There are many things you can do to improve your professional career prospects, but few of them will give you more options than learning a new language. The globalization of the world, combined with more work from home opportunities has made bilingual employees more important than ever before.

The ability to speak a second language can set you apart from other candidates and your colleagues. Whether you are looking to move up in your current job or looking to switch career paths completely, being bilingual is a skill that will give you an edge.

Here are just a few of the many ways learning a new language can help you in your career.

Expand your opportunities

Learning a second language opens a host of new possibilities. In nearly every industry there is a growing need for bilingual employees. Whether this is due to business relationships or needing bilingual customer support, having bilingual staff is becoming a priority for many companies. This is true across a wide spectrum of industries, but particularly in marketing, construction, retail, hospitality, education and government.

If you are looking to move into one of these industries or are looking to move up in one of these industries, knowing how to speak a second language can make more opportunities available to you. There are now more positions available that require speaking a second language than ever before. In order to apply for these positions, you need to be able to speak a second language.

Make you more culturally aware

Globalization is not only creating more jobs; it is also making workforces more culturally diverse. This means employees are now regularly collaborating with internal teams from around the world. For employees, this means being culturally aware is becoming more important.

Learning to speak a second language will help broaden your knowledge of other cultures. This is an invaluable skill that can help you become a better communicator and a more productive employee. Being culturally aware will help you interact with your colleagues and move projects forward. As workforces continue to become more diverse, it is essential that you can work well with people from various cultures.

Speaking a second language will give you the cultural skillset that can help you become a leader.