Expert Info
on 16 Jun 2017
Hello Expat Arrivals community,
I am a current MBA candidate with a focus in international accounting/finance.
I am hoping to be able to land a job with a large consulting or accounting firm and then have the opportunity to work abroad. I am drawn to Chile for a few different reasons, one being we are currently studying the Chilean business environment in class. Their open economy with bilateral trade agreements and a focus on attracting foreign direct investment seems like a great opportunity to learn how dynamic economies can be created.
Anyways, for individuals who have worked in Chile, I was hoping you may be able to help me with some questions? Your time is very much appreciated!
1) In your experience working in Chile, what are the noticeable differences in the work environment from the U.S? For example in Spain there is a mandatory siesta portion of the day. If you could also please share which industry you are in and how it differed from your home experience that would be great!
2) How does management interact with those employees beneath them? Is the hierarchy one where management makes all of the decisions without employee input or is their more of a holacracy environment? Did you feel you were able to learn a lot about business practices with this structure? Please provide an example if you can.
Thank you again!
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Have a look at the Expat Arrivals Doing Business in Chile page; it addresses a lot of your questions. Generally businesses are structured in a hierarchical manner rather than a flat structure, so this could be difficult if it is not something you are used to. The working hours are also typically long, although the lunch break in the middle of the day does also tend to be longer than the standard one-hour break common in many other countries.
If you decide to make the move, it would be a good idea to learn as much Spanish as possible beforehand as this will definitely give you a leg up in the business world. But also bear in mind that Chilean Spanish is a dialect of its own and can be difficult to understand even for someone with a background in speaking, say, European Spanish. So the best route would be language classes specialising specifically in Chilean Spanish.
Hope this helps.
M