Either you work in international banking, as a production supervisor, or as a marketing manager. You call the number of a coworker, boss, or supplier in Spain or South America where they speak the Spanish language.
Even though the only foreign word you know is “hello” and the person who answers the phone speaks Spanish quickly, you don’t feel scared.
You asked for Mr. So-and-So.
“Just a minute, sir.
I’m putting you on hold.”
The front desk person gives the answer in perfect English. Knowing a second language may seem as useless as being able to talk in Morse code, since most people in the industrialized world speak a form of American English.
But senior recruiters and people in charge of hiring say that North Americans who speak Spanish can do a lot more than just talk to Latina receptionists.
Multilingual abilities assist job seekers get work.
They could lead to important jobs and pay raises.
In some cases, they might even be a requirement for getting the job.
Being bilingual lets you get things done while staying in a good mood.
According to the Korn/Ferry International Executive Recruiter Index. From January 2005, 88 percent of executive recruiters think that being able to speak more than one language is essential. For success in international business.
Seventy-nine percent of North American recruiters said that Spanish is the second language they want job candidates to know the most.
43 percent of people spoke French, which was the second most common language (30 percent). Tom Birmingham, who is the managing director of global accounts at Korn/Ferry, says, “If I send US citizens to work in another country, I want them to get used to the culture and fit in quickly.”
“Yes, they can get by in some parts of Latin America without knowing Spanish, but I want them to feel comfortable on a personal and professional level.”
Birmingham says that an employee who can easily move around in a foreign environment is likely to be happier and more productive than one who can’t. When doing business with someone, speaking that person’s native language is a good way to gain their trust.
“Multinational companies like people who have skills that are useful around the world,” says Birmingham. “Speaking other languages, especially the Spanish language, is a valuable skill all over the world.”
Not just the Spanish language in the whole world
In the United States, being able to speak the Spanish language is becoming more and more valuable.
Birmingham thought that almost 70% of the signs in the Atlanta suburb of Norcross were written in Spanish after he went there recently.
“It’s not just California and Texas anymore,” he is said to have said.
“In the Southeast, the number of people who speak Spanish is growing.
“They come to work in agriculture and manufacturing, which opens up job opportunities for managers and supervisors who speak two languages.
Customer service companies want to hire people who can speak more than one language.
Because there are more people who speak Spanish in the U.S., both as customers and employees. There is a higher demand for bilingual customer service workers in many fields and settings. Such as at the Department of Motor Vehicles, in call centers, and in the hospitality industry.
The Association for Human Resource Management says that between 10 and 20% of call center employees can speak more than one language. Some call centers pay bilingual workers an extra fifty cents to a dollar more per hour, but this depends on what other skills are needed.
According to a poll done by Korn/Ferry, the most demand for bilingual workers is in the consumer services industry. This is especially true in the banking, retail, and telecommunications industries. Executives who speak more than one language are in high demand. Especially in marketing, sales, general management, and president and CEO roles.
How Cultural Values Have Changed
More and more people in the United States can speak more than one language. This shows that their culture is changing. Birmingham says that the United States of America is not a country where people speak more than one language.
“Many students choose to study a second language because it is required for them to graduate.”
On the other hand, he sees a change in the way people think, especially among those who want to work in the global economy.
“You’ll take Spanish more seriously if you want to work around the world or if you want to go into banking, business. Or any other field where you’ll travel,” says Birmingham.
“If you want to work internationally or if you want to start a business that requires you to travel.”
Birmingham says that Spanish-speaking job seekers have more options than just putting their language skills on their resumes. You could show how confident and strong you are by suggesting that you do a job interview in Spanish. This is a possible answer.
Important to keep in mind about the Spanish language
It’s important to keep in mind that both English and Spanish could become less important in global business in the future.
Information Please keep track of how many people speak English and Spanish as their first language. At the moment, 329 million people speak Spanish as their first language, while 328 million people speak English.
On the other hand, more than 1.2 billion people around the world speak Mandarin Chinese.
Arabic is spoken by nearly a quarter of the world’s people. But it’s not all that simple. Just as the Chinese language has dozens of other dialects besides Mandarin, Arabic is a multitude of dialects and patois that make it nearly impossible, for instance, for a native from Arabia to understand a native from Tunisia. Berber Arabic is a completely different kettle of soup from Iraqi Arabic.
So in the world of translator work it’s not only important to know a second language, but to also know several different dialects within that language. Even Spanish, which many consider a monolithic language, varies widely around the globe. The Spanish spoken in parts of Mexico is nearly incomprehensible to residents of Spain. And even in Spain itself there is a large minority who speak Basque, not Spanish. Finding a Basque translator is just about impossible. If you can speak Basque you can pretty much write your own ticket in the career you choose.
