Challenging Times
In today’s global marketplace, your business needs to continuously strive to remain competitive. For most businesses, that means being able to conduct day-to-day activities and negotiations overseas. This creates an immediate need for employees who are capable of representing your firm to international clients and corporations in their native language. Although it is true that most international companies have English-speaking personnel, if your company has one or more employees who are able to converse well in a foreign language that is the native tongue of an overseas contact, your company will not only be remembered–you may well win a coveted contract over your monolingual competitor. Finding qualified business employees who are bilingual is not difficult if you know where to begin your search. The following article will assist you in finding these talented individuals who can assist you in taking your business global for greater longevity and profit.
Be Specific
Take extra care when placing classified ads in your local major newspaper and/or in your city’s foreign language community periodicals stating that your company is searching for qualified applicants who are proficient in certain languages. For example, to find a Distribution and Marketing Director who is bilingual in Spanish, submit an ad in your local paper, as well as one in your city’s Hispanic community newspapers and business journals. Make sure that you explain the level of language skill needed. For example, do you only need someone who can speak more than one language fluently, someone to be able to read a foreign language and transcribe it into English, or someone who is able to speak, read, and write fluently and professionally in two or more languages? It is important to be as specific as possible.
Shop Around in the Right Places
Avoid using the “traditional” employment agencies if you decide to outsource your recruiting campaign. Register your firm with a temporary employment staffing company that specializes only in placing qualified bilingual applicants for you. Links have been included with this article for recruiting firms that specialize in finding professionals with specific language abilities. These companies are equipped to effectively test prospective bilingual applicants qualified in different industries from Medicine, Law, Business Administration, Personnel/Human Resources, Accounting and Banking, Hospitality, and Restaurant Management/Culinary Arts. They will send candidates to be interviewed who are most likely to be the best fit for your needs. This will also give you the opportunity to “try out” an applicant for a predetermined period in order to see if they would make an excellent permanent employee.
Know the Right Way to Approach Colleges and Universities
When seeking to recruit soon-to-be graduates at local universities and colleges in your region, ask the right questions. Many educational institutions have Career Placement centers for graduating students who either will soon be, or are currently searching for a career position. Contact these offices directly as a prospective employer. For instance, if you are searching for a bilingual manager for your clothing boutique who speaks French and English equally well, ask for a list of graduates registered with the Career Placement Center who have studied Sales, Marketing, Business or Retail Management and who have also majored or minored in the French language department. Graduates today are likely to be fluent or semi-fluent in at least one other language in addition to English, in addition to having valuable professional degrees.
Join Multiple Chambers of Commerce
Join your city’s primary Chamber of Commerce AND its affiliate Chambers of Commerce that serve the bilingual business community or communities in your local area (i.e.- the Latin American/Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, L’Alliance Francaise, etc.). Participate in their sponsored business networking functions and events. This will provide you with valuable connections to other business people who either may be, or who are aware of other, potential candidates for your business. Cultivate professional relationships with the people that you meet who may one day be of assistance to you and your business goals. Keep in mind that you may also be of service to them as well one day. Be sure to give a business card to your new contact, and always ask for theirs. You never know when your name or business will come up in their future conversations elsewhere in the business community. Very often, “word of mouth” publicity can generate the most success.
Speaking of Business Cards…
You may find it useful to have business cards printed with English on one side, and the same information in the target language on the other. Bring an ample supply as you take part in your local community’s Job Fairs. The more visible you make your business as a bilingual employer, the more interest you can attract from bilingual employee candidates in your region. At these events, you will have access to a variety of qualified people of several cultural backgrounds who are likely to be able to comfortably use more than one language in a professional business environment.
One Final Word
Remember that highly skilled potential employees with bilingual ability may not necessarily look like you might expect. Many Hispanic American candidates may not be fluent in Spanish, but an Asian American Advertising candidate who is fluent in English may speak French like a native Parisian or Spanish like a Castilian. An African American Marketing candidate may speak, read, and write Russian and Japanese better than most CIA operatives. Don’t allow preconceived stereotypes to cause you to overlook someone who could potentially take your business to the next level of expansion. Your competition just might hire them first.
