Question:  What are the top ten languages, which job candidates are searching for in your bilingual employment site?

Answer:  

       Spanish & English

        French & English

        Japanese & English

        Chinese & English

        Arabic & English

        Portuguese & English

        Russian & English

        German & English

        Mandarin & English

        Korean & English

I can not believe that it has been 30 years now. My memories of the ‘big move’ to the ‘big apple’ are still pretty vivid. The road I’ve traveled in the USA has had its ‘ups and downs’, along with some curves, valleys, and numerous hills along the way (steep hills I should add) but I’ve traveled it all a-mile-at-a-time, and never losing the momentum needed to reach my final destination…my goals. I truly wouldn’t trade the road I’ve chosen for anything in the world. It’s been a good road thus far. Yes, it is true. The USA is the ‘land of opportunity’. If you have dreams, if you work hard and don’t deviate from those dreams, you can make them come true. Motivation, persistence, hard work and high standards have been my key to accomplishing my goals. Also, the people I have met along the way have been a blessing in my life, and have made it a better road for me.  Since this blog has a bilingual theme to it, I’ve thought that to commemorate my special moving date, that I would share some of my personal stories, which I’ve included in previous blogs.  Hope you can learn something from my experiences, and that they give you hope. May they help you in your path to becoming bilingual, help you in assisting someone who wants to become bilingual, or in accomplishing your own goals and dreams. Thank you for being an avid reader of this blog and for being a part of BilingualJobFair.com.

If the company offers specialty products, those products can be sold better to the specific community by an Italian, Hispanic, Irish or a German person.   Why?  Because the bilingual person understands the product, they might have used the product themselves – all of their lives – and can answer the questions to the client.  Also, if you are a believer of a product and or a service, you can sell it.  In the end, the company can benefit by hiring a bilingual and multi-cultural employee to service that community.  There may be better relationships – and oftentimes – better relationships equal better sales for a company.

In the following blogs, I’ll provide several examples of the benefits I see in hiring bilingual sales representatives. 

Example 1 of the advantages of having bilingual sales jobs – or a bilingual company representative – Delivery Truck-Delivery Package person in Chinatown, NY – or Chinatown in San Francisco, CA

Sending a Chinese company Representative – or someone who is totally fluent in Mandarin-Chinese will provide a tremendous benefit to the company, because they can communicate better with the clients or prospective clients.  The hundreds of companies in Chinatown can create a better relationship with the specific bilingual company representative.  They will see each other daily, and the Chinatown companies can end up giving the bilingual representative more business.  Comfort and loyalty can be a direct result of their relationship.  The delivery company can see benefits in their bottom line. Ultimately, everyone involved can be happy with the end result.

I believe that when bilingual people from different countries work together, they might connect more to each other than the average company personnel. They could have many things in common, like knowledge of more cultures, different values, music, beliefs, foods, dance, and other diverse cultural identities.

When I lived and worked in New York City, I recall being in the subway and hearing two people speaking, and asking myself “what language is that?” After living there for a while, I would challenge myself, and was able to tell when people were speaking Greek, Japanese, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, French, Hindi, Korean, Russian, and so on.  It all fascinated me.

At the advertising agency I worked for, there were people from Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, and many other Latin American countries.  I loved to learn more about their respective dishes, native cultures, dances, music, about their families, and to hear about their individual American dream stories.  All of the employees were bilingual, and it appeared that we had an International day each day at work.

When a company has bilingual employees in the US, those employees have usually moved here from other countries.  Consequently, they have their own ‘American dream story’ and have worked hard to ‘make it’ in America.  A company can have an International Day, and can have employees bring homemade dishes from their respective countries.  Companies can have more fun events at work and enjoy the teamwork that builds and develops from having a pleasant work environment for everyone.  To learn more about having a diverse work environment, click here.

In summary, globalization is changing the world – and we all need to get a better worldwide picture in our respective companies.  Globalization not only goes for the economics, but it also goes for our communication with each other.  Bilingual employees will become essential to get a better worldwide picture.

