Whether you want to speak the language when travelling in Spanish-speaking countries, learn a new skill, or start enjoying Spanish-language cinema, television, or literature, there's no lack of good reasons to learn to speak Spanish.
One of the best reasons to learn a foreign language, and Spanish, in particular, is because of how much it can benefit your career.
Let's have a look at why this is.
Speaking Spanish Can Help You Find Work
If you only speak one language, you can only look for work that uses that language. By speaking another language, you've immediately made it so that you can broaden your search to jobs that require Spanish-language skills.
Not only that, but it also means that you can look for jobs in Spanish-speaking countries, too. Of course, when working internationally or looking for jobs in other countries, you need to consider work permits, visas, etc., but you already have a head-start on any other person looking for work.
Similarly, there will be a lot of jobs in Spanish-speaking countries that aren't advertised in English so you'll be able to find these jobs whilst those who only speak English, for example, will likely only find and apply for jobs that are advertised in English.
Put simply, foreign language skills will make it so that you can find more jobs in more places, more jobs posted in different languages, and be a suitable candidate for more jobs. More languages equal more jobs whether the job is directly related to languages or not.
Speaking Spanish Makes You Stand Out to Employers
Even if the job you're applying to doesn't use Spanish or doesn't even require Spanish language skills, speaking Spanish will still be useful.
When applying for jobs, potential employers will see that you speak another language and you can highlight all the related skills that come with this. If they've studied or even attempted to learn another language, they'll know exactly how difficult it can be and how much work it requires.
Your language skills show potential employers that you're ready for a challenge, driven, a natural problem-solver, and have fantastic communication skills. Exact numbers can vary for how long it can take to learn a language, but with estimates of between 400 and 600 classroom hours, they should know that you've put a lot of hard work in.
In the event an employer is stuck between two near-identical candidates, the one with the language skills will stand out and be more likely to be hired.
In larger companies, these language skills will also be greatly appreciated whether the company is present in any Spanish-speaking countries or looking to expand into them. For many applicants, it's definitely worthwhile mentioning your foreign language skills even if the job doesn't specifically require them.
If your language-learning journey came as part of some time spent living abroad, this can also make you stand out to potential employers as it shows them that you're resilient, a self-starter, and adaptable. Living in another country can be a great experience, but it can show an employer that you're willing to leave your comfort zone and rise to challenges, linguistic or otherwise.
Learning Spanish will Teach You Other Useful Transferable Skills
If you study Spanish, then you will likely learn to speak Spanish. The language skills themselves are highly sought after and considered valuable by employers, but there's also a range of other skills that you'll learn when you study a language.
With Spanish or any other foreign language, you'll learn how to solve problems and come up with creative solutions. For example, when you lack the vocabulary or grammar to say exactly what you want to say in your foreign language, you need to think of interesting and creative ways to get your point across.
This kind of problem-solving can be incredibly useful in the world of work. While other candidates or employees learn one way to solve a particular problem, those with foreign language skills will be used to finding solutions when others have run out of ideas. Naturally, employers love this as they're hiring people to get things done, not saying that there's nothing they can do.
Your communication skills in English also improve as you learn foreign languages as you learn more about languages in general and can put these skills to good use in many different lines of work. Whether it's in meetings, emails, or when talking with management or a team that you're in charge of, communicating clearly and effectively is beneficial in any job.
Through the hours, days, weeks, months, and years of studying Spanish, you'll have improved your memory and improved your organisation. You can take these skills to work with you. They'll help you to work diligently and efficiently and they'll help you become one of the most valued employees wherever you work.
Your Language Skills Will Help You While At Work
All the non-linguistic skills you've developed can help you at work or when looking for work, but your language skills themselves will also be useful for you and your career.
For one, communication, as we mentioned, is essential in most jobs and your heightened communication skills will come in handy, but if you work for larger companies, your Spanish skills will also be required.
If you work at a company that deals with or is based in a Spanish-speaking country, you'll quickly become the person called upon when somebody needs to speak to clients, coworkers, or other members of the business.
These language skills also mean that you might be included in meetings above your station, effectively giving you an in with your superiors and making networking much easier.
Language Skills Can Help You Get Promoted
Your Spanish skills will make finding work easier and even make work easier. On top of all that, they'll also make promotion more likely for you.
You can use your skills to perform better at work, but you can also use your skills to better market yourself to management. Of course, there are a lot of jobs where performance can be measured numerically, but in these instances, your problem-solving skills and communication skills may tip the balance in your favour when somebody is being chosen for a promotion.
In larger companies, you can also move up by moving sideways, too. With language skills, you can always look to shift into different parts of a company with better prospects for promotion while those with very specific or limited skills may be forced to stay where they are and wait for a promotion to appear in their department.
Your language skills give you versatility and can also show your employer that you can learn new skills and put the work into learning them so when opportunities arise, even ones that aren't directly in line with what you're currently doing, you'll still be able to put yourself into consideration.
Spanish Language Skills Could Help You Earn More
If there are more jobs you can do, you have more transferable skills, and you'll have the chance to be promoted more easily, you could naturally earn more money by learning to speak Spanish.
In some companies, their pay structure encourages learning skills and they'll pay employees more for having said skills even if they're not directly related to the job they're doing because they're useful employees to have within the company structure.
Just as companies will pay employees according to how many years of experience they have and their level of education, you can also get increased pay from completing other courses or learning other skills and languages are sometimes one of those skills.
For example, certain airlines will pay cabin crew a higher base salary just for learning extra languages because it means they can be put on more flights and are, therefore, more valuable employees. The same is true of other larger international businesses.
Beyond that, you can use your communication skills and self-confidence (both of which are nurtured by learning a foreign language) to better negotiate in interviews and make a better case for yourself for employment and a better salary.
Finally, once you've mastered Spanish, there's no reason you couldn't find work as a Spanish teacher or tutor and pass on your knowledge.
Why Spanish is So Good for Your Career
As you can see, whether you're looking for a job, looking to do better at work, or looking to get a promotion or a pay rise, language skills will help.
Spanish is a great language to learn and a valuable one because of how many people speak it and how widely it's spoken, but you can always learn to speak Spanish for personal reasons, too.
If not for yourself, learn it for your career! You certainly won't regret it.
It's not always easy, but don't forget that if you need help, you can always get lessons or help from a private tutor. There are tutors all over the world and, thanks to the internet, you can even learn Spanish from native Spanish speakers.
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