilities due to their focus on research related to minorities and was interested in my abilities. They were interested in me helping them translate some measures and with changing some research to focus on a hispanic population.

So it has been helpful, but only in some circumstances. But with an ever growing latino population, I feel that it will be more valuable as time goes on. As we all know, there are major discrepancies in the field, and with more latinos there are still not many psychologists. I feel that it will become more coveted in the next two decades.

 

[robinsena]

During my internship search I came across sites that specifically required Spanish or it was "strongly preferred." So you would definitely have an advantage if you know that language. I know another language and it was beneficial when visiting sites where they have a lot of immigrant clients (and clients' family members) from that population who are not completely fluent in English.

 

[Wapote84]

Also... for example, I'm planning on applying to the VA internship in Puerto Rico for my internship. That requires Spanish without a doubt.

 

[virgoox]

I didn't know there was a VA in Puerto Rico- makes sense though.

I can't see a great need for bilingual applicants where I am now but certainly in other places. I am far from internship but I was curious how others have seen this fator play out for them or someone they know. It sounds like it really depends on location and need- as with any other skill set I suppose.

Since I am not at internship yet it is good to know that language skills can be highlighted in the application- it can be missed on a cv and can be awkward to bring up in an interview.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Wapote84]

I didn't know there was a VA in Puerto Rico- makes sense though.

I can't see a great need for bilingual applicants where I am now but certainly in other places. I am far from internship but I was curious how others have seen this fator play out for them or someone they know. It sounds like it really depends on location and need- as with any other skill set I suppose.

Since I am not at internship yet it is good to know that language skills can be highlighted in the application- it can be missed on a cv and can be awkward to bring up in an interview.

Thanks for the replies.

I highlighted the hell out of my being bilingual and having a background in the heterogeneous culture and dialectology of the Spanish language. It was on my vita on multiple areas. Plus I mentioned in in my personal statements.

 

[PHinisheD]

I'm not a native speaker, but I've got moderate fluency in Spanish. I'm not sure if it's ever gotten me a job or an internship exactly, but many interviewers commented on it favorably. In my apps, I made it clear that I had experience doing assessment and interventions in Spanish, and this seemed to be in high demand. When I worked on inpatient and B-Med rotations, it was especially helpful. Not having to rely on the hospital translator is huge. Definitely play that up.