Best second language to learn for getting a job

Elite Woad Raider

I came back from Canada recently and I was told after giving out my resume several times that I didn't have a second language which was a barrier to hiring me.



Just wondering what the best languages are worth learning to gain employment and how long it would take to learn them?

krissovo

Whats your career? 2nd language is popular for call center, technical support or inside sales etc in Ireland with the multinationals but certainly not a requirement.

My guess is whatever you pick it will be another language that you actually need when required. I speak semi fluent German that 10 years ago did well in IT, pharma, finance and engineering. The reality is that German business is well suited for English speakers and predominately works in English so most people could relocate and not worry.

Chinese could be useful for manufacturing but which flavor? A good friend learnt Mandarin ended up relocating and now has to learn Cantonese.

Spanish is decent candidate as globally the populace has lower English fluency levels than say German or French. Portuguese has lower again due to Brazil but in Europe a high percentage speaks good English

skallywag

German, then Spanish I would suggest.

Heart Break Kid

how Long does it take to be competent in a second language? How soon do you need a Job?

Manach

If you are involved in any work related to EU / EU legal, then French would be a good choice.

LimeFruitGum

Hard to know without knowing what kind of jobs you're going for. Sounds like you're a recent-ish graduate and recruiters are trying to fill customer service/tech support roles, where yes, a foreign language would be an asset?
Do you want to work in those fields, or do you just need a job? German, Italian, French and Spanish are always in demand.

It takes a few years of regular study and maintenance to be become fluent in a language, including relocation (at the very least, regular visits to that country). It isn't enough to do a course and that's it.

So, assuming that's not an option if you're just back from Canada and current travel restrictions, what other skills do you have? Can you not highlight those instead, rather than having to start a language course?
Also, bear in mind as well, you could have decent Spanish (or whatever) but a native speaker will most likely be given preference over you in terms of language skills & importance of that skill to the role. I wouldn't pin all your hopes on learning a language in six weeks and yay - new job. I would suggest looking at other courses so you're not stuck in entry level multilingual customer support. Hopefully Springboard funding is on track later in the year, it is a great resource.

Elite Woad Raider

I have a degree in law but my work experience is in private security.

I applied for a job at an immigration consultancy firm and they asked had I Spanish and I said no.
She said it was a requirement.

I'm beginning to think that I should relocate to Europe to learn a new language.

Looking at the unemployment rate in various countries, I'm thinking maybe Belgium, Austria or Spain?

Why not learn two and make the most of it?

Jim2007

Heart Break Kid wrote: »

how Long does it take to be competent in a second language? How soon do you need a Job?

It depends what you mean by competent...

For most Irish people there level in a native language is around B2, college graduates are usually around a C1 and English graduates are usually at C2.

The EU objective is that everyone should speak one language at B2/C1 (your native language) and two other EU languages at A2. And with the exception of the UK, most kids coming out of school these days do!

A2 is a reasonable level to aim for, if you look up the definition, you'll find it means that you are able to do most of the daily things in life - the shopping, take the car to the garage, make enquires, understand advertisements, public announcements, read the local news paper etc...

Of course it varies by language, but generally speaking to get to A2, would take about two years part time.

It knew an 18 year old girl that arrived here (Switzerland) with zero knowledge one German and needed to get to C1/C2 to get to college. It took her about 3.5 years to get there, studying full time.

Jim2007

Elite Woad Raider wrote: »

Looking at the unemployment rate in various countries, I'm thinking maybe Belgium, Austria or Spain?

If you want to learn French go to France and for German go to Germany.

I'm thirty years in the German part of Switzerland and my High German is still terrible. Why? because no one here speaks High German, they all speak dialects and these are in some cases almost unrecognisable to your average German. For most of my time I'm conversing with the people in my village and my family in a Swiss dialect that has no written form! It's almost impossible to find a course on the language, you just pick it up from living here.

LimeFruitGum

Swiss German is something else alright

Actually, that reminds me... If the OP is serious about learning a language, do not go to a big city where there'll be loads of Irish bars and English speakers. It'll be far too easy to coast by on English. I'd consider somewhere like Cologne or Bordeaux which are decent sized cities with plenty of things to do, but you'd have to speak the language to get by.

In the likes of Berlin, Munich, Paris, or Brussels, forget it. You'll hear and see English everywhere because they're so international and touristy, and it's too tempting to live in English the whole time.

Jim2007

LimeFruitGum wrote: »

Actually, that reminds me... If the OP is serious about learning a language, do not go to a big city where there'll be loads of Irish bars and English speakers. It'll be far too easy to coast by on English.

Very true, it is also the same of classes... the worst is to end up in a class with lots of Americans or English, they just talk English all the time.

Best course I ever did was with an Italian train driver, he spoke no English and I don't speak Italian. The result was that we talked German all the time, no choice.

krissovo

LimeFruitGum wrote: »

In the likes of Berlin, Munich, Paris, or Brussels, forget it. You'll hear and see English everywhere because they're so international and touristy, and it's too tempting to live in English the whole time.

If you go for Spanish then Madrid bucks the trend for English spoken everywhere in a major city. They are also quite forgiving when you attempt to talk Spanish and will help you rather than be ignorant like Germans or French (Parisians).

Barcellona while English is spoken everywhere it's a great hub for English speaking jobs with multinational companies while learning the language and getting paid quite well. Some will even transition you to Spanish speaking roles as you progress to keep the focus. It was a popular next step destination when I was running a multi lingual support center a few years ago.

