Learn a Foreign Language to Further Your Career!

One of my readers, Ann, recently asked me a question about a previous article I had written − Get Ahead As a Writer By Learning a Foreign Language − which you can read by clicking here.

Here's Ann's question:

Dear John,

Did it help your career to know how to speak Chinese? How did you get started?

Thanks,

- Ann

Read Up On Foreign Culture

Ann, thanks for your note and question! My answer also ties in with two other articles about Chinese culture. You can read them here:

• The Concept of "Guanxi" in Chinese Culture

• The Concept of "Face" in Chinese Culture

Stand Out In Business: Learn a Foreign Lingo

While "global trade" and "worldwide connectivity" have become household phrases, does high-tech really enhance the "human" experience we require for doing business with people on the other side of the world? Many believe the answer is "no".

Assuming we continue to be visually oriented, and assuming we better trust a real human presence instead of the imagined personage whom we've never seen - and only know through email, chat, or video − we humans work best together in person. Given that we can fly across the globe with relative ease now, it helps to show up in person for business meetings.

But you can go one step further to solidify your relationships with key business colleagues.

Blow them away by learning their language.

Benefits of Learning Foreign Language

Ann's question reflects the myriad questions other people have asked me about learning a foreign language and how that has helped my career.

I cannot tell you what doors may instantly fly open for you, even if you speak your foreign audience's language poorly! But by just making an earnest effort to speak with your foreign colleagues in their home language, in many cases you will earn their respect and attention as a fellow business person.

If this effort in learning a new language somehow doesn't make sense to you: picture yourself standing in a small room. Try to fill the room with people with whom you could possibly do business. No matter your best intentions, eventually the room would fill up and no-one else could come in.

Assuming these walls were the barrier of not knowing another language, would it be worth it for you to break down these walls now? Or at least significantly widen the space within these walls? If knowing a foreign language made the difference between you and the other person in being selected for that dream job doing international business, would you study up?

Yes, then knowing another tongue is indeed worth the effort.

How I Got Started

Some years ago at university, after exploring several fields of study I decided to hunker down with a Chinese / East Asian Studies major. I have never regretted the decision and the effort it later took to get my degree.

While I wasn't able to get work related to my study immediately after graduating, I kept searching for work and eventually landed a job for which I was very poorly qualified. My only saving graces were that I was willing to learn, and that I spoke Chinese. Granted, I wasn't even speaking fluently at that time, but I had a good start, and made it clear to everyone that I would continue my personal study of the language and the new business at hand.

The job I got was as a Country Regional Manager in the shipping and transport industry. For this job I was able to travel deep into inland China, and I helped coordinate shipments of capital equipment for several factories - ultimately responsible for the careful and timely handling of machinery worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Why Knowing Another Language Is Important

After several years of living in the mainland, I returned to my home in the US. I was filled with a confidence I never knew possible.

Since returning I've held several other China-related jobs. I've worked both as a corporate suit. I've pulled my own weight as an independent contractor, too. I consulted different businesses in areas such as international sales, international procurement, shipping and logistics, overseas manufacturing, and even taught cultural etiquette. All the while I have been able to travel to China for business many times.

Most importantly, I've been able to secure work I otherwise would have never gotten - all because I knew how to speak a foreign language!

Study the Culture Also

It doesn't help to just know a foreign language. It helps to know the culture, too. Concurrent to any language study you may pursue, make certain to study the people and the culture that encapsulate that language also.

Before considering learning the Chinese language, I studied up on China's culture. I found that guanxi ("good relations") is critical to having a relationship of any kind with Chinese business people - even if working with folks outside of China. While I lived in China, I kept a circle of more friends than I would have dared to back home.

Serious Study: "Drinking Saliva"

When living in China, I saw some western friends and colleagues taking the most intensive (and perhaps the most enjoyable!) foreign language courses available. They partook in what's known in Chinese as 喝口水 (he kou shui), which means "drinking saliva".

What this infers is the inevitable exchange of saliva when two people kiss. When Chinese people observe that western men and women have formed intimate bonds with the local people, they say these westerners are "drinking saliva" - thus signifying that they have taken their integration very seriously. The physical proof is evidenced by their intimate relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend, who may eventually become a husband or wife.

Perseverance

As it is with the powerful relationships that you may eventually form because of your understanding of another language and culture, my advice is to persevere in your studies. While it's most tempting to quit early and spend the rest of your life wondering what would have become of you if you had only followed through to fluency, I encourage you to keep going. Don't give up.

Among the most effective methods to keep yourself going is to place yourself in a situation where you are forced to use your new tongue. Travel to the land where this new language is spoken everywhere. Make friends there, do a little business, teach some English courses - even if for a few weeks. Form bonds that will make you cravestudying your new language even more!

While you may not necessarily wish to "drink saliva" while you're there, being able to twist your tongue enough to have other people understand you will help get you off to a good start...

And eventually maybe even a great job, too!

Good luck!

Other Reading:

John's China Articles
The Concept of "Guanxi" (Relations) in Chinese CultureThe Concept of "Face" in Chinese Culture