Advancing in your career as a bilingual or multilingual employee may start by showcasing your language skills during performance reviews while highlighting your unique abilities and contributions to your employer. You may have been gaining experience in your current role and now you are ready to find new opportunities and expand your job responsibilities as well as your salary.

Certify Your Language Skills Today

Provide Specific Examples

Start by providing specific examples of how you’ve used your language skills to benefit your team or company. Have you successfully communicated with clients or colleagues in their native language, resulting in positive outcomes? Share those success stories where your language skills have helped bridge language barriers, negotiated deals, or solved problems. “In addition to highlighting your proficiency in specific platforms and tools, you also need to think about how other experiences—even ones you may take for granted­—can advance your career,” (Spielberger). This includes your language proficiency in more than one language.

It is important to make sure that your employer is aware of those efforts that have had a positive impact on the organization. If you have taken on responsibilities such as translating documents, interpreting for meetings, or training colleagues in a foreign language, don’t forget to mention it. These are additional projects that require language proficiency and may not have been part of your job description when you first got hired.

Read more: How to Include Language Skills on Your Resume

Get Feedback from Others

Seek feedback from colleagues or clients who have communicated with you in the language(s) you command to reinforce your abilities as a bilingual or multilingual professional. The reactions of others in how your language skills have helped them in their work or collaboration is very important. Highlight those instances where your linguistic adaptability and cultural sensitivity have been used with international clients or customers in the professional setting, if applicable. Emphasize the ability to switch effectively between languages based on the needs of your coworkers, customers, or assignments, especially in customer service or translations roles.

Continue Your Growth

The value you bring to your organization as a bilingual or multilingual professional deserves to be recognized. Showcase your commitment and efforts to continue learning, express your willingness to assist colleagues with language-related tasks, and contribute beyond your regular job duties. Demonstrate your intention to keep growing personally and professionally by enrolling in language courses and seminars or obtaining certifications. If you have taken some of these steps already, don’t forget to share it with your employer during the performance reviews as well.

Read more: Make Your Streak Worth It

Proficient? Prove It with a Language Proficiency Certificate

It is worth noting that according to a study conducted for ACTFL, Spanish, Chinese, and French are the top three languages most in-demand among U.S employers. If you speak one of them fluently, you are already a step ahead. If you haven’t obtained your ACTFL language certification yet and want to accurately assess your language proficiency to advance your career, order a test from Language Testing International® (LTI), a global leader in providing assessment of language proficiency in over 60 countries and 120 languages. With LTI you can certify your language proficiency in reading, speaking, writing, and/or listening, and tests are remotely proctored online for your convenience.

Watch: Your Language, Your Career. Certify your bilingual skills and give your career a boost.

Sources

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and the Lead with Languages Campaign commissioned Ipsos Public Affairs, with the support of Pearson LLC and Language Testing International. (2019). “Making Languages Our Business: Addressing Foreign Language Demand Among U.S. Employers.”  https://www.actfl.org/uploads/files/general/MakingLanguagesOurBusiness_FullReport.pdf

Spielberger, Daniel. “How to showcase your bilingual skills to get a job (or a promotion)”. FastCompany. 6-14-22. https://www.fastcompany.com/90760656/how-to-showcase-your-bilingual-skills-to-get-a-job-or-a-promotion

Madeline Martínez is a Multicultural Navigator Specialist at URBANDER, a Woman and Minority Business Enterprise (WMBE) specializing in transforming businesses to advance humanity. URBANDER’s role is to serve as an extension of Marketing, Diversity, Human Resources, Procurement, Community Relations, and Social Responsibility teams, providing innovative approaches in the areas of strategic marketing, content development, workforce development, community outreach and IDEAS (inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and sustainability). Madeline holds a both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Communications from the University of Puerto Rico and is an experienced copywriter and content developer dedicated to amplifying the voices of URBANDER’s clients. From blogs and articles to social media posts and interviews, Madeline is a skilled writer across diverse topics integrating her marketing, business and academic acumen. Though her earlier work as a Publications Officer at the Inter American University in Puerto Rico, and her most recent performance as a Spanish Interpreter, Substitute Teacher, and Instructional Assistant for English-language learning elementary school students, Madeline has impacted countless families as they have navigated migrating to the U.S. from Spanish-speaking countries. As a bilingual professional, Madeline is also proficient in translating written documents from English to Spanish, and vice versa. She has received LTI issued ACTFL Language Proficiency Certificates in Spanish as follows: Advanced Writing, Advanced Listening, Advanced Reading and Superior Speaking. During her downtime, Madeline loves spending time with her family, and enjoys dancing, movies, photography, and coffee. She considers herself a continuous learner. “A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers”- Helen Keller

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