Why Being Bilingual [Spanish+ English] Isn’t Enough. 9 Tips.

Being bilingual [Spanish+ English] is often a requirement in applying for certain jobs. Being bilingual is simply a competitive advantage, but is this enough?

Job Skills + Position Requirements+ Nine Tips [courtesy of BilingualHire]
Clearly if you don’t have the job skills and minimum position requirements needed to perform the task at hand, being bilingual will be of little help. Being bilingual and having these credentials will make you a strong candidate for ascending to top management, especially in an environment where A. Spanish is spoken, and B. the customers/clients speak Spanish. In many cases experience will be considered in lieu of education requirements.

So what do you do if you are already bilingual and want to advance your career? Here are 9 tips to take away and post on your to-do-board:

1. Subject Matter Expert: know your stuff. This means acquiring all the required certifications and endorsements for your job or job you are applying for.
2. Engaged: become an active member of your industry profession. For instance if you are a teacher/counselor then join OALA. If you are employed in human resources join Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Employed in marketing, get engaged with the American Marketing Association (AMA). In health care, do the Oregon Latino Health Coalition (OLHC). Interested in Chicana/Chicano Studies then the obvious is the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS). Have a business and confused about online marketing? Bring your business to the next Inbound Marketing Summit and learn from top experts in the field. Follow me?
3. Excel: excel at your profession. “Under promise and over deliver” is not just rhetoric it’s a state of mind. Be a voracious reader and be the “go to person” to be counted on to solve problems and drive solutions.
4. Advanced degrees: there are Masters degrees, Law degrees and PhDs. Never too late to start.
5. Professional development: attend as many local, regional, national and international conferences you can afford (ask your company/organization to send you). There you will share your insights and expertise and equally gain from your peers perspectives. Excellent networking opportunities exist here. And, keep connected on LinkedIn (my profile).
6. Present on a panel and do media interviews: share your passion and expertise with others as much as you possibly can. Why? Part of advancing your career is being visible. Today, SlideShare and Scribd makes it super easy to share your expertise.
7. Join a board: some are public boards/commissions by appointment (ex. mayor, governor or president) or election (ex. school board). The Importance of Serving on a Board goes into more detail. Do it today. Of course when you move up the ranks you may be called upon to provide advice to the Chief Executive Officer of a corporation. The Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) is the lead advocate on this front.
8. Run a political campaign: this will give you a “birds eye view” of the electoral process, experience in campaign management, fundraising, communications, marketing, public relations, and most importantly provide invaluable insight into public policy. The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management is a good place to start. Sometimes campaign staff are brought on if your candidate wins. So win.
9. Mentor others: mentor others in your community, offline and online, and empower those around you. Today they are your mentee and important. Tomorrow they could be more important and hold the key to your career success. Your career success.

Enjoy your weekend–

David Molina is the co-founder/CEO of BilingualHire. He can be reached directly at: david at bilingualhireco dot com, 1+(503) 708-4614 or you can follow his lifestream on Twitter.