Whether you’re new to the business world or not, gathering important skills to get or maintain a job is essential. If a company compares resumes, they’re going to pick the one that has different abilities over the one that only listed his/her major.
Of course, there’s also an interview and maybe an exam. But in general, skills are very important to get a job or a raise. They want to see what you have to offer.
And one of the most important skills is languages. Do you know more than one? Are you a polyglot? How fluent are you in those languages? They will open many doors for you, no matter what industry you work in.
That’s why we have gathered the best languages to learn that will help you grow your career. So, you can choose one that fits you best and learn it!
How Languages Can Help You Grow Your Career
Companies are more likely to hire you
Thanks to the current globality of the world, companies need employees that can help them reach international markets. So the more languages you know, but most importantly, the better you handle those languages, the best. Remember that in the end, it’s more about quality than quantity.
So, in order to get hired you need to be able to communicate correctly with foreign business partners and clients. For that, you need to write correctly and be fluent in your second language. So be sure that your language proficiency is great.
You can get a raise
If you’re already working at a company, you can still learn new skills. Invest in language classes, you don’t even have to walk or take the bus to school. There are language classes that are completely online, like those we have at TruFluency.
Plus, you have an advantage, you know what your company is about, what your boss is looking for and what international markets they’d like to reach. So based on that, you can pick the language you’ll learn.
This will give you more chances of getting a raise because you’ll contribute something new and valuable to the company. Either they’ll pay you more or they’ll upgrade your job position, which will also give you more money.
You can work abroad
If you have a high level of second language fluency, you can get a job in another country. Just pick a country you like and where they speak your second language. And then send your resume to different job vacancies there. If you do get a job, a great plus will be that you will get to practice your language skills with actual natives. All the time! You’ll improve even more!
But maybe you’re already working. That’s fine too. In that case, you’ll have more chances to be sent by your company to work in or even supervise one of their international branch offices. You’ll become an expatriate employee. And besides improving your language and cultural skills, that will also help you improve your resume.
Grow your own business
If you’re a business owner yourself, you can grow it by knowing a second language. Even if it’s not a big business yet. You can reach other audiences with your language skills; they’ll connect with you. And that way you’ll get new clients, new buyers, and potential partners!
The more popular the language you know, the better, because you’ll reach people from different countries that speak that language. For example, if your second language is Spanish, you can get to people from Spain and Latin America. And that will absolutely grow your business.
The 5 Best Languages to Learn for Your Career
1. Spanish
Spanish is first on our list of best language to learn for your career because it is one of the most spoken languages around the world. There are 21 countries that have it as their official language, and many other people learn it as their second one.
This means you have a lot of places to go to work as a Spanish speaker. It also means that you can connect with more people than if you were speaking a less popular language. So you can create more business relationships.
There are even countries whose official language is not Spanish, but still have a large percentage of Spanish speakers, like in America So this language will also help you connect with people from non-Spanish speaking countries.
Spanish teachers in countries that are not official Spanish speakers are always needed. Because of the demand of the language. And they really like hiring native teachers. So you could go live abroad to teach Spanish as a foreign language classes.
The fact that Spanish is widely popular also makes it a useful skill that companies look for. Because they want to expand their company to Spanish speaking locations and audiences.
Spanish can also be your way to getting a raise. Since it’s an important language that companies look for, you will be valuable to them. And that could mean a raise thanks to your Spanish skills.
Oh, and if you know Spanish, it might get easier for you to learn more Romance languages later. Which will result in having even more language skills to get even better job opportunities!
2. German
German is a great language to do business in Europe because, besides Germany, it’s also the official language of Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and part of Switzerland. So, you will reach many audiences in Europe by speaking it. Whether you work from afar or go live as an expatriate in any of those countries. Plus, there are more people that speak German in other countries too.
German speakers are also well-paid in many U.S. states, as Forbes stated in one of its articles. For example, according to that same article, in San Francisco, you can get paid around $124,897 if you know this language. And in Chicago, you can get paid up to $144,880.
Of course, all of these also depend on your skills, your job, and your position. But there’s no doubt that knowing German will be a huge advantage for you.
3. Mandarin
Mandarin is the second most spoken language in the world, with over a billion speakers. And China has one of the biggest economies in the world. All of this makes Mandarin Chinese one of the best languages to learn to get job opportunities.
Though one might think that you can mostly work in China to truly take advantage of your language skills, that’s not completely true. Of course, you can work there. And it would be a great opportunity to improve your Mandarin, get more work experience, and appreciate another culture. But Mandarin is also spoken in Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.
Or you can also work from abroad helping your firm do business with Chinese companies and other businessmen. Since China’s economy is so important and they have a large population, many foreign companies will want to reach that market. You can help them achieve that.
Not every job, though, is about doing business; you can also be a programmer, a professor, or any other job. And Mandarin will still bring you many work benefits.
4. French
French is usually seen as a very romantic language because of its beautiful sound. It’s also related to the arts. If you know the language you can understand French literature, music, and cinema, which are greatly done.
The good news is, French is also great to grow your career opportunities. It’s not just beautiful; it’s useful. First, if you work in the arts, imagine working in a country with such a rich artistic history. You could study French literature in France, work as a dancer in the Moulin Rouge or the Paris Opera, or act in a French movie.
Of course, you can work in any other industry too. But you need to know the language very well to understand your coworkers, business partners, and clients. Or just like with other languages, you could work from your own country helping your company connect with French-speaking clients and businessmen.
Also, French is spoken in more than just one country. It is the official language in 29 countries! That means you can do business in many nations and reach a huge number of international markets. That’s a lot of opportunities out there for you!
Remember the Forbes article about high-paying languages in the U.S.? French is one of them! So you could get a good deal by speaking a very beautiful and popular language.
Oh, and don’t forget that it’s a Romance language, just like Spanish. So it could be easier for you to learn another romance language if you already know this one. And a third language wouldn’t hurt your resume.
5. English
Of course, we could not leave out the most spoken language in the world from our list of best languages to learn for your career!
You could think that since it’s very common, there will be a lot of competition and not many vacancies looking for English speakers. But it’s all the contrary! A lot of jobs require you to speak English. Precisely because it’s very popular you might encounter clients or potential business partners that only speak this language. And you need to communicate correctly to properly deal with them.
In such a globalized world like the one we live in nowadays, English connects everyone. It even helps you connect with someone that’s not from an English-speaking country. If you don’t know their native language, chances are they also understand English and you can communicate that way.
It’s all about the position and what you’ll do at work. But there are even some jobs that ask for you to know at least the basics of the English language. Even if you don’t have to speak with clients, you might have to read documents in that language.
Plus, believe it or not, not everyone knows the language. So, if you don’t live in an English-speaking country but you still know the language, you’ll be a great prospect for companies. Because, once again, they most probably want to reach the English market, since it’s so big and connects to other markets. English is perfect for networking
Increase Your Chances of Getting a Better Job with TruFluency Language Classes
If you are looking to get a new and better job or a promotion, TruFluency can help you. Now that you know that learning a language for your career will help boost your chances, why not take our language classes?
With our Bellieu Method, we will make sure that you speak the language of your choice fluently. That will be a very striking skill for recruiters: for you to be able to actually speak the language. Because if you do, you’ll help them connect with people.
We will also teach you useful vocabulary and everyday expressions, not just robotic sentences and word lists. So you’ll be able to communicate properly with natives.
All of our classes are online and customized to your goals. So you can study from anywhere and be sure that you’ll learn what you need.
Choose your own schedule and get started start now with 20% off of your first month of classes with code TF20.
