FOR IMMIGRANTS: BEING A FOREIGNER AND TURNING IT INTO A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Jul 19 / Justin Silverio Franco
I was born in the Dominican Republic and spent the first ten years of my life there. I understood the many different cultures and financial aspects of the island, including that it was a third-world country. In 2013, I was fortunate enough to live comfortably in the United States and move to Boston for college, where I started to understand a different perspective of the world economy.

The final project of BE-EDGE, which was building a consulting case for a chosen firm to go internationally, helped me shape my journey to work at a large firm. It was relevant to utilize the information that I had already understood from third-world countries and apply it to the recommendations of where the firm should head on. This valuable information gained throughout the semester will be useful and utilized throughout my future job at Deloitte.
Although I will not be directly involved in making consulting decisions for my job, it will be useful to understand the perspectives of where the company will be heading.

Another scenario where this information will be helpful is if I have clients from across the globe. I have both the knowledge of living in a country with extreme poverty and extreme wealth and having that information will give me a perspective of the decisions that clients will make with the firm, turning living in the Dominican Republic into my personal competitive advantage. 

What are some advantages of writing cases using the BE-EDGE methodology? What can Immigrants grant from it?

The answer lies with the people that you meet for the project. According to research done by Zippia Advising, networking fills up to 85% of all jobs. Throughout this consulting project, I was able to connect with the CEO of our chosen firm, my group peers, and a wide variety of other students also reaching out to various companies. This information is well important and plays a key role throughout my professional journey because it will teach me how to connect with peers that are also related to the same workload as me.

Additionally, networking helps with improving professional language. The people who I have worked with on this project are constantly in the professional setting, where communication and work performance is highly valued. Coming from another country, this skill was important to understand in new environments that have different sets of company culture than back in the Dominican Republic. 

What’s Next? 

Overall, this practical and realistic project has helped me develop new skills that will help me with my future job careers. I got a sense of how to build professional connections and communicate efficiently through the consulting case. BE-EDGE played an important role in this achievement because it was the stepping stone towards the bigger dream. 
About the author

Justin Silverio Franco

Justin Silverio Franco is a current undergraduate student majoring in Accounting & Data Science graduating in 2025 from Northeastern. He is currently looking to become a certified public accountant and build his career in Audit & Assurance firms in New York City. 
Write your awesome label here.