How BrazilDesk Vets Candidate English for Offshore Hiring
Companies hiring in Brazil often have different English requirements depending on the position.
A customer support representative handling calls with US customers may need a much higher level of spoken English than a developer who primarily uses English for technical documentation and internal communication.
Most of our clients who come to us for recruitment in Brazil are looking for candidates with a certain level of English. For roles like customer support, the requirement is higher, especially when the service is voice-based. For other roles, some clients ask for a professional level of English mainly for internal communication. And in other cases, English is needed for technical work, such as an IT support professional.
What English Level Do Brazilian Professionals Actually Have?
We’ve interviewed many candidates over the past few years, usually conducting interviews in both Portuguese and English, and the English level among these professionals is genuinely impressive.
We’ve found candidates in Brazil with remarkable fluency despite never having lived abroad, some of them entirely self-taught.
Some candidates speak and understand English very well but have a strong accent. This may be less suitable for certain customer-facing voice positions, such as sales or customer support for US customers, while still being perfectly suitable for technical, administrative, or other roles.
Once we publish job openings on recruitment platforms, we ask about English level and whether the candidate has prior experience working with international companies.
In general, for a recruitment process focused on English communication, it’s expected that most candidates will have some level of English. But to make sure they meet our client’s specific requirements, we run a few checks. The steps below focus specifically on language assessment, without discounting the other skills required for the role.
Our 5-Step English Assessment Process for Brazilian Candidates
Self-reported fluency level
When we post an opening, we ask candidates to select their fluency level. If it falls outside what the position requires, they’re rejected at that stage and moved into our talent pool for roles that better match their profile.
Unscripted self-introduction audio
For roles with a higher frequency of voice communication, or where it’s the top requirement, we ask candidates to attach a 1-minute self-introduction audio to their resume, unscripted. If we notice a candidate reading from a script, we typically disqualify them, since it shows they either didn’t follow the instructions or tried to work around them.
Cross-referencing resume and audio
Once we have the resume and audio, we cross-reference this data to narrow down candidates. We assess and rank candidates based on the requirements of the position.
Client shortlist review
We send a list of roughly 12 candidates, along with resume summaries and audio clips, to our client, who selects 3 to 6 for a video interview.
Recorded English video interview
We schedule an English-language video call and, with the candidate’s permission, record it to present to the final client. At this stage, we usually also apply some kind of test, though that depends heavily on the role.
English Testing for Shortlisted Candidates
We run a test with pre-finalist candidates. The test is agreed upon with the client but generally involves writing that simulates a real work environment. We use an online proctored assessment platform. The platform includes monitoring features designed to identify potential attempts to leave the test environment or use unauthorized resources.
The test is usually built by our team together with the client and includes a few open-ended questions that require written responses, giving us another layer of English assessment for the candidate.
The Bottom Line on English Fluency in Brazilian Recruitment
This is how we’re able to send the final client a shortlist of 3 to 6 candidates whose English has been assessed at four separate stages: during the application, through an introduction audio, in an open conversation, and through a written test. The final interview happens directly with the client.
This is how BrazilDesk evaluates English proficiency for the roles we recruit for international companies. We’re not looking for candidates who simply say “I speak fluent English.” We verify it at every stage.
Need Candidates With Verified English Skills?
If you need a Brazilian recruitment company that takes English proficiency seriously throughout the hiring process, we can help.
