For many people across the world, the United States is a symbol of opportunity and potential. However, many people who end up moving to the United States and are not native of the country can find it difficult to find a job. While many people who are not native of the United States may feel that they are disadvantaged during the job hunt, there are actually many different benefits and advantages that they can provide to a potential employer. It is important for a job seeker to highlight these advantages and attributes when they are meeting with potential employers.
Advantages of Being Bilingual
One of the advantages that someone that is not born in the United States can provide to an employer is the fact that they may speak multiple languages. Most people who immigrate to the United States will speak Spanish or some other language fluently. Today in the United States, more and more people who do not speak English are moving into the country. This creates a huge set of people that need to be served by local businesses. Because of this, employers will need to hire people that are able to speak both their native language as well as English to ensure they are able to communicate with the changing customer base.
Being bilingual will also make you a valuable employee. This is because you could possibly influence the company in terms of its ability to grow and reach new audiences. If there is a local Russian community and you happen to speak Russian, for example, you’ll open your company’s doors to that audience. If your company wants to grow internationally, you’ll be able to help them reach those in countries where the majority speak your native tongue. Sounds like a lot of responsibility, right? If you feel the need to improve your ability to speak or write in English to better aid your company, consider looking into ESL classes.
More Potential for Leadership Roles
Another reason why hiring someone who is not from the United States can be beneficial is that immigrants are quickly becoming business leaders all over the country. Today, immigrants make up more than 25% of all small businesses across the country. Furthermore, they are more than twice as likely to start their own small business compared to someone who was born in the United States. Hiring someone who is not born in the United States could give the company the ability to start grooming an individual that is more than capable of leading and growing an organization.
Help Companies to Have a Competitive Edge
Beyond the fact that an immigrant may be bilingual, they will also have further insight into culture and other factors that can influence an organization’s ability to capture this growing market. By hiring an immigrant and treating others by providing them with a multitude of opportunities for professional growth, an organization will be able to have far more insight into the cultural differences that are crucial to winning new customers. This is a huge benefit when it comes to a company’s marketing strategy as well as being able to have more of a competitive edge on other companies.
As you go about looking into the various career opportunities out there, don’t forget to highlight the diversity that you could offer a company and the attributes that come from it. As you can see from the points made above, a business is more likely to grow from what you have to offer.
