Job interviews can be stressful, especially when you know that there could be just one little detail separating you from another applicant with a similar resume. Maybe the interviewer is having a bad day. Maybe the previous candidate made a much better first impression. Maybe you need to be better prepared for the interview questions.
But, presenting certain skills, such as knowing a foreign language, gives you a huge upper hand over the other candidates. By being multilingual, you’ll have a significantly better chance, not only to be hired but also to negotiate a better salary and position.
You should know, though, that not all languages rank the same in terms of contributing to one’s career. In this article, we’ll go through several different foreign languages that could make your CV more appealing for employers and give your career a boost.
Chinese (Mandarin)
Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, in terms of native speakers alone, as China is the most populated country. It is also a common language in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Mongolia, and Thailand. All of these countries have vast business potential. China, particularly, has a thriving market and a lot of manufacturing units. It is the world’s largest exporter, and at the very top of the list when it comes to importing. It also has a thriving service sector and a very competitive agriculture industry.
Unfortunately, Chinese is one of the most complicated languages to learn because it has a whole new alphabet to master before you move on to vocabulary and grammar. But it’s well worth the effort if you’re eager to tap into the lucrative market or work in China.
Spanish
Spanish covers Spain in Europe, entire Latin America (except for Brasil), and a large part of the USA. Furthermore, it is estimated that the Hispanic population will grow by 50% in the States by 2050. Currently, there is a large number of small and medium businesses operating in Spanish in the US.
As for the other 20 countries where Spanish is the native language, the opportunities for employment and partnerships are colorful. Spain, for instance, is famous for its pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and agriculture. Costa Rica has a thriving tourism industry, but it is also at the very top when it comes to electronics. Argentina is a leader in beverages and food processing. Petroleum, mining, and tobacco are just some of Mexico’s biggest industries, and so on.
One of the biggest advantages of this foreign language is that it’s simple to master, especially if you use the opportunity to learn in a Spanish-speaking country.
Russian
Russian is considered to be a good language to learn if you are in the fields of diplomacy, but it is also useful in the fields of chemicals and petrochemicals, fuel and energy, agriculture, and machine construction. Another really important incentive for mastering the Russian language is that Russians, regardless of how great they are in business, rarely speak English or any other second language. This can give you a big advantage over competing candidates for a job position in companies exporting to Russia or having business partners in this country.
However, this is a complicated language to learn. If you decide to do it, you need to be committed and hardworking.
Japanese
Japan is the high-tech leader of the world, famous for innovations in the fields of robotics and electronics. If you’re interested in these fields, it would be a good idea to learn Japanese to get the benefits of their industry and connect with the innovators. The Japanese language is bound to open many doors for partnerships in these areas, and it will give your potential employers an additional reason to hire you.
Many Japanese business people operate internationally, so they do speak English, but usually not very fluently. You should know that this is the second most difficult language to learn, after Chinese.
German
Germany boasts the most successful economy in Europe, and it stands as one of the largest exporters in the world. Germans are famous for engineering, especially when it comes to cars and machines. They’re also not too far behind in the fields of biology, chemistry, finance, and pharmacy.
More than 130 million people speak this language, and if you get the opportunity to do business with Germans, you will notice they are professional and disciplined business partners. An additional perk is that this language is easy to learn, especially for English speakers, because they are similar in terms of grammar and vocabulary.
Conclusion
Depending on your field of work and your interests, you can also choose other prospective languages such as Portuguese, Arabic, French, or Hindi. English, of course, is a must because it is the most commonly spoken language in the world, and the opportunities it offers are immense.