SCENARIO...I do not speak Spanish, is that why I cannot get a decent job?
By KYEEDAH1
@KYEEDAH1 (139)
United States
November 17, 2008 10:50am CST
Have you ever been on a job interview and the interview is going well and the managers are just ready to hire you and all of a sudden, at the very end of it, they ask "are you bi-lingual? (english and spanish)When I answer, no, they tell me "oh, that would have been great if you did.." Mind you, the job does not have anything to do with speaking Spanish. Or have you ever seen advertisements for a job in any field and you see the words "Spanish Speakng a Must" , how can they even say that? Isn't that discrimination? How can every other job ad include that phrase and I am sure it has nothing to do with the job.
And believe it or not, I also answered an ad once for a customer service representative and they said they were looking for bi-lingual spanish speakers. I saw the same ad a few weeks later and decided to call anonymously just to see what they would say and they told me the same thing, what is up with that?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
17 Nov 08
Unfortunately, it's not discrimination but a way to cater to the evergrowing hispanic population in this country. Instead of forcing them to learn English we are being forced to learn Spanish or the job market will get tighter for us. It's crazy, isn't it? I learned the language, why can't they? If you move to a foreign country you can't expect everybody do cater to your needs, including your language so you can get around. Yet, here in the US that particular group of immigrants is catered to. But hey, I can't complain. They are first class immigrants, I'm only second class;)
1 person likes this
@KYEEDAH1 (139)
• United States
20 Nov 08
Hmmmm, i am sorry..I agree with the idea that speaking a second lanuguage can serve as a skill that you obtain, but disagree with your idea that it cannot serve as a basis for discrimination in the workplace. Maybe you personally have not experienced this, but some jobs for which I applied required that you are spanish bilingual. Again, in those instances, the companies had customers who were Hispanic but not everyone. If you have several people working for the company who already are bi-lingual why do you need a whole staff of bi-lingual speaking individuals? You do not. Some companies have to cater to the Hispanic community if they are specifically addressing their needs,such as non profits who help with job readiness, language skills, etc. but I am talking about jobs that do not require the skill but somehow these companies make this a requirement... engineering companies, teaching jobs (and i don't mean ESL teachers), etc. Have you ever considered the other people who are in America whose population is also growing such as the Chinese? Should it then be a requirement for most companies to have applicants be bi-lingual in English and Manderin? I do not think so. Only if the clients in which you serve are of a particular population of people, then maybe.
@djoana0623 (11)
• United States
19 Nov 08
i cannot understand why it is very important here in the US that you know how to speak spanish?!? its so odd considering that this is supposedly an ENGLISH SPEAKING country. It should be the spanish who has to learn how to speak english than the other way around. Its a sort of an insult to the other nationalities here in the US because we are here not to speak spanish but to find a better opportunity. I donr believe in the Equal Opportunity Employer thing in the employment websites because most of the time that is not the case, jsut as you were asked if you could spak spanish that would have been an advantage.
@KYEEDAH1 (139)
• United States
20 Nov 08
Like someone else said, companies i guess are trying to cater to the growing number of Hispanics here in the US, but I am with you...that does not make it right. We are an English speaking nation and besides there are other lanuguages spoken here as well.
@ryanbeasy123 (26)
• United States
21 Nov 08
What I see from this topic and her comments being Kyeedah1 is that no matter your background and education you seem to be left out for positions that really don't require a second language but those are the requirements for the position! It's very stressful and unbelievable that jobs are catering to Spanish speaking people but the job doesn't require using it! It's very confusing but at the end of the day it's a tough economy and people want to fill positions but they don't get the same opportunity as others!
