7/01/19 - Include Foreign Language Skills on Your Résumé




Include foreign language skills on your #resume as a “!” skill you bring to a prospective employer.  Even if you speak a language that you don’t think you’ll use often on the job, the infographic below showcases some of the many benefits employers can reap from your bilingual wiring. 

Include your language skills on your Summary of Qualifications to showcase the level of proficiency you possess.  For instance “Full verbal and written fluency in Spanish,” or “Possess native fluency in French,” or even “Possess limited conversational fluency in Mandarin.”  These quick statements provide context for the employer as to whether you’re fluent-enough to send to a foreign land to negotiate the next big deal, or whether you just know enough to make friends in the boardroom by pleasantly surprising foreign visitors with a “Kon'nichiwa soshite yōkoso.”

As for me, yo hablo español casi con fluidez, j'ai étudié le français un peu, thanks to some Brazilian colleagues, I can mangle my way through what I’ve dubbed “Portañol,” and I can manage a small handful of pleasant exchanges in Japanese.  While my day-to-day work may not employ these skills regularly, I’m confident they’ve helped me to build or enrich relationships and demonstrate my intellectual curiosity to experience the world in new ways.  I would probably only claim the Spanish skills on my résumé unless I’d be working with a LOT of French colleagues or clients in which case I might mention my still-developing francophonic skills.

Highlighting your “!” foreign language skills is one way to use !@#$%, the Signs of a Great Résumé to write a résumé that speaks for itself.




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