For a start, we’re going to hit you with some stats about employees’ attitudes to language learning in career development.
Consider these: 61% of employees agree that speaking other languages would help them professionally, and 79% are willing to learn a new language for their jobs.
What about you?
If you still have second thoughts and hesitate, read this article explaining how harnessing your language skills can impact your professional growth.
Dive in!
Top 5 Benefits of Learning Languages for Your Career
The following facts and career advantages of language skills will help you cast off your doubts, leaving them by the roadside of your career path.
Competitive edge and more career opportunities
Fact: 56% of employers say their demand for bilingual talent will grow dramatically in the upcoming years. Also, nine in ten companies count more on workers who speak other languages besides English.
Max Wesman, Founder & COO of GoodHire, believes “An extra language in your resume or CV can be a huge competitive advantage in job hunting, hiring, and interviewing. It’s often one of the factors defining the employer preferences of job applicants. When evaluating CVs, the employer is more likely to prioritize the multilingual candidate than the monolingual one.”
Besides, you can find joy in your bilingualism and celebrate it by exploring new job possibilities with your language skills.
Here’s a selection of the topmost careers for multilingual individuals:
Journalist
Hotel manager
Tour guide
IT specialist
Foreign language tutor
Voice-over
Interpreter
Translator, etc.
For example:
Being multilingual, Irith Bouman works as a certified translator and offers translation services from Dutch and English to Hebrew.
Note: Communications with international companies speaking Hebrew are projected to increase by 70%. So, it may be wise to consider learning Hebrew to earn from translations.
Better pay
“Acquiring new language skills for a career is the investment that keeps paying off continuously,” says Jim Pendergast, Senior Vice President at altLINE Sobanco. He explains further how it works:
“Generally, multilingualism exposes you to higher-paid jobs. Moreover, you can harvest a bigger reward in the current position when your task list diversifies or expands due to knowing other languages.”
For example, let’s say you’re a manager at a banking institution. Using languages for your career, you could work with foreign clients and close more deals, increasing your earning potential.
Fact: Bilingual workers earn 5% to 20% more than monolingual employees.
Improved cognition, productivity, and creativity
Language learning makes you a better person in many ways. One of them is improving your cognitive functions like these:
Logic and reasoning
Critical thinking
Planning
Concentration
Problem-solving
Decision-making
Memory, etc.
According to Stephan Baldwin, Founder of Assisted Living, “Numerous studies among older adults prove the advantage of second language acquisition for memorizing and recalling the information. Bilinguals have considerably better memory and recall than their monolingual peers.”
It’s particularly critical for those working with large lumps of data. As a bi/monolingual, you can memorize information more effectively and concentrate on tasks better, increasing productivity.
The importance of language skills for professional development also lies in higher creative abilities. While 90% of learners agree or strongly agree that a new language helps develop thinking/analytical skills, 67% notice a boost in creativity.
Enhanced professional connections and relationships in the workplace
“In the era of multilingual and multicultural hiring, language skills aren’t an alternative to consider. They are necessary,” states Robert Kaskel, Chief People Officer at Checkr.
“Since your co-workers may come from different countries, each having a particular cultural background and mother tongue, languages will help you better understand your team members (their culture, traditions, and way of life) and build stronger professional and personal connections with them,” he notes.
Indeed, the career benefits of language skills become tangible when it comes to embracing linguistic diversity in the workplace. As employers seek to foster a corporate culture of understanding and belonging, they want employees to be more inclusive and empathetic.
Fact: There’s a correlation between empathy and language learning. New languages form an ability to empathize because they challenge you to look at other people from a different viewpoint (linguistically and culturally).
Promotion to a higher-level position
Language skills are a beneficial asset that may advance your career. You can be recommended for a job promotion as a highly valuable worker because a new language adds considerable worth to your skill set.
It’s easier to get noticed, earn a promotion, and go up the career ladder when you show the desire to develop professionally through language learning.
For example, Japanese is the gateway to innovative technologies, robotics, or electronics. You could learn Japanese and drive revolutionary innovations in your company, leading your team to success. Meanwhile, your contribution to business can be rewarded with a promotion and salary raise.
Another example:
Speaking foreign languages, you can land a leadership role to manage intercultural teams or a senior position for dealing with foreign customers remotely or participating in business trips abroad.
Master Your Language Skills with LinguaLift to Advance in Career
Now that you know the significance of language skills for your career prospects, you should enhance your proficiency in the chosen language. Ready to upskill and speed up your professional development but need a lift?
Hop on and start your free lesson at LinguaLift!
