This week we will focus on what we consider to be the top five emerging industries for bilingual jobs in the U.S. and the types of jobs bilingual candidates can find within those fields. It is no secret that the United States is becoming more and more diverse in its population. As a nation, we need to understand and appreciate various cultural values. Many types of employers have come to realize this, especially in the last five to ten years.
Telecommunications
The world seems to shrink with each technological advance; with e-mail, cell phones and video conferencing you can contact virtually anyone anywhere in the world at any time! With these advances, there is a growing need for more employees who are multicultural and bilingual. Many companies have branches all over the world and need employees to be able to communicate with their foreign counterparts. Many companies have phone centers that are staffed by bilingual employees.
Other positions available in the telecommunications field are in sales, management, customer service, and information technology. When customers buy, they like to feel comfortable and like to understand why they are buying. That’s why bilingual employees are so important. (For more thoughts on the advantages of being bilingual, read this post.)
We have more emerging bilingual jobs coming. Stay tuned…
In the meantime, to browse bilingual job opportunities in telecommunications on BilingualJobFair.com, click here!
October 26, 2009
It seems like every week you hear: “The business world is becoming more competitive. The world needs educated people who are experts in different fields.” However, in the US, there are many high school students who do not want to, or feel they can’t attend college. This article is for you.
Probably one of the biggest fears my friends with kids have is to hear the words, ‘I am not going to college. I want to work instead, and buy a car, or get an apartment with my friends.’ Those words bring anguish to some parents, because they think that their children’s future might not be as bright as they had hoped. But once parents realize that their kids are serious about not pursuing college, they accept it and decide to help them succeed.
If you are one of the young adults who decided that college was not for you, you still need to put a resume together and sell your abilities to prospective employers. Like any other resume, you’ll have to include your work experience, attributes and qualifications.
Here are some quick resume tips for you:
• List high school classes you excelled in. For example, ‘Excelled in math classes throughout high school, including geometry and algebra.’ This comment can help you, especially if you want to work in a field in which a lot of math is required.
• Mention your volunteer work, or other accomplishments, like your Eagle Scout, Gold award, or any other impressive volunteer award.
• Describe your attributes, such as if you consider yourself to be a hard working person, if you are disciplined and stick to it until you get the work done, if you’re team oriented, or if you are a positive person with great determination.
• Discuss your computer knowledge of Excel, Word, or your web site design experience.
• Be sure to mention if you are bilingual. This could be very important to the employer because they might have a lot of customers who speak the two languages that you do. Tell them if you are fluent in two languages, and also if you can write in two languages. Being bilingual may give you an edge, and may mean higher pay.
• In the ‘objective’ section of your resume, (usually at the top of your resume) explain why you’ve chosen a specific field and how you plan to excel at it. For example, ‘Goal is to prove myself as an auto mechanic, to go through the necessary training, and to excel at Smith Motors for years to come’. Write a specific objective for each individual employer. This will set you apart, and the company will know that you go the extra mile, rather than just having a ‘generic objective’ for all companies. For example, ‘to work at a company where I can build upon my career’ is too generic.
• List part-time jobs you had during high school, such as ‘worked at the city parks during the summers of 2008 and 2009’ or ‘free-lanced as a sports or news-writer at my local newspaper’. You can then list the managers you worked for, as references. If they will attest to your attributes, your sense of responsibility, and your desire to be a part of a team, then you have better employment possibilities with the prospective company.
• Please make certain that you do not have anything offensive in your Facebook or in My Space pages. Employers do check these sites to learn more about you, and some feel like your aptitudes are like the people/friends you associate yourself with at these sites.
• Once you have written your resume, let two or three other people read it and critique it, so you can make certain that you have the best possible resume. Allow a professional resume writer to help you. Keep in mind that you are creating your first impression on your hoped-for (intended) employer.
• Apply at places where you can create a career; at companies where you would feel passionate and proud to work, for years to come. If you don’t feel the passion and or the drive to do it, perhaps you should re-consider applying at that company. Remember that you might be spending numerous hours, days, weeks and years of your life at that company, and you should get a certain degree of happiness, pride, and stability by working there.
• Most of all – make certain that this is the path or field you want to follow with your life. Your career building has to start somewhere. Be aware that not going to college might limit your options, so you need to consider your choices more carefully and demonstrate your work ethic. This can build upon your work experience and can make your resume better, for the next employment opportunity.
My personal belief is that you should train at something. If you don’t want to pursue a four-year college degree, or can not, then try to go to your local two-year community college. Seek out a Career Counselor at that college and speak to them about your likes and dislikes about certain vocations, and see if they can help you find the right field; a job that can accommodate your interests, and a field that can fulfill your dreams. We all have to pay our bills when we grow up, and I think that you would rather be happy in a job that you love. That’s why your decisions and seeking advice from professional career counselors is so important.
However, if in the end, you decide not to go to college, I wish you the best. I truly hope that you will do your best at whatever you choose to do with your life, and that you make yourself irreplaceable at your chosen vocation.
August 11, 2009
To most people, the negotiation of a salary is a difficult subject. On the one hand, the company has a salary range for the position. On the other hand, the prospective employees know how much money they would like to make, or feel like they are entitled to. The possibility of conflict and the likelihood of a disagreement is the reason for the apprehension; however, it is all part of the hiring process. That is why a candidate, to negotiate well and fairly, has to understand what their individual skills and qualifications are, as well as what the company needs.
To begin the negotiation process, the potential employee should research the yearly salary for people in their field, by market or region. They should also consider the responsibilities of the new position, their individual salary history, the cost of living in the region (if relocating), the traveling involved, and the number of people for which they will be responsible. Candidates also need to consider the total benefit package, such as insurance coverage, car allowance or company car, retirement plan, bonus potential, and other benefits. In other words, potential employees should not look strictly at the salary, but rather, they should look at the whole compensation package.
Oftentimes I get asked, ‘if I am bilingual, should my pay be higher?’ My opinion is ‘yes’. Companies conduct business in other countries and your additional language and cultural knowledge will be beneficial while traveling, or while speaking to vendors and customers in other countries, and even with other foreign employees of the company, or with customers in your local market. You can connect with more people and create added benefits to the company, in two languages. Consequently you do have additional skills, and that’s why I believe that your salary should be higher.
In my opinion, companies should pay a higher salary for bilingual employees because they see the value you bring. Keep in mind that some companies are testing new markets and becoming more multi-cultural, so they don’t know yet what someone bilingual might be worth to their company. Sometimes you have to prove the value yourself. In those cases, if they can reach the new market, you can justify higher pay for being a bilingual person.
Two years ago, I asked a company recruiter if they pay a higher salary to their bilingual employees, and she proudly replied “Yes, we do”. She appeared proud of her answer. I then asked her how much more a bilingual person made in her company, and her excitement diminished. She said: “10 percent more”. I was surprised with her answer and proceeded to push my luck a bit, and asked her “do you think that your company values the bilingual candidates enough, the ones who communicate with your newly created Latino customers?” She replied, “I’m hoping to be able to justify it more to the company, but for now, they get 10 percent.”
This story may illustrate a lack of understanding from the companies’ point of view. My hope is that employers will come to appreciate that a bilingual employee brings additional education, culture, knowledge, and possibly other important skills; like perseverance – the perseverance and the discipline to learn two languages.
Thus far, it has been my experience that bilingual employees are dedicated, and that success matters to them. Which are just more reasons why they deserve a higher salary.
Have any of you ever been able to successfully negotiate a higher salary because you are bilingual?
July 21, 2009
