Why Speaking Another Language Makes You More Employable

It is a well-known fact that knowing more than one language can make you hugely attractive to employers. This is especially true when it comes to those of you who are applying to multinational corporations. As more job seekers are starting to realise that language skills could make them stand out in today’s competitive job market, language courses are becoming more and more popular.

About to start a job hunt? Here are some of the main reasons why you should consider learning a foreign language to make you more employable:

• The increase in globalisation means that knowing more than one language can make you a very attractive candidate for a plethora of varied jobs. Thanks to the internet the world has become a much smaller place. We now have access to a diverse customer base from communities across the world. If you know another language, you could be crucial in helping your company connect to and potentially unlock a new market on the other side of the world. There are lots of language courses available online to help you quickly start to learn.

• Are you currently a university student worried about the competitive job market? Anyone who is about to enter the workplace these days is understandably nervous about being able to get a good job. Voluntary work, internships, and academic qualifications are all well and good, but knowing another language is a great way to really help distinguish you from other candidates. In a job market full of highly qualified graduates, anything that helps you stand out from the others is valuable. Your knowledge of another language could be the deciding factor behind you getting the job over someone else.

• Companies like candidates that speak an additional language as this can help them connect with their international colleagues as well as important clients from around the world. It is much easier to build relationships with someone when you speak the same language as them. You can simply connect with them on a more personal level and break through barriers if you speak the same language.

• For those interested in working for international companies, there can be many more options available to you if you speak another language, such as job transfers or moving to regional offices in other countries. You may receive opportunities for travel that your other colleagues who don’t speak more than one language won’t be offered- additional salary benefits too. For lovers of travel, this definitely makes it worth it to investigate language courses, especially if you are interested in experiencing new cultures and moving around.

• There has been research to show that those with bilingual abilities also have a host of other skills. Studies have shown that they tend to be better at solving issues that are more complex. Knowing a foreign language can also make you more creative, and better able to multi-task. All these skills are obviously attractive qualities for any employer looking to hire a competent candidate.

If you are currently hoping to find a new job, or just looking to make a move, there are so many resources now easily available to help you learn a new language and in turn make you more employable. Before you get started, you should figure out which languages are the most popular to learn so you know what will make you more employable. There’s no point learning French if jobs in your sector want Italian speakers. There are plenty of free resources available online, as well as affordable language courses you can take. There are even apps that can help you learn at the touch of a button. You never know, you could pick up a new language just by practising a little bit at a time on your daily commute! Use any holidays and travel abroad to practice and pick up conversational phrases as much as you can.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to be completely fluent in another language for it to boost your employability. Often, just knowing a second language in a conversational language is enough to make your application stand out from the crowd. That is all that is really required to liaise with international clients and colleagues effectively. And if you already know how to speak a language and find that you just need to brush up, you could ask your employer to pay for language courses for you. They may make the investment if they can see the value for their business in improving your language skills further.

¡Comienza a aprender! Börja lära dig! Začnite učiti! Get learning!