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…
We all know that employers and employees need to work together in order to understand each other. Management needs to try to understand the employees better and the employees need to comprehend management to a greater degree. Plus, the diversification of America’s workforce over the years requires the workplace to reflect the backgrounds of all who work there.
Forward thinking employers see diversity as an opportunity to embrace a variety of opinions and cultures, and they do it because they believe in it, rather than just to fulfill their equal opportunity requirements and their quotas.
People who have known me for years can attest to the fact that although I’m a minority, I would not like to be considered for a position because I am Hispanic or because I am a woman. I want to be considered for a position because I have the right experience, the education, the appropriate knowledge, and the skills to get that position. Having said that, I like companies that are visionaries; companies that like to involve people of all ethnical backgrounds. With more diversity come more ideas, better products and greater services for the company.
When you have a multicultural atmosphere, you come up with multicultural ideas that can be embraced by the world, and consequently, the company can benefit. In my opinion, the more diversity there is in a business, the more diverse the ideas are in that business.
The leaders of multi-cultural teams need to take into consideration the many cultural facets of their employees. Here is a short list of things to consider (and there are plenty more):
Religious Holidays and religious practices- Managers should try to understand their employees’ religious practices and embrace their respective beliefs, including special holidays.
In some cultures, if a family member is sick – other family members must attend to their siblings’ (parents, next of kin) needs and would not have it any other way. An employee might need to fly to another country, to pay their last respects to a family member. If you assist the employees at particularly tough times, the majority of them will give you loyalty back for years to come.
For some cultures, mourning the loss of a family member, especially close siblings, is a period of time to spend time with each other (after the family member’s passing), and grieve together.
If two employees are from a specific country, and they speak to each other during their lunch hour or during their break, in their native tongue, don’t take it personally. No, they are probably not talking about you. But they might connect at that time with their past (with their roots). It might be that they don’t have anyone, but that co-worker, to speak in their native language.
Take into account how long the employee has been away from their native country. If it is less than five years, they are still going through the feelings of being ‘homesick’. Be supportive and encourage them daily. With every month and every year that goes by, it gets better. The employee will get more accustomed to their new country, to the new customs, and to their new world.
Keep in mind that if the employee came from another country, and spoke another language, that he or she has gone through a lot of adjustments and that they’re just trying to make their dreams come true.
As time passes, the multi-cultural employee will become bilingual and will feel more ‘at home’. They will never forget the leaders who helped them make it in their new country. I hope that you are one of those leaders.
Let’s learn more from each other and let’s create a more understanding world in the workplace.
The feeling that you can accomplish anything you want to, along with the desire to get a job that pays your college loans is all the motivation you need to get an exceptional first job after college. To get a great first job, you need to write a resume that makes a great first great impression on the employer. That impression needs to last until the day you call the company or interview with the company. The employer needs to say: ‘that’s the young man or young woman whose resume said this or that’… from the hundreds they read. Your job is to make your resume as memorable as you possibly can and to set yourself apart.
Below are some quick tips that will make your resume be more memorable, when you don’t have much work experience:
Tell the company about any internship you completed and what tasks you executed. Describe what you learned, and what your main accomplishments were.
Mention the different part-time jobs you held while going to college, and what your responsibilities were at those jobs. (This shows the company that you offset your college expenses with your own work and sweat).
Tell the company about the clubs and or organizations you have been a part of, such as the ‘youth council group’ or the ‘president of the Spanish or French club’ in high school and or in college.
List any volunteer work you have done, such as ‘served as a volunteer at the homeless shelter each Saturday morning for three years’ or ‘helped organize the Rotary Club’s International food festival’, ‘assisted with raising funds for the local Lion’s Cub’.
If you studied abroad, tell the prospective employer. This will add a star to your resume, since you can show that you got out of your comfort zone, that you traveled abroad, and possibly even lived with a hosting family. If you learned the specific language of the country where you did your internship, put this on your resume as well. For example, ‘Learned Spanish while studying abroad in Ecuador.’
If you are bilingual, make certain that you include your knowledge and experience in the resume. For instance, ‘Fluent in English and Russian, and understand Italian and Spanish.’ This will set you apart from many job candidates, especially if the company has branches in countries that speak any of those languages.
Show your leadership abilities, your willingness to learn, your cooperative efforts, your team orientation, and your great ‘can do’ attitude.
The examples mentioned above serve to show that ‘experience’ comes in many forms. Your ‘work experience’ might be a little short, so concentrate on other accomplishments and experiences. Show the employer who you have been as a student and as a productive citizen, and that you have already made contributions to your community.
Mylene Duffy is the founder of the Bilingual Job Fair. She has hired many professionals over the course of her career, and is an advocate for bilingual employment. Mylene did not speak English when she came to live in the States in the early 80’s. She took an intensive English course and enrolled at Syracuse University, where she graduated with a degree in communications. She is now proud to be fully bilingual in English and Spanish.
