THE BILINGUAL JOB FAIR BLOG

Having a Bilingual Receptionist is a BIG PLUS

March 12, 2010

If you have visited a company that conducts business worldwide, you might have heard their bilingual receptionist switching from English to Spanish, Mandarin, Hindi, Japanese or any other language, depending on where their calls are from.  I’ve had the pleasure of hearing what I call the languages switch many times, and it is still impressive when I hear it.

Many organizations have locations all over the world, and those firms must hire bilingual personnel, including bilingual receptionists. Consequently, it is an advantage to be a bilingual receptionist.  It can make the job candidate for that position, or the current employee, more attractive to the company. A bilingual receptionist can communicate with more people and can connect with a broader and more diverse customer base.  In other words, a bilingual receptionist is more valuable to a company these days.

A story that comes to mind is when I visited a company located in the US, which had offices in Costa Rica and Chile.  The General Manager told me that for over twenty years they had a bilingual receptionist who was moving to be closer to her ailing parents, so the company inevitably was losing her.  He went on to say that because their international offices called often, he needed a receptionist who could communicate with the Spanish and English speaking callers.  Therefore, he would not consider hiring a receptionist unless he or she was bilingual.  Not only did they have a hard time replacing her skills and gracious personality, but it also proved that having a bilingual receptionist was a vital position in their organization.

After looking for months, they found the right person, who exceeded their expectations by not only speaking English and Spanish, but Portuguese and French too. They are currently expanding into various markets worldwide, and calls are coming from many countries. According to the manager, their new receptionist has proven to be an excellent asset to the company.

As the target markets for companies continue to evolve, being bilingual is in higher demand and more important than ever.  Click here to learn more about the Advantages of Being Bilingual and the Five Stages people go through to become Bilingual.

Filed under: Advancing your Career

Tags: bilingual careers, bilingual skills, bilingual staff, languages