I’m an ICAEW Campus Ambassador currently studying English and Drama at the University of Kent. I’m doing a series of weekly blogs for 6 weeks about the skills I learned studying Business Administration and Mandarin at the University of California Berkeley’s Haas Business School. These blogs cover what skills employees look for and how you can foster these in yourself to ensure you get the graduate job you want.
In this blog I will talk about the career advantages of learning a second language. I wanted to mention the importance of this skill for both your application to great jobs and your future career path.
Last week we talked about presenting. Although being able to present effectively in your own language is impressive enough, having the ability to present in another one, will put you head and shoulders above the competition. One of the greatest challenges of my year abroad was presenting weekly in Mandarin Chinese as part of the assessment for my Mandarin language course. If you’re looking to go the extra mile to enhance your employability it is definitely worth considering.
If you have never seriously studied another language, don’t worry. You don’t need to change university courses to impress graduate employers. But perhaps doing an additional language module at your university or even self-study is worth taking into consideration; enough to show employers that you are serious about learning the language. Before undertaking my year abroad, I undertook a short additional course in Mandarin at the University of Kent, and then within my year abroad at Berkeley I undertook two intensive classes for the whole year. Finally, I am planning on doing another short course at the University of Kent this year.
As globalization continues, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to understand and embrace emerging markets and foreign economies. As a result, bi-lingual employees are in demand. If you can understand another language in terms of business, you can help a company make use of emerging markets, aid in overseas business negotiations, remain competitive on the global stage, understand foreign consumers and much more. As a result, it may prove a very exciting career path, where you have opportunities for worldwide travel.
It is worth being selective about what language you choose. The widely spoken languages such as Spanish are always useful. But it is the native languages of countries that are emerging as global business leaders, including more unique languages such as Arabic and Mandarin, which are increasingly in demand. However, The Economist suggests that French may be the most useful: ‘if you want another truly global language, there are surprisingly few candidates, and for me French is unquestionably top of the list’.
In reality, a grasp of any major language is a plus. If you can show that in a few years of employment you will have developed fluency you will be seen as a real long term asset to any company.
As ever, if you have any comments or questions at all please go ahead and I’ll help any way I can. Good luck!
Next week I will be discussing how you can enhance your leadership skills and seriously impress employers as a result. So make sure you join me next week!
Check out the links below if you want more advise about what language would be best for you:
The Economist - http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/robert-lane-greene/which-best-language-learn
Most widely spoken languages - http://listverse.com/2008/06/26/top-10-most-spoken-languages-in-the-world/
If you’ve been inspired by reading this blog, it may surprise you that all of these skills are used in a graduate career as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant.
Discover how you can become an ICAEW Chartered Accountant at http://www.icaew.com/careers
See when the ICAEW Student Recruitment Team (UK) will be on your campus this autumn and message them at http://www.facebook.com/icaewcareers
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