Habla Español? Benefits of Being Bilingual

I have recently taken it upon myself to learn Spanish. I have always wished to be fluent in another language, but have never dedicated the time to actually learning it. Sure, I took two years of French in high school, but I remember very little and never put the language to use. With America's Hispanic population steadily increasing, Spanish just seemed like the best language to try and learn.

So why learn another language? There are several reasons, but perhaps the most important are:

• You need something to differentiate yourself
• Creates an opportunity to expand your network
• Creates more job opportunities
  

Having a bachelor's degree today does not create the same opportunities having a bachelor's degree twenty years ago created. It is commonplace to have a college education. It no longer sets you apart from other people. I propose that having international experience and/or being bilingual will set you apart...for now. In the future, I believe that it will be commonplace to be bilingual as well.

Being bilingual allows you to expand your network into other cultures. It enables you to communicate with even more people. Since deciding to learn Spanish, I have become interested in getting to know others who speak Spanish and have begun to create a network in Spanish speaking countries.

Some jobs require that you be bilingual to even qualify for the position. Take two job candidates who graduated from the same university with the same GPA and virtually were all the same academically and had similar work histories. Take those same two candidates and review their resumes. Both appear to be equal on paper except that one speaks another language. Perhaps the candidate who does not would better fit the position, but if an employer had to hire based solely off of the paper resumes, the bilingual candidate would receive the position hands down. Being bilingual differentiated him from the other candidate.

At this point, you are probably asking, "How do I learn another language?"

• Enroll in a language course
• Join a language club
  
• Purchase books and read up
• Download podcasts
• Listen to music, watch movies, etc. in the language you are practicing
• Locate others who speak the language
• Purchase software such as Rosetta Stone
• And many others ways!
  

It will take some time, but I am convinced you will be pleased with the end results. Dedicate time each day to studying the language and use it whenever you can. There are opportunities that come about when you are bilingual that do not arise when you are not. Being bilingual will benefit your overall personal life as well. After all, you will learn a lot about a new culture and will have more experience with diversity.