"Soft Technology" that Can Help Your Business & Career

I recently used on an online business forum to converse with a colleague living overseas. He had commented on an article endorsing learning foreign languages to further one's career. Having benefited from my experience knowing another lingo myself, I chimed in with some advice.

I share my conversation with you below...

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Krishna - I have been thinking of learning a new language for a very long time... I hear it's very helpful for boosting one's career.

John - I must say: learning another language has made all the difference for me - both professionally, and as a chance to develop personally.

Krishna - In what sense, John? Professionally, how does it make a difference if you know a foreign language or not? Of course, personally, it may be helpful at some point or the other but I am not sure how helpful it is professionally to learn a foreign language unless you want to do some translation work.

John - Actually I work with the translation of volumes of text. The content I write gets translated into about 16 different languages, and most of it is done electronically, and given a cursory once-over by a native of the target language. Translation as a people-driven process is fast dying, if not dead already.

This is not to say knowing a foreign language applies to translation jobs only. Not at all. There are other opportunities available that require the knowledge of another language. I'll give you a couple of personal examples.

Where Foreign Language Does Help Your Career

John - I worked on a project recently as a technical writer for a US-based company. The company partnered on a new product being developed by engineers in China. There was to be one technical writer assigned to the project, and the project would involve frequent travel to China. The tech writer candidate pool came down to two people: myself and another writer who had a lot more experience than I did in the kind of product we were developing.

Ultimately, because I spoke Chinese and demonstrated an ability to learn up quickly on new products, I was chosen over the "better-qualified" individual.

Not only did I travel overseas to do some writing, I spent hours conversing with the engineers in their native tongue. With this skill in hand, I had access to information my other American colleagues didn't get.

Another Example

John - On another project,I contracted with an industrial company to acquire a 20-ton oil recycling machine made in China. Because of communication issues they were having with overseas suppliers, the client was thinking of buying a similar much more expensive machine in the US.

Again, because I knew Chinese, the client was able to have me represent them first over the phone with their supplier, and then later in person after I flew over to China. After I arrived there, I tested the machine and was then given the authority to place an order and purchase the machine. See me testing the machine by clicking here.

By buying the machine from China, the client was able to secure the technology at a much lower price, and I was able to charge a good consulting fee for helping them out!

After the machine arrived in America, I had the further opportunity to do the tech writing for the machine operator's manual.

Choosing a Foreign Business Language

Krishna - That's a good example, and people with foreign language skills are flourishing well. So, I guess it's never too late to start working on a foreign language.

Can you suggest me one? I was thinking of French or German.

John - Krishna, consider all six factors: who, what, where, when, how and why.

Where

Where will you be working? Do the people you would be working with in your chosen profession speak a language other than those you currently speak? If you wish to change professions, then what language do those folks who work that profession speak?

Who

With whom will you be working? Do the demographic of people, or continent, or work sector predominantly with whom you might be working speak a foreign language or dialect?

What

What is the line of business? Is your industry of choice dominated by businesspeople who speak a certain language? Does your line of business have clients who fit a certain profile? For example, if you will be working with English-speaking American folks similar to those I worked with, and in a company that jobs things out to Chinese firms, then Mandarin Chinese would be an obvious choice for language study.

When

The "when" factor not only has something to do with telephone calls you may make to various international time zones, but it also has to do with what's happening in the world for the long-term. With a growing trend in outsourcing of product manufacturing, look at where all this outsourcing is going over time (when).

For example, a lot of the local people in the northeastern part of mainland China (formerly Manchuria) are learning to speak Japanese because telephone help desk firms in Japan are finding it too expensive to staff their business with native Japanese-speakers. Instead, they are relocating their offices across the pond and hiring on industrious young Chinese people who learned to speak Japanese. In this case, timing was the issue.

Eighty years ago, Japan and that part of China were at war with each other. Now, the timing for cooperation is at hand. That means new jobs for young Chinese people who speak a foreign tongue. What opportunity peeks at you in the future?

How

If you work in an industry that currently doesn't do business with folks who speak a foreign language, then ask yourself how the ability to communicate in another language may help? Is the opportunity there to expand business by learning up?

Why

Lastly, and sometimes most importantly, the why factor works strongly into whether to study a foreign language. On the business side, is studying foreign language well justified? If not for business reasons, then personal reasons can factor in strongly, too. Why are you motivated by that certain language? Is your curiosity in that language strong enough to carry your through?

Exceptions to the Rules

In my case, my personal why certainly factored in an learning a foreign language for business. Studying Chinese meant I was going to be eating a lot of good food!

Aside from this, I studied it as a labor of love, regardless of any business reasons, and without any consideration for logic whatsoever. As they say: if something is done for love, then throw away the rules!

In this case, you can also throw away my advice above - and just learn for the pure joy!

Good luck!

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