Jim2007

krissovo wrote: »

If you go for Spanish then Madrid bucks the trend for English spoken everywhere in a major city.

I don't know about now, but 30 years ago that was so true...

I remember having to visit a company there and they sent me instructions in Spanish to hand the taxi driver at the airport, because they expected that there was no chance of them being able to understand me and it was true!

lalababa

Polish.

LimeFruitGum

I was in Seville for a week in December and I picked up a load of Spanish. I speak French (rusty, but it is back there somewhere) and that helped a lot with general comprehension and orientation.
Even if I said in Spanish that 'I'm sorry, my Spanish is no bueno', they were incredibly kind about it. If I were to make an effort with Spanish, I would definitely consider going back to Seville - good to know Madrid is an option!

Wabbit Ears

lalababa wrote: »

Polish.

This. In modern Ireland this is the single most useful second language, bar none

Jim2007

Wabbit Ears wrote: »

This. In modern Ireland this is the single most useful second language, bar none

Yes, but most Poles can speak English and usually German as well for that matter. Any employer in Ireland that wants a Polish speaker will either a native or more likely a second generation immigrant.

Both my kids employers say a big advantage in taking on native English speakers... as one of them said: When you're arguing with an American, it helps if you don't have to slow down to translate....

pauliebdub

German probably. Depending on the type of work you're looking for you're unlikely to need a second language. Most international business is nowadays conducted in English. The vast majority of Irish people don't speak a second international language.

pauliebdub

lalababa wrote: »

Polish.

Any job looking for a Polish speaker would prefer a native speaker plus it's a very difficult language to learn.

Jim2007

pauliebdub wrote: »

German probably. Depending on the type of work you're looking for you're unlikely to need a second language. Most international business is nowadays conducted in English. The vast majority of Irish people don't speak a second international language.

When you are selling or providing the service you always have the edge if you speak their language.

You are right that most Irish people stop using whatever second language they learn in school, but then so too do most other Europeans as well. I’ve been to parts of German, Austria and Switzerland were you’d have no chance of doing business with them if you did not speak German, they have long forgotten their school boy English apart from a few basic phrases.

ted1

skallywag wrote: »

German, then Spanish I would suggest.

German , really?

OP what do you do?

Arabic, Cantonese , mandarin, Hindi , Russian or Spanish would be my choice

Batgurl

If I could go back and do it all again, without a doubt the second language I’d pick is Python or Java.

It doesn’t matter what industry, business, country or continent you work in, there is a universal need for programming languages.

Jim2007

ted1 wrote: »

German , really?

Well in European terms, that means you have a fair chance of understanding the locals in German, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, parts of Northern Italy, South Eastern France, The Czech Republic and so on.

ted1 wrote: »

Arabic, Cantonese , mandarin, Hindi , Russian or Spanish would be my choice

The further away the market the less contact and the more likely that English will be used in business.

So probably a very limited demand if you want to get the edge in the Irish market.

Elite Woad Raider

ted1 wrote: »

German , really?

OP what do you do?

Arabic, Cantonese , mandarin, Hindi , Russian or Spanish would be my choice

security guard

JustAThought

Jim2007 wrote: »

It depends what you mean by competent...

For most Irish people there level in a native language is around B2, college graduates are usually around a C1 and English graduates are usually at C2.

The EU objective is that everyone should speak one language at B2/C1 (your native language) and two other EU languages at A2. And with the exception of the UK, most kids coming out of school these days do!

A2 is a reasonable level to aim for, if you look up the definition, you'll find it means that you are able to do most of the daily things in life - the shopping, take the car to the garage, make enquires, understand advertisements, public announcements, read the local news paper etc...

Of course it varies by language, but generally speaking to get to A2, would take about two years part time.

It knew an 18 year old girl that arrived here (Switzerland) with zero knowledge one German and needed to get to C1/C2 to get to college. It took her about 3.5 years to get there, studying full time.

Absolute twaddle - A1 and A2 are basic foundation level in simple structure school level communication - I would no more consider it a qualification or employ anyone for a professional role with these basic foundation level skills.

If the OP - whose expectations seem a little south of practical and far from realistic or reasonable - has looked at the big employers in languages such as google and facebook they will see that the baseline requirement they all want is native speaker - so not even a four year business language BA or MA will qualify for these usually fairly basic call centre roles.

If you are looking for a job in ’security’ in Ireland and being told you are not being employed because you don’t have a second language then you are missing a big part of the actual jigsaw - particularly if you ever try to speak to any of the ‘security experts’ in the doors of any shopping centre or bank where a blank glaze stare will respond to any simple question you ask - even English seems not to be a requirement.

As for effort in retraining - +1 for the poster who suggested computer languages - a far better investment of your time with far better yields and career options after.

Das Reich

With Spanish is also easy to understand Italian and Portuguese and even Romanian. Basically all Italian and Portuguese speakers are able to understand Spanish with never studying. It is also the easiest language to learn with grammar and pronounce much easy than English or German. Then there is the factor of native speaking population and Spanish is spoken in many countries. French instead is the fastest growing language as it is spoken in the poorest countries in Africa. Portuguese is also growing a lot in Africa.

Duke of Url

German

Jim2007

JustAThought wrote: »

Absolute twaddle - A1 and A2 are basic foundation level in simple structure school level communication - I would no more consider it a qualification or employ anyone for a professional role with these basic foundation level skills.

Did I at any stage suggest that it was sufficient for a professional career.

Absolute twaddle, is when you fail to read what was actually said and then go off on a tangent.