ShareThisIn today's global economy, being multilingual can give you an advantage as a job candidate. Companies in nearly every industry rely on geographically dispersed teams to serve customers and clients around the world, which means foreign language skills have never been more valuable - or marketable. But you should note your multilingual abilities on your resume only if you are fluent."FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS: Some very rusty Spanish."Not the professional polish we were hoping for. "FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS: Conversational German. Like, 'Could I have something to drink?' and 'Where are the restrooms?'"A loose interpretation of conversational."FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS: Plan to learn Italian one day."Let us know when that day comes."FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS: Barely enough French to keep myself fed in a French village for a week."He survived on nothing but fries and toast."FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS: None. But I have a passport, and I am ready and willing to travel!"We're not sure that counts.As this next example shows, it's extremely important to carefully proofread your resume for mistakes that your computer's spell-check feature won't catch. For instance, be on the lookout for homonyms, or words with the same pronunciation but different spellings or meanings."LANGUAGES: Read, speak and right English."He just doesn't have the "write" stuff.Here are two more equally egregious errors:COVER LETTER: "I'm fairly unsofisticated."No argument here.CONTACT INFORMATION: "Same as avove."A candidate who is not "above" making a mistake.For more Resumania, and to submit samples you've come across, visit www.resumania.com. Keep the Resumania coming. Examples can be sent to Resumania, c/o Robert Half International, 2884 Sand Hill Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, Calif., 94025, or faxed to 650-234-6998.Max Messmer is chairman and CEO of Robert Half International, a specialized staffing firm, and author of Managing Your Career For Dummies(r) and Job Hunting For Dummies(r), 2nd Edition. His most recent book is Human Resources Kit For Dummies(r), 2nd Edition.????????2
Be careful touting foreign language skills on resume
Submitted by SHNS on Tue, 09/02/2008 - 13:02
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