It has been my experience that people who are bilingual are more inclined to want to learn more about other cultures, they take more risks with people who they don’t know yet, and they can handle unfamiliar circumstances a bit easier. Have you noticed this as a manager?  Bilingual folks are usually fascinated by other cultures and languages therefore they enjoy the challenges that lie ahead.  I can include myself in this group since I love to learn about other cultures, global trends and global markets.

In addition, bilingual folks usually connect to their local community to a larger degree and like to get more involved with the organizations within the area.  So, if a company hires bilingual employees, they might get the benefit of having local representation at an event.  You can read my personal story of “What motivated me to become Bilingual”.  You can also read the two blogs I wrote about “Mr. Brown: My First Friend in the US – part 1 and 2”.

Retail

The retail world is a large employer of bilingual personnel.  The large chains such as Target, JC Penney, Sears, Wal-Mart and K-Mart, in addition to smaller retail outlets in malls all over the country,  need to fill positions in human resources, management, sales, inventory management and customer service.  In all of these job areas the chance for interaction with bilingual customers is high.  It is a fantastic advantage to be able to serve and communicate with a multicultural customer base.  The hiring of bilingual personnel can mean higher sales volumes for retailers because they can sell and service this growing segment of the market.

The possibilities are endless for bilingual personnel.  For more thoughts on marketing bilingual skills to potential employers, read The Advantages of Being Bilingual, and How to Write a Cover Letter that Showcases your Bilingual Skills.

To browse the bilingual job opportunities in retail that are available on BilingualJobFair.com, click here!

Education

Participation in the local, national, and international community is strengthened by knowledge of the language and cultures of other people. The key is to teach language skills so we can communicate with each other and give everyone an equal chance to become a productive member of society.  The increase in the number of students in the U.S. who use English as a second language is creating more positions for bilingual personnel in our primary and secondary school systems, as well as at the college and university levels. Opportunities will continue to expand for bilingual teachers, administrators, translators, financial aide advisors and school social workers.

There are many dedicated bilingual employees at schools and colleges who are helping our bilingual students advance. To learn more about what students go through to acquire a second language, read this post about the stages people go through to become bilingual.

Check back tomorrow for the final industry on our list.

Also, to browse bilingual job opportunities in education on BilingualJobFair.com, click here!

Health Care

Nowhere is it more evident than in the field of health care that the United States must respond to the needs of our diverse population. We need to increase the access to quality care for all citizens, including those who only speak a foreign language. Hospitals, doctor’s offices and medical insurance agencies all hire bilingual employees to address these needs.  In addition to improving communication between health care providers and their patients who come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, medical care employers are also looking to broaden the diversity in health care leadership and administration.

Hospitals in particular are excellent sources of jobs for the bilingual job-seeker. The types of positions that are needed to be filled include: hospital administrators, doctors, nurses, medical assistants, emergency medical technicians, case managers, health educators, counselors, and billing/accounting representatives.

We have two emerging industries for bilingual jobs left to cover!

In the meantime, to browse bilingual job opportunities in the health care field on BilingualJobFair.com, click here!

Banking and Financial Services

This industry offers career opportunities for the following bilingual professionals: bankers, financial advisors, attorneys, realtors, insurance agents and automobile dealers. These professionals represent and discuss very personal matters with their clients, who want to make sure that they are well understood. With the ability to communicate effectively in more than one language, the bilingual professional can expand their clientele, and can reach out to people of other cultures. (For more thoughts on the advantages of being bilingual, read this post.)

Additional jobs available in professional offices include customer service representatives, administrative assistants, billing/accounting representatives, claims representatives, tellers and loan personnel. The banking industry in particular is eager to provide services to all populations, including the Hispanic community — the largest minority group in the United States.  They also want to service the more than 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S., and are therefore a key employer for those seeking Spanish-speaking jobs.

We have three more emerging industries for bilingual jobs coming.  Stay tuned….

In the meantime, to browse bilingual job opportunities in banking and finance on BilingualJobFair.com, click here!