The importance of learning a foreign language for career growth

The importance of learning a foreign language for career growth

“One language sets you in a corridor for life.

Two languages open every door along the way.”
Frank Smith

In the modern day and age, this is considered an almost universal truth – the more languages you know, the easier it is to get around. One of the most obvious effects of globalisation, is that it has generated an unprecedented mixture of cultures all around the world. And while it may seem that knowing English will suffice in most situations, in reality this cannot be farther from the truth. I remember quite clearly walking around Leipzig, Germany, where I (foolishly) assumed there will be English speakers around every corner, and spending the entirety of an hour looking for someone who knew just enough English to give me the directions that I needed. Did I regret not knowing German then!

But is learning foreign languages only useful for travelling? Certainly not. Globalisation has touched all the aspects of modern life, not least the job market and our professional careers. In any industry you can think of, all of the major companies worth their salt employ a diverse, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural staff. Firstly, this is because they are always looking for the best professionals from anywhere on the planet, regardless of their place of origin. Secondly, most corporations have operations and interests all over the world, and hiring local is always a good idea, for integration purposes and for efficiency as well. And last, but not least, mixing different backgrounds, nationalities and cultures at the workplace usually generates a wealth of new ideas and creative approaches that really add value to the business. You probably already realise what I’m getting at – knowing one, or better yet, several foreign languages, makes you much more attractive as a professional to potential employers.

Here are a few key points worth considering, if you are exploring the idea of learning a foreign language to further your professional career:

• First of all, learning a foreign language has never been easier, cheaper or less time-consuming. Websites like Linguaphone will offer you excellent courses, prepared by professionals, at a reasonable price. And you can do it all from the comfort of your home. The only thing standing now between you and a new language, is your own laziness.
• If you are currently employed at a multi-national corporation or a company that does business in different parts of the world, learning a foreign language might bring you much closer to that promotion you’ve been dreaming about. It just may help convince your boss to make you Country Manager, instead of hiring locally, or looking for someone who speaks the language.
• Foreign language speakers are always in high demand on the job market. A quick search on Jooble will show you, that there are currently over 20 thousand vacancies with the keyword “foreign language” and more than ten thousand vacancies for each language individually (e.g., “Portuguese speaker”, “German language”, “Arabic translator” etc.) As a side note, this can actually help you gauge which foreign languages are the most sought after, thus making you more employable in the long run.
• Once you master the foreign language of your choice, you can immediately start exploring job opportunities in the countries where this language is spoken. This will greatly widen the pool of job opportunities for you. For example, learning French means that you can now consider a career in France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland and a dozen other countries where the language has official status. The same goes for many other universally spoken languages: Spanish, German, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, the list goes on – take your pick.
• Knowing several languages looks good on your resume and helps you nail interviews. Any employer will be excited to hire someone who has extra skills or knows more than one language – simply put, this adds value to the team and makes the company more versatile. You never know when an employee’s language skills will come in handy during negotiations or at customer relationship management.

Knowing several languages has always been for the benefit of the speaker. Now, with unprecedented access to learning any language, it’s a shame to waste the chance. Grab this opportunity and start learning  a new language today!