Learning a new language for career advancement abroad

How will a new language help in career progress abroad?

• Provides job opportunities
• Earns higher salaries
• Builds better professional relationships
• Opens up new job options
• Will help attract MNCs
• Improves ability to solve problems

Learning a new language for career advancement abroad

When you are asked to learn a new language, it may feel like a tough task. It may also make you ask if it is worth the time. But when you get across your message, even in a broken manner, to others in a new language, you will definitely feel a sense of accomplishment.

There have been leaders and other tall figures in the past and present – polyglots (people who speak several languages) – who have been able to reach higher positions just because of their ability to communicate with people from different cultures or backgrounds.

That is why learning a new language is not just another hobby but a route to success in different aspects of life. Language has proven to make individuals more receptive and flexible, allowing them to adjust to people hailing from different strata. It will then make you bond strongly with people far away from your native places and multiply your travel opportunities.

The biggest benefit, of course, is that when you learn a new language, you are investing in your future. Language skills will help you bag more job opportunities with higher salaries.

Just like English, there are other languages spoken in a multitude of countries, such as Spanish, French, Arabic, and Portuguese. Learning one of these will be your gateway to several countries at the same time.

How do new language skills aid in career advancement?

At times, knowledge of a second language will indirectly help you get a job, even if that role does not require skills in another language.

People who have learned new languages can tell you that it has helped them view the world from different perspectives, which they thought would not have been possible otherwise. More importantly, it would help individuals understand new cultures because they can empathize with people from other cultures whose languages they understand. Such individuals are truly sought-after by employers though their skills would not help them directly in their jobs.

For instance, if you are a tradesperson who knows Arabic, you would be able to get a work visa to one of the 20-plus countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Similar would be the case with French and Spanish languages in other parts of the world. It is a plus for marketing professionals when they are on the lookout for a new job.

Furthermore, people who are fluent in a language other than their mother tongue can become translators, interpreters, tourist guides, teachers, etc.

If you have applied for an Australian work visa and have a certification in the English language from IELTS or TOEFL, you would be given the job even if there were applicants as skilled as you for the same position. The others would only be considered if they have strong English language skills. In this case, the employees would think you would get on better in the workplace and with the local Australians as you would adjust more quickly there.

Even if you are working in a native country and your company wants to send someone to Canada on a brief stint, they will think of sending you because you are at home in English.

How do second language skills help?

According to studies, employers in advanced economies that are home to people from multicultural backgrounds, people who speak more than one language are compensated more than those who do not.

Companies, after all, can up their revenues only when there is better communication and coordination at the workplace. This is only possible when multilingual individuals are managing people from diverse backgrounds.

Bilingual people are smarter

There are studies that have proven that people who speak more than one language are better at solving problems and more creative. The reason behind that is that when people speak in different languages effortlessly, their brains exercise more. It also helps them process ideas better, it is said.

Gateway to career progress

In multinational enterprises, people with multilingual capabilities are relied on to complete specific tasks by negotiating with people from foreign cultures. Even small companies would make use of bilingual or trilingual people when showcasing their talents if they intend to scale up their operations in different parts of the world.

Here, people must note that multilingual people need not be highly proficient in the other language. All they should be capable of is effectively conveying the message to the intended recipients.

If you wish to go abroad to work and think that your language skills need to be refined, get in touch with Y-Axis, a premier overseas career consultancy, to improve them.    

HOW Y-AXIS CAN HELP YOU?

Thousands of professionals approach Y-Axis every year to help them realize their overseas career ambitions. Our suite of services includes:

• Resume Writing Services: Ensure your resume meets international standards and showcases your strengths
• LinkedIn Marketing: Improve your chances of getting discovered online by recruiters and companies with our LinkedIn marketing solutions
• Resume Marketing: Be present in your target country’s job market with our Resume Marketing services that apply for jobs on your behalf through overseas job boards, classifieds & job postings
• Providing job search services

With Y-Axis, you not only discover opportunities that are best suited for you but also get the tools and experience to help you with the highest chances of success. Talk to us today to begin your journey of working abroad.