International flair: For career growth, learning new language time well spent

A few years ago, Russell Kane was looking for a hobby for his spare time at home. After considering a few options like yoga and painting, he realized he could do something that could bring him personal satisfaction and professional advancement. “I was in customer service at the time and wanted to make myself more valuable to my current employer and more hirable to my future employer, and I figured learning Spanish would be a good thing,” says the 34-year-old Ann Arbor, Michigan, resident. “I hadn’t taken a Spanish class since high school and I’m happy to say it was much easier the second time around.”

As a result of his newly learned language, Kane was promoted to manager and eventually became a key part of his company’s expansion into Mexico. “The timing was perfect,” he says.

And that perfect timing is still in play for many others.

As the U.S. population grows increasingly diverse, demand for employees with foreign-language skills continues to grow. Kane and numerous others have chosen to expand their skill set with a foreign language through online services, Zoom-friendly tutors, podcasts, advanced education, ebooks and more.

For job seekers eager to separate themselves from the crowd of candidates in a specific field, picking up a second language can be just the thing to propel you to the front of the pack, says Graciela Kenig, author of “Best Careers for Bilingual Latinos” (McGraw-Hill, $14.95).

“Without a doubt, being bilingual increases employability,” Kenig says. “My own personal experience attests to that. Out of the 10 jobs or consulting assignments I’ve had over the last 20 years, nine could be traced directly to the fact that I spoke English and Spanish.”

The top industries for bilingual candidates include financial services, healthcare, social services, sales and marketing and public service, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The American economic system already relies heavily on interconnected people of different nations and cultures and many corporations are looking to add multilingual employees to their ranks.

For example, businesses must hire people who understand their clients’ and vendors’ language and culture to sell goods and services to a multicultural market.