6 Reasons Why Learning a Language Can Skyrocket Your Career

Whatever your reasons for learning a language are, it is an undeniable fact that nowadays, knowing a second language is a sought-out skill for companies, and the more skills you have, the more likely you are to find a good job and have a successful career. The reasons for this are many, and although they are all different, you may very well find each of these points doing good to your career at some point or another. Although you may not be in a company or field of work where languages themselves give you any advantage, learning a language may help you make a change for the better in a different place, or, if you love your place of work learning a language will make you a more competent person in your workplace.

Today, we will give you 6 simple reasons why you should start learning a language to skyrocket your career.

6 Reasons Why Learning a Language can Skyrocket your Career (Video)

 

6 Reasons Why Learning a Language can Skyrocket your Career

1. Languages will give you a big competitive advantage over other candidates and colleagues.

   Needless to say that in an international company, knowing a relevant language will not only help you get the job, but go up the ladder. But this is also true for a company that, although isn’t international, has to deal with foreign investors, clients, or suppliers. For some positions, knowing another language might be a must-have, for others, it’ll give you serious competitive advantages over anyone that doesn’t. Especially if the company has international involvements.
   Sometimes new positions are made just because a person knows a language. I know this from experience… This happened to me! I became a translator for a company that initially wasn’t even looking for one! They saw the potential I could bring to the company and hired me.
   Are you going to be that person the company can’t do without? Remember. People are paid what they’re worth!

2. Mastering a foreign language is simply compulsory for many jobs (translators, interpreters, tourist officers and guides, diplomats…)

   Doors are never opened to those who can’t walk through them. All of us have seen adverts for jobs that require knowing a language that we didn’t know. And, not knowing them, we just skip through them and quickly forget we ever saw them. But if you knew that language, you could apply to those jobs, jobs that may be better paid, or have better working conditions than your current one (or both).
   Translators often work from home, interpreters often get to see many interesting places, and diplomats, well, the money makes learning a language worthwhile (not that it should ever feel like a chore. For example, watching movies is a great way to learn a language).

3. Languages will open doors for you at multinationals and international companies doing business worldwide.

   Again, who’s going to get that dream job at a multinational? The person who barely knows how to present himself in a foreign language, or the person who’s able to go abroad to hold meetings and make deals? Of course, you can’t just speak everyday Spanish (for example) for this; you need to know business Spanish.

   There are obviously many reasons why such companies need people who know foreign languages. Companies taping into a new market will need someone who can go live abroad and open doors for them – people who can talk the talk. Don’t fancy moving abroad? No need to. Companies like these need people who know various languages right where they are. They need them for communication between various branches, deals made with foreign clients, visits by investors… This can be a real upward spiral: in such circumstances, not only will knowing another language help you get a better job, but you may be involved in projects (such as for translating purposes) you wouldn’t normally be involved in, thus boosting your experience which will in turn help you have an even more successful career.

4. If you dream about spending a period of your life abroad, you are more likely to succeed if you speak a foreign language.

   Although you can learn on the go, you’d be giving yourself a real boost if you know the local language. Not only this, but not knowing the local language will pretty much impede you getting any job worth keeping until you finally learn it. Going back to the point above, you could even be sent abroad by a multinational and work in a country of your dream with a much better pay than you would get for doing the same job in your own country! People who know foreign languages and are willing to live abroad are very valuable.

5. Learning a new language can give you connections.
   

   Unfortunately, many times, to have a successful career it’s not what you know, but who you know. And although we’re not endorsing that, learning a language will help you make connections with people other candidates or colleagues of yours can’t even communicate with! Albeit, some foreigners aren’t as influential as others, but knowing that foreigners tend to know a great deal of other people from their country or who speak their language (birds of a feather flock together), you may find yourself with a better job because you ‘knew a guy who knew a guy’…
   You’ll also be more culturally aware of important foreign visitors coming to your company, and will be able to avoid making gaffes and unintentional insults (don’t do the A-ok sign to a Brazilian, for example).

6. Knowing a second language comes hand-in-hand with other valuable qualities and skills in business.

   Apart from delaying Alzheimer’s disease, learning a language entails other qualities, some which bring advantages for the work environment and are bound to help you develop a successful career. It has been shown to:
   – boost self-convince
   – better logical thinking
   – improve problem solving, especially when making unbiased decision
   – increase memory and attention span
   – develop multitasking abilities

And if you do not know what language to learn, have a look at this article about the most useful languages for work.

We wish you a happy learning and a successful career!