How Bilingual Are You? Ways You Can Apply for a Bilingual Job

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Can you speak another language, but aren’t sure whether that counts as being bilingual? Should you even tell employers that you’re bilingual? Well, there’s actually a system that classifies a candidate’s bilingual skills, so that they know how to specify their proficiency when applying for bilingual jobs. If you want to learn about how to figure out how bilingual you are, and how you should prepare for a bilingual interview, keep on reading.

Levels of Bilingualism

There are three main levels of bilingualism, each referring to a different level of proficiency:

  • Professional Working Proficiency: Applicants in this category should be able to discuss a variety of topics, and have an almost complete understanding of what others are saying.
  • Full Professional Proficiency: If candidates can participate in all types of conversation with only minor errors while writing and speaking, then they’d be a member of this category.
  • Native Proficiency: Those that were born into, and have spoken the language growing up as their mother-tongue would be in this category.

Assess Your Bilingual Skills

When you’re applying for bilingual jobs, you may be required to assess your own bilingual skills. Employers may ask for your level of proficiency before beginning the interview process to make sure you have the abilities required for the role. They may give you comprehensive written and/or spoken tests to assess your skills, and decide whether they’d like to continue the recruitment process with you. In addition, they may conduct a portion of, or the entire interview in the desired second language

Create a Bilingual Resume

If you’re searching for a bilingual job, it’s probably a good idea to have a bilingual resume prepared. One of the most important things to note when tailoring your resume for a bilingual job position is that unless it’s been stated otherwise, always submit it in English. The section where you summarize your skills is where you should note which languages you speak, and how fluent you are in them, and whether you can write or speak them, or both.

While this point isn’t specific to bilingual resumes, it’s important to remember: always edit your objective at the beginning of your resume, depending on what type of position you’re applying for. Even if all the positions you’re interested in are in the same field, it never hurts to be specific in this section.

Looking for a Bilingual Job?

Resolve Recruit Inc. is one of the top bilingual recruitment agencies in the province, and can help you find the perfect bilingual position. Serving the GTA since 1999, you’re guaranteed to find a job with our staffing agency to assist you; we’ve built solid partnerships with clients and job seekers alike, which means we’re able to make lasting connections between qualified candidates and growing companies. Contacts us today to take advantage of our full-service recruitment firm.