Getting A Job With Your Second Language

Everyone learns a language for a different reason, but a lot of people are motivated so they can improve their employment chances.

Some people may have a dream job lined up in their head, while others may want to just be able to work in a country that speaks to the language they are learning.

No matter what your reason is for learning a language, once you can actually speak it, you can use it to help your career, even if that was something you had never thought about before.

You Have Better Chance Of Getting A Jobs

Studies have suggested that you actually have a better chance of getting a job when you are bilingual.

Of course you can argue that this depends on the job. Some jobs you need to be bilingual, someone who can only speak one language will never get a job as a translator for example, that’s just never going to happen. 

But in general, it is believed to be more beneficial for you but it’s not clear why. It could just be as simple as the employers see it subconsciously as an advantage over other applicants. They will assume you must be smarter and will therefore make a better employee.

It could also be because you are the better candidate for the job. It is believed that bilingual people actually use more of their brains, which means they can be in general more creative and are also better at solving problems.

Basically your language skills could actually just make the other areas of your brain stronger and more efficient, so you outperform your rival candidates in the interview.   

Either way you are more likely to get the job, which is always good to know, even if you have no interest in using your language in your working life.

There Is An Increase In Demand For Employees With A Second Language

We now live in a world that has a global marketplace and this has actually led to more demand for employees who can speak a second language.

Large companies are now are spread all over the world which means they are always looking to employee more people who can speak multiple languages to help them grow further and faster.

The global marketplace getting bigger every year and you can be a part of if you are able to speak a second language. You are instantly in a better position to fulfil this demand.

If you have not thought about using your language as part of your career, you should consider it. You have a valuable skill and while you may just want to learn so you can watch movies, you could be also using it to make money.   

How Good Does Your Second Language Need To Be, To Get A Job?

How good your language skills need to be in your second language will depend on job you are applying for.

It just makes sense that you are going to need to be a lot better at speaking the second language if you are in a call centre, dealing with complicated inquiries about mortgages, compared to being a labourer on a building site who maybe only needs to understand basic instructions in the language.

However, no matter the job, you will need to have some proficiency in the language. You need to at least have a decent grasp of the language to make sure you can get by and of course pass the interview. 

If you are a beginner, you will probably struggle to get by on holiday, let alone try and pass a job interview that involves using a second language.

I would not even consider using your language as part of your career until you feel very comfortable with everyday conversations and have put a lot of hours in actually communicating with native speakers.

If you can talk to a native about pretty much anything you want and it always goes pretty smoothly, you should be able to handle working with the language. Of course causal speech and work life speech may be pretty different, but I would say you will be able to make the switch pretty easily.

Proof You Can Speak The Language

You will find that when you go to a job interview, they will always assess how well you speak the required language.

This is especially true if you are applying for a job that is public facing. They will want to see that you can speak clearly, confidently and effectively. They don’t want to see any mumbling or negative things like this. 

However, a lot of the times just being able to speak the language is not proof enough, as crazy as that sounds. Unfortunately they will also usually ask you for a certificate of your education, which you will either, will have or not.

Even if you are a native speaker, they will still want this proof. This is why they ask to see your see your school achievements. All they want to know is that you have passed high school. So long as you can show that, they are happy enough you can speak the language as such.

CEFR Certificates

If you come from another country they will not care about your school records, but instead will ask for your CERF certificate (or similar).

They will have usually told you what level they want you to have achieved and they will want to see that you have reached this standard.

If you cannot show a certificate to prove your level, they may not give you the job, even if you are pretty much fluent in the language to a native level.

Obviously every employer is different and every job application is different, but usually if they want to see a CERF certificate or school records, you will need to show them one or the other.

This is why the CEFR exams are so popular and everyone talks about them all the time. They really are the benchmark for businesses across European languages.

It can be a lot of effort to go and do the exam and pass it, but once you have that certificate it is like having your “work passport” and it can open a lot of doors in the employment world.     

If you are like me and only learn for fun, then the CEFR is not really important at all, but the second you want a job, it becomes very necessary to get the certificate.    

Where Can You Actually Get A Job?

Once you are able to speak a second language you will actually have a number of different options for where you can actually work.

Working Abroad And Using your Second Language

When most people think of working with a second language they usually imagine working abroad, which is certainly a very popular option.

This can actually be broken down into two main areas, using just the local language, or using both your languages.  

If you are able to speak the local language you can basically get any job that anyone else from that country could do as such. There might some restrictions, such as joining their army, but overall, you can act like a local and can have the same job opportunities as them. There is nothing stopping you form fully integrating into their society.   

The other type of job will be involving both your native language and the local language. Most people who move abroad usually end up doing something like this. Jobs like language teachers, translators or working in the tourism sector are very popular for people who move abroad.

Work In Your Own Country, Using A Second Language

Just because you can speak a second language, does not mean you need to leave you own country to use it.

You will be able to find all sorts great jobs based in your own country that can make use of the language skills you have acquired.

These jobs are often very similar to those you can do abroad, such as translating or teaching, or the tourism industry, it’s that you will be a local and will be helping people who have come to your country by speaking their language.  

The list of jobs that could involve your second language along with your own language, while still living in your own country are pretty endless.

Remote Working

We also now live in an age where working online is really popular. This means you can basically work from anywhere in the world from your computer.

All you need to do is apply for a job that requires you to speak whatever language you can, and then you can do it from anywhere. You could even go a country where you don’t speak the local language and still work.

Probably the biggest sector that this happens in, is teaching. You can teach your native or your second language online and do it at any time, from any location.    

A Second Language Can Get You A Higher Paid Job

In general, jobs that involve the use of two languages will pay better than other jobs. This makes sense, you have an extra skill that a lot of people want, but do not have.

This along with the increase in demand for language speakers means that jobs where you need more than one language will pay more. It looks like all those hours studying your second language could actually pay you back.

However, if you move to a different country and just get a “normal” job there, speaking only the local language, you will not get paid any more. These types of jobs are not really paying you for being bilingual and you are probably not going to be using your native language while at work, so there is no reason to pay you more.

However, maybe you have moved to a country where in general, the wages are better than your own country. So potentially you could still be winning.   

Conclusion

If you are learning a language for fun, perhaps you should also consider the huge employment benefits it can bring you.

Finding a job that involves your second language could totally change your life and open up a whole new world of opportunities to you.

Being able to speak a second language is a skill that employers are looking for, so don’t be scared to exploit the skills you have worked so hard to gain, Use it to your advantage. 

(You can read more about – The Extra Benefits Of Learning A Language)