It is often said that knowing several foreign languages is good for your career, but how much does this actually have an impact in practice? I sat down with James Mandl, Head of Recruitment and Development at EF, to discuss his thoughts on the topic.
Question: James, Can you first tell us briefly what exactly you do at EF and what your career with us has been like so far?
Answer: I work as recruitment and development directori.e. as head of recruitment and development. My job is to recruit and hire new staff for our European schools and offices. I am also responsible for the training and further education of our employees. I started as academic director at EF in Quito, Ecuador, and then became principal of the Spanish and English schools there. Then I worked as a school principal in Miami before coming to Switzerland and as operations manager or operations manager worked for our non-English schools. Afterwards I was from Zurich as business integration manager responsible for connecting IT and business goals and worked with our tech teams in Bangalore.
Question: Which languages do you speak fluently?
Answer: I speak English, Spanish and French.
Question: What influence have your foreign language skills had on your career so far?
Answer: In almost every job I’ve ever held, I’ve had to rely on my language skills. Without Spanish I wouldn’t have been able to do my first job at EF in Quito. And to this day, my language skills have been the central tool that has allowed me to successfully fulfill my tasks and advance my career.
Question: EF has more than 46,000 employees worldwide. How important would you say it is for applicants to speak several foreign languages?
Answer: On the campus of every EF school, in our offices and everywhere you go in this company, people speak multiple languages. This is of course part of the company culture at EF, but the same applies to many other international companies and corporations. At EF we expect all employees to be multilingual, and if you want to move up you have to be open to being transferred abroad. Where we send an employee depends primarily on which languages they speak.
Question: How many languages are enough?
Answer: In today’s world, two languages may no longer be enough. The good news, however, is that it gets easier the more languages you learn. From the perspective of my professional experience, I would say that three languages are the minimum: your own mother tongue and two foreign languages.
Question: When you look at applications, what things do you pay particular attention to in the CV? What is most important?
Answer: For entry-level positions, we value internships, volunteer work or service, and personal achievements. For higher positions, we pay attention to professional experience and previous achievements as well as transferable knowledge and skills. Language skills and international experience are of course essential for our applicants, whether that means working abroad, traveling or studying abroad.
Here are some more resume tips for James.
Question: What does it tell you when you see that an applicant has lived abroad?
Answer: In my opinion, the longer someone has been abroad, the better. This shows adaptability and flexibility. When I see that someone has lived abroad, I can usually deduce that they are willing to take risks and want to develop themselves. But more importantly, there’s a good chance I’ll be dealing with an open person who has good communication skills and can cope well with a multicultural work environment.
Question: What advice would you give to people who are thinking about learning another foreign language to advance their career? Where should they go?
Answer: From an HR manager’s perspective, it’s basically not that important where you learned English. Sydney, London, New York, Cape Town, it all fits very well. But if a candidate is from Paris, for example, and learned English in Perth, that tells me that person is adventurous. And when I see that someone lived in Costa Rica to learn Spanish or moved to Shanghai to learn Chinese, that tells me the candidate’s global outlook.
Question: If you want to work for an international company like EF, is it essential to have international experience?
Answer: I would answer this question with yes. Moving to a foreign country is not always easy, and at EF we want to offer our customers the best possible support for their ambitious projects. How are our sales employees supposed to provide effective advice if they have never lived abroad? How could our teachers and on-site staff at language schools teach and properly care for students if they have never had this experience themselves? Our employees draw on their own experiences abroad and abroad. They can use their knowledge to help ensure that our students enjoy and get the most out of their language courses abroad.
Question: What do you recommend to people, how should they best gain experience abroad?
Answer: I would always recommend starting with the language. Once you have mastered the foreign language, you can apply for internships abroad. You can also ask your current employer whether there is the possibility of moving abroad within the company, for example to a branch or subsidiary. Networking is also very important. You can build a network at home. Who knows? You can always meet someone who lives and works abroad and may be able to help you find a job with your employer.
Question: And how do you manage to master a language well enough to work in an office?
Answer: First of all, you have to be realistic. A two-week intensive language course is probably not enough; However, with several shorter language stays or a long-term language program abroad, you can still become good enough to get a job. Language learning is a never-ending process. This means always staying on the ball and using books, films and apps to delve deeper into the foreign language, even after work and in between. To master the language so that you can work relaxed and successfully in an international company, you need time, commitment and patience, but it’s definitely worth it in the end.
Question: When is the right time to learn a new language?
Answer: The simplest answer is always: now. My father is 85 years old and is currently learning his sixth language, Spanish. Here at EF we have a few friends who are over 40 and spend three weeks every year combining their summer vacation with a language course to improve their English. In my opinion, every trip offers the opportunity to learn something new about other cultures and improve your language skills. We can always develop ourselves, both as employees and as people, and with everything we learn we also increase our chances. Learning a foreign language is always a good idea.
