The modern job market is becoming more multicultural, so being bilingual is doubtlessly beneficial to your career. As globalization spreads, languages are increasingly being exchanged between economies, markets, and communities. There is more presence of foreign-based companies in most middle-income and emerging economies such as the Philippines.
Here are some of those reasons.
1. Helps You Get a Promotion
Promotions in the corporate world are usually a cutthroat competition with employees trying to outdo each other and get the attention of their superiors. Consequently, being bilingual helps you stand out from the rest and get a promotion in the workplace. For people who want to hike up the corporate ladder , learning a second language can be a great step in the correct direction.
2. Opens You to Global Job Opportunities
Most companies are today looking across borders to hire employees from different countries and cultural backgrounds. Whilst having the requisite technical skills for the job is usually highly relevant, knowing the language of the country in which the company operates is desirable. This means that being bilingual opens you to a plethora of job opportunities since you are unencumbered by language restrictions. For instance, a virtual assistant with bilingual skills stands a higher chance of getting jobs from multinationals.
3. Enhances Your Network Base
There is a famous saying that your network is your net worth. Networking does not only opens you to new ideas but also enhances your professional profile and allows you to access job opportunities, support, and career advice. Domestically, you can network with innumerable professionals with whom you share a native language. Nonetheless, if you know another language, you can broaden your network further by creating friends with people from other countries. In this regard, being bilingual may help you develop a network of professionals who will help you get those fintech skills you have always wanted and understand how other countries are doing business.
4. Vital for Leadership
There are always leadership positions opening up in the workplace, be it for a managerial position, supervisor, team leader in a group project, or taking charge when colleagues engage in conflict. Such situations can test our leadership skills and determine if we have what it takes to inspire, motivate, and lead people. Bilingual skills can come in handy when leadership acuity is needed or tested since you invariably have to deal with different people. Some studies have, in fact, shown that bilingualism is associated with better cognitive skills and executive functions. This means a bilingual person can prioritize and multitask better than a monolingual person. Consequently, in a world where bad leadership is frowned upon, being bilingual can help you meet the desired leadership expectations.
Given these benefits, it would be worth it to learn another language if you are monolingual. The best way to learn a language is to live with people who speak it. Also, there are numerous courses on the internet you can enroll in. Its benefits may not be immediately observable in your career, but it may pay greatly in the long term. The Roman philosopher Seneca noted that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Learning a new language is one way of creating your luck as opportunities for bilingual people are invariably abundant.
