Bolivia situation guide
Two tenses that tell Daniela's cousin the truth
Daniela wants something 'cortito' to forward to her cousin, so this chapter is about writing a bio that earns its four lines. The first skill is a tense contrast with real teeth: ongoing experience is 'hace ocho años trabajo...' (hace + present), while a closed job is 'trabajé tres años en...' English, French, and German speakers instinctively reach for a perfect tense in the first case and mark themselves as translating. The second skill is choosing one checkable project ('hice la marca de una cadena de tiendas') over an adjective cloud ('soy muy creativo y profesional'). The third is the honesty moment: when someone asks who you've worked with locally and the answer is nobody yet, the strong reply admits it plainly and turns it into your reason for being there, 'todavía no trabajé con empresas de acá, por eso quiero conocer el rubro.' Client examples stay generic types, never real company names, and no rate, salary, or revenue figure ever appears, the bio proves your work through tense, concreteness, and honesty, not through numbers.
Essential vocabulary
- hace __ años (que) trabajo...: I've been working [at this] for __ years (ongoing) The pattern for experience that's still going, hace + PRESENT tense, not a perfect tense. The classic EN/FR/DE interference point.
- trabajé __ años en...: I worked __ years at... (a closed period) The contrast to hace+present: a job or period that has already ended.
- desde [año]: since [year] Marks the starting point of something still true today, pairs naturally with the present tense.
- sobre todo: especially / above all Names your main clients without ruling out others, a soft, natural way to focus a bio.
- hice [proyecto] para [tipo de cliente]: I did [project] for [type of client] A concrete, checkable example beats an adjective cloud every time.
- te paso el enlace de mi portafolio: I'll send you the link to my portfolio The line that moves a conversation from talk to proof, WhatsApp is the portfolio channel here.
- referencias: references What you offer when you have no local names yet, proof from people who already know your work.
- todavía no trabajé con empresas de acá: I haven't worked with companies from here yet The honesty moment, said plainly, no apology, no invented local clients.
- por eso quiero conocer el rubro: that's why I want to get to know the sector Turns the honest gap into your reason for being there, the move that makes newness sound like intention, not weakness.
Bolivian Spanish terms
- algo cortito: something short The '-ito/-ita' diminutive is everywhere in Bolivian Spanish, softening requests and sizes. 'Cortito' means genuinely short, honor it, so your bio stays forwardable without editing.
- el rubro: the sector / line of business The word that keeps recurring across this notebook: your professional world. Wanting to 'conocer el rubro' is a completely normal, well-received thing to say when you're new.
Useful phrases
- Hace ocho años trabajo con marcas.: I've been working with brands for eight years. The ongoing-experience pattern: hace + a present-tense verb, never a perfect tense.
- Trabajé tres años en una agencia.: I worked three years at an agency. The closed-period pattern: a job that has already ended.
- Todavía no trabajé con empresas de acá, por eso quiero conocer el rubro.: I haven't worked with companies from here yet, that's why I want to get to know the sector. The full honesty move: admit the gap, then turn it into your reason for meeting people.
- Te paso el enlace de mi portafolio.: I'll send you the link to my portfolio. The portfolio-send line that moves talk to proof, by WhatsApp, as a link, not an email attachment.
Learn this in the app
Explain Your Work and Business in Bolivia, Spanish