Language Requirement

I read an article recently about a freshly graduated finance kid that wandered around Wall Street with a sign and a QR code lamenting his ability to find a job after having exhausted all of the traditional options like LinkedIn networking and direct resume submittals on company websites. As described in the feel-good article, this kid landed on his feet with an invitation to apply for a position somewhere.

[Sidebar: The journalist who wrote the article was then too antsy to publish and didn’t wait the three days to find out if the kind got the job, so this is where my story ends.]

I laughed and laughed and laughed when I read this article.

Let me explain: I give this kid complete and utter props for being creative, and I have enough family in that age bracket to appreciate the struggle to find a job these days. But, at the same time, I work for the employer. I need to hire someone that I KNOW will be able to do the job. I do not support “big risk, big reward” types of industries – nobody is going to bet their own money on a future Warren Buffet coming out of a career in janitorial services

[Sidebar: To the folks in janitorial services, let me say that I respect the challenges that come with your position. Not the point I’m trying to make in this article, though, so I’m going to move on.]

The plain facts are that I support employers that need it right the first time, and the only way to achieve that—within reason—is to hire someone who has ALREADY done it.

Accordingly, if you apply for a job that has very specific requirements listed, and you do not have those requirements, why on earth are you perennially surprised when the interview process does not go well? Please! Tell me!

Examples: I was hunting for a bi-lingual data-entry clerk for one of my clients. The main requirement of the job was the, you guessed it, bi-lingual part. Spanish, to be precise. The client required candidates to be at a business-level fluency in Spanish to be considered for the position.

Why?

Because much of the correspondence (written and spoken) was in Spanish as some of their main customers are located in Spanish-speaking countries.

This is not a situation where a transferrable skill is going to do you much good. If you don’t have Spanish on Day 1, don’t bother.

But wait!

So, there I was reviewing resumes, and one lady calls in to follow up on her application (which, mind you, I had initially passed on because it did not indicate any level of Spanish fluency). One would like to think that candidate applying for a bi-lingual clerk position would, in fact, have, at minimum, the language requirement to be considered. Well, let's take a look at that particular conversation.

No-Spanish (henceforth NS): I'm calling to follow up on my application for the data-entry clerk position.

Me: (pulls up resume and briefly reviews some of the pertinent details with NS) The position does require a business-level fluency in Spanish, but I don't see any languages listed on your resume.

NS: Well, I'm currently taking French.

Me: Alright, but, again, this position requires a business-level fluency in Spanish. Is that a skill you possess?

NS: No, but I'm willing to learn.

Me: Unfortunately, we cannot consider you at this time. The client is looking for someone to jump into both written and spoken business correspondence to their Spanish customers immediately. They do no have time for someone to learn a new language.

NS: I'm a fast learner.

Me: I'm sure you are, but since you are currently unable to do the majority of the job duties, they will not be considering you.

Requirements are listed for a reason. Sure, there are times when a hiring manager will look at transferrable skills, but a language is not something a client is willing to look past when it is pertinent to perform the majority of the job duties. Let's use some common sense, people.

Gracias!