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| 이희선 Groupie Australia Joined 4975 days ago 56 posts - 97 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Russian | Message 9 of 13 02 March 2013 at 6:23am | IP Logged |
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I would be careful in putting too much stock into a non-native language as a skill asset in a job search. If you're
not looking into a job that explicitly requires language as a main skill, such as teaching, translating, etc., then it might not be the best idea to solely major in a language. As you noted, a double major, or a language minor, would still allow you to develop other qualifications. If you intend for your language skills to be complementary to your skill set, then you need to look for jobs or companies that require that specific language to be part of your skill set. The only way the market will covet it, is if the market has the need for it. Yes, the company may be international, and they may even work with French speaking people, but if the need for French language use is in manufacturing, and you're in sales, then your ability doesn't really matter very much. I'd start focusing right away on what kind of major job function you'd like to do, and then see how you can fit your language ability into it. Find out which companies have international presences, what populations they work with, what kind of requirements they look for in candidates (do a search on Monster or other job site, use a language as a key word, get a view of the market.) I'd go with what Chung said above, and indicate certificates, time abroad, schooling, or previous work in that language as marks of my proficiency. All the while not sweating it because they aren't the major selling points of my skill set. If you're truly interested in studying a language in an immersion environment, you could look into government based scholarships. The US Department of State offers the Critical Language Enhancement Award, of which I believe Chinese is still an eligible language. Also, the Taiwan government offers an award for Chinese Language study only - the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship. They pay for your schooling and you get a decent living stipend; successful applicants range from having no Chinese ability to very good ability. I'm sure many other countries have study programs as well. Also, I would consider schooling in another language - the universities in some countries are much cheaper than in America, while still a quality education. I know a number of people who got degrees in Korea or China, because they could get scholarships with stipends, plus experience living abroad and language immersion. Finally, you could just go to a country to teach English or Spanish as an income supplement while taking some language classes. You'd have to check with the country's visa and work permit laws to determine feasibility, though. Edited by 이희선 on 02 March 2013 at 6:28am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5381 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 10 of 13 02 March 2013 at 11:59pm | IP Logged |
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I do hiring at my office and review a lot of resumes when we are hiring. Language skills are not really necessary or helpful for applicants simply because language skills are not necessary in my office. I also seem to have developed a knack for helping Spaniards edit their resumes for finding work in English speaking countries. I can tell you what I think and hopefully it may help a bit.
If I were looking for someone who was competent in the language the most important thing I would want to see was previous job experience in a position using that language. Even if it was working at McDonald's in Mexico for the summer, that would mean a lot if the applicant had actually successfully held down a job using the language... and carry more weight to me than a certificate or degree in the language. In fact, I don't think a foreign language degree would be that valuable. Get a degree in something else. Attending a university in a foreign country for a semester and taking (and passing) classes taught in the foreign language would be a huge plus on a resume. Other options would be to spend a summer in a foreign country immersed in the language. You mention cost and French... depending where you live in the US, you could immerse yourself in French in Quebec pretty cheaply and easily for a summer. One thing not to do... don't overstate your qualifications. I had an applicant say on her resume she was "conversational in Spanish." She was absolutely not conversational in any way shape or form and I learned that pretty easily. Someone else in my office hired her and the fact that she was dishonest about her language abilities impacted my opinion of her the entire time she worked with us (other than that blemish, however, she really was an amazing employee). Edited by James29 on 03 March 2013 at 12:01am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 7162 days ago 4228 posts - 8259 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish | Message 11 of 13 03 March 2013 at 12:31am | IP Logged |
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I should have added to what's been said above that one's often better off getting a qualification and experience that's relevant to the job that you're looking for. The beauty in learning foreign languages is that it can be done easily outside the classroom or in what's thought of as "free time" and there's also a noticeable social angle to it where you can apply your knowledge again in "free time" (e.g. Meetups, travelling, taking in authentic material on your couch, plain ol' socializing with friends who speak those languages). On the other hand, doing labs as part of a science degree, or wrapping your head around accounting practices for a business degree, or learning aircraft mechanics in a mock hangar aren't things that you can (or likely want) to do in your living room.
See the following for related commentary: Languages for International Business Job Opportunities for Linguists Languages as your work 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| embici Triglot Senior Member CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4616 days ago 263 posts - 370 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: Greek | Message 12 of 13 03 March 2013 at 3:00am | IP Logged |
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For what it's worth, I'll offer my own experience as an example.
I got my current job because I had a masters degree in my field, plus a decent command of Spanish. In my case, I needed both, not one or the other. The fact that I had lived in Latin America made it clear to my employer that I was able to speak the language. At no point was I asked to show a transcript of my marks in Spanish (thank goodness!). 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| outcast Bilingual Heptaglot Senior Member China Joined 4955 days ago 869 posts - 1364 votes Speaks: Spanish*, English*, German, Italian, French, Portuguese, Mandarin Studies: Korean | Message 13 of 13 03 March 2013 at 3:50am | IP Logged |
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Thank you for all the replies, I have not read them yet in detail because I have been
rather busy, but I gave everyone votes. Let me be clear: I do know what I want (sort of): its between science (atmospheric science), or business/hospitality. I don't need languages for any of those, but since I am learning languages... thus my original question. I'm not studying languages to earn a living, I am trying to see if the fact that I do study languages can help me in whatever I do. Obviously it can, thus my question on how to show this skill in a format that is accepted across fields, across the country, and frankly around the world. Again, thanks. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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