{"id":13988,"date":"2021-07-23T11:11:29","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T11:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=13988"},"modified":"2023-04-09T19:22:43","modified_gmt":"2023-04-09T19:22:43","slug":"language-abilities-on-a-cover-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/language-abilities-on-a-cover-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Highlight Language Abilities on a Cover Letter: Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being able to speak a second or third language is undoubtedly one of the most useful and multi-industry skills to possess as a job-seeker. <\/span><\/p>\n

Any company would value someone who can speak to clients or potential business partners from another country, so it is important to make this a highlight on a resume. <\/span><\/p>\n

Can you also highlight this on a cover letter?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How to Highlight Language Abilities on a Cover Letter<\/b><\/h2>\n

First, decide whether the language ability is relevant to the job. While being multi-lingual should always be included on a resume<\/a>, it should only be highlighted in a cover letter if it would be a major aspect of the job in question. Use paragraph-style formatting when including language ability.<\/b><\/p>\n

To begin, it is important to review the functions of a <\/span>cover letter<\/a><\/strong> vs the functions of a resume. Resumes are to detail one’s previous job history, and one’s skills. <\/span><\/p>\n

A cover letter<\/a> is written in a similar style as a letter that tells an employer why you are a good fit for the position in question.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cover letters are kept to just a few paragraphs and should only include extremely relevant information. <\/span><\/p>\n

They are not just summaries of the resume, but rather a more personal detailing of why they are qualified for the position. <\/span><\/p>\n

Because cover letters are not just a showcasing of all of one’s skills, any language abilities should not be included unless it would be a part of the job in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Examples may include those who will be working or <\/span>studying abroad<\/a><\/strong> in a foreign country, those who will work in translation, those in positions requiring international travel, or those who seek to become interpreters. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another reason to include a foreign language ability is if you are looking for a job in an area where that language is spoken frequently. <\/span><\/p>\n

Spanish<\/a><\/strong> is common in southern states of the United States, and French is more common in the north. <\/span><\/p>\n

Companies may put a greater value on these language skills if they frequently get customers who can better be served in their foreign tongue.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How to include language abilities on a cover letter<\/b><\/h2>\n

Language abilities should be included using paragraph-style writing. When including details about relevant working experience, you may include the language ability as a full sentence in the same paragraph. You may also create a new paragraph for it if knowing said language is integral to the job. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike in a resume, you do not need to <\/span>include the dates<\/a><\/strong> of study for the language, or the dates for any jobs involving language skills. <\/span><\/p>\n

Listing the amount of years studied or the level of fluency is plenty. <\/span><\/p>\n

A proper way to list language ability on a cover letter is as follows: <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

I am writing to express my interest in the public health associate position listed on monster.com. With over 4 years of experience in the public service field and 6 years in management, I am certain that I would be an asset to the team.<\/p>\n

I am fully fluent in Spanish and have experience with community outreach programs designed to help those who require assistance but do not speak English. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

You must not only tell them that you are proficient in a language, but tell them why that is relevant to them.<\/p>\n

In this example, the employer can see that the language ability of the applicant was beneficial to their previous job.<\/p>\n

You want to tell an employer how you could be useful to them and highlight the skills that will best showcase this.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Should you include intermediate language ability on a cover letter?<\/b><\/h2>\n

You should include intermediate language ability on a cover letter if it is relevant to the job which you are seeking. An intermediate level of language ability can likely be helpful to a company, but make sure that your level of fluency meets your employer’s needs before writing it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you think that your level is low to intermediate-low, then do not include it on a cover letter. It will not make that much of a difference on your daily work within that company, so it is ultimately a waste of space on your cover letter. <\/span><\/p>\n

Do not under any circumstance exaggerate your language ability on a cover letter. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you can only say hello, goodbye, and numbers 1-10, this is not the place to be flaunting these skills. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are many cases of employers switching to the mentioned language during the interview, only to find out the applicant cannot truly speak it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do not get caught up in a lie over language ability, and only include it if you can actually speak the language. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you are currently studying a language, the employer may still appreciate it! That kind of information should be saved for conversations during the interview, however. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Can you use bullet points to highlight language ability on a cover letter?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Cover letters are written in full-paragraph letter format. It is highly unusual to see the half-sentences or bullet points which are common on resumes. Cover letters should always use complete sentences, and tables or bullet points should not be used.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you find yourself wanting to use bullet points on a cover letter, you are probably trying to cram in too much information which should be listed on the resume instead. <\/span><\/p>\n

Choose only the most relevant points, such as language ability, and highlight those using paragraphs. <\/span><\/p>\n

A good tip if you find yourself inevitably trying to include too much information on a cover letter is to go back and edit your resume. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cut out the extraneous and include the things you find yourself wanting to list in your cover letter in your resume instead. <\/span><\/p>\n

Take a look at our top tips for <\/span>what to put on your resume<\/a><\/strong> for ways to best do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cover letters are your chance to really expand on the most relevant and important parts of your resume, so do not waste that opportunity by making short bullet points<\/a><\/strong> of all of your skills that you’ve already included on the resume. <\/span><\/p>\n

Give the employer something to get excited about, and go get that job!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Being able to speak a second or third language is undoubtedly one of the most useful and multi-industry skills to possess as a job-seeker. Any company would value someone who can speak to clients or potential business partners from another country, so it is important to make this a highlight on a resume. Can you …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"Article","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1089,521],"tags":[689],"class_list":["post-13988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-letter-writing","category-resume-writing","tag-language-abilities-on-cover-letter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13988"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24433,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13988\/revisions\/24433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}