I was really excited when I was contacted via LinkedIn for an SDR role at this company, and when they switched me to a bilingual position, I was even more pumped. As a native Spanish speaker from San Juan, Puerto Rico, I love helping the Latino community, and that’s what has made me successful in past roles. After four interviews and a quick cold call role-play (the only time I spoke Spanish), I was told my Spanish was “too casual” and “not proper.” I was also told to be “careful” using the word “dama”, which is a respectful and common term in Puerto Rico and other Spanish speaking countries to refer to a woman. I was confused at first and should’ve asked for clarification on the spot, but I didn’t. It was my fault for not doing so. Instead, I later reached out for clarification, but they never responded. A week later, I got a call saying they weren’t moving forward because my Spanish lacked professionalism and technicality. It left me wondering: What’s the “proper” way to speak Spanish? Spanish is spoken in so many different ways around the world, and I feel like feedback on language skills should be about clear communication, not just one specific dialect. Overall, I was really disappointed by how this was handled.