Failed to get the job because of language barriers?

[beccagreen]

So I had this interview once. I was applying for a job at this company that was owned by a Japanese national I think and on the final phase of the application he's the one to conduct the final interview. Long story short, we had a pretty rough time communicating which I think resulted to me not getting the job. Have you had similar experiences before?

[deathbyprayer]

Wow that's quite unfortunate. Seems a little unfair though. I never had a similar experience but however, I did had some difficulties with my college professor once, he was from Nigeria and he had a very thick accent that most of them we can't really understand him especially when he starts to get excited while giving the lecture.

[Serenity Fay]

I've not gotten a particular job because of the country I'm from. I guess the employers assume my English won't be adequate when in fact we're bilingual and I'm half Canadian anyway so my English is good. (Heck I usually have the best English when I'm talking to my American friends haha)

[chigreyofthenorns]

I agree that your experience seems unfair. Anyway, I experienced something untoward because of language barrier though it is not really with a job. I had to answer the questions being asked by a Japanese reporter about the programs being undertaken by our agency. He was really difficult to understand, so I just tried my best to interpret what he was asking. It turned out, he was asking for some other data. He had to complain to my boss about the way I handled the interview. Fortunately, my boss was experiencing the same problems with him, so I didn't get reprimanded.

[sidney]

Kinda, but I think my competitor was just more spontaneous and had better credentials than me. My English is ok, but she had an American accent (which I am not sure if it's natural or studied) and she told me she got the job while I was told that "they would just get back to me".

[BillyIdol]

I guess it makes a lot of sense. The sole reason of an interview is being able to judge whether or not the person was a good fit for a company, and if the both of you couldn't communicate effectively, then the interview wouldn't have been a success. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable in an interview for a language that I'm learning at the current level that I'm at, but I hope to be good enough to communicate well enough that someone wouldn't even know that I had just learned it shortly in the future.

[pcgamer]

I live in a country where you need to be proficient in English if you want a good job. You speak a word of your native language and you are not taken into consideration. I went for an interview in HCL. Before the interview, I was told by some of the people already working  over there to not to speak Hindi at all.

[Rosa]

Yours was quite an unfortunate situation. For me, I think it was the other way around. Based on the fact that I speak the queens english and the accent of my native tongue, meaning we sound every letter of the alphabeth to a 'T', I think that was what got me the job.

[missy]

I have a degree in Spanish (and English, but that's my mother tongue).  Was trying to get a job in another state, flew in at my own expense.  BOMBED the interview in Spanish part.  Wasted money and time.  Not good at all.

[Saholy]

I actually interviewed for a job once where you needed basic Spanish, got the job, and then turned it down because it was working for a medical facility interpreting for sick clients. Ethically, I just didn't feel right accepting it due to the fact that my language was only basic and I could do someone harm. This being said, I have often wondered if it would have been a gateway for me to become proficient. They begged me to come because they had no one else. This also made me wonder if something wasn't better than nothing. Since, that job I have had a job as a sign language interpreter and the requirements to be able to work in the profession are very high. Therefore, all and all I think I made the right decision years ago. But these are some of the types of decisions employers have to make. They must provide a service and yet the quality of the service is at times limited.

[dear sister]

I haven't been personally affected by this; but I do know several of my friends who have not landed a job because they were not bilingual. I live about 20 miles from the Mexican border; so most people understand Spanish too. But most importantly; retail stores and other business receive most of their customers from rich Mexican nationals who come to shop and vacation in the USA. With that being said, most employers will even forgive applicants who don't understand English but will not hire someone who does not know Spanish. :nerd:

[Baburra]

Yes, I tried out as a Chinese customer service agent once and got denied the job because I wasn't fluent enough. I think it's because my knowledge of the language was more academic than conversational, and by that time I've also forgotten a fair amount of my Chinese vocabulary as well. Although, I admit that I was only trying to test my luck anyway since the pay was good, but I didn't really expect for them to pick me, and I was merely hoping that I would at least be acceptable for training.

[Determined2014]

So I had this interview once. I was applying for a job at this company that was owned by a Japanese national I think and on the final phase of the application he's the one to conduct the final interview. Long story short, we had a pretty rough time communicating which I think resulted to me not getting the job. Have you had similar experiences before?

I once applied to work for an airline, I did and qualified for everthing untill I was asked if I could speak and read fluent Arabic, and because of that I was disqualified for the job.

[DancingLady]

When I first graduated from HS and was looking for a summer job, I had a hard time finding anything because so many of the jobs I was otherwise qualified for you needed to speak some Spanish because so many of the workers were hispanic.  I actually found entire housekeeping ads entirely in Spanish, as if no one born and raised in this country, not speaking Spanish should bother to apply there.

[gmckee1985]

No, I've never failed to get a job due to language barriers. None of my jobs have required that I know another language. But I have seen some job openings that interest me that require languages other than English. So learning a new language definitely opens up your opportunities.