Language jobs in Ireland and across Europe have had a steady rise in popularity since the introduction of social media and online behaviors such as online shopping.
In Ireland, where a number of large multinationals such as Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon are now based, hiring employees with foreign language skills is essential.
According to Indeed and our own experience, other than English, the top 5 useful languages to have in business are German, French, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese and Arabic.
Why are these languages so in demand?
German– German is the official and co-official language of Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Union. Apart from being one of the most in-demand languages, it is also one of the highest-paid.
French– French is the 2nd most in-demand language in the world and is spoken in 29 countries across the world.
Mandarin – the official language of mainland China and spoken by two-thirds of the Chinese population, that’s over a billion native speakers. Mandarin speakers are sought after by large tech companies as they are big users of tech.
Portuguese – Portuguese speakers are very popular, particularly with US employers.
Arabic– the Arab region is one of the wealthiest in the world and Arabic is now the 5th most spoken language in the world. Arabic speakers are sought after by tech companies, specifically within social media.
However, we cannot ignore Japanese on this list. Japan has the third-largest economy in the world and a huge high-tech industry. As Japan has a booming high-tech economy, they are one of the biggest spenders on social media advertising. Most social media companies prefer to hire Japanese speakers in Ireland as it is easier to find Japanese speakers with fluent English outside of Japan.
Ireland is a hub of the largest social media companies in the world. Most of these social media companies have chosen to base their EMEA headquarters in Dublin due to the talent pool available and Ireland being a native English-speaking country.
Why are these social media companies hiring people who speak these languages?
Social media is engrained in our lives, with Facebook still leading in popularity in Ireland, followed by Instagram and Twitter.
There are billions of users accessing different social media platforms daily across the world, which has many benefits but also requires a level of security and monitoring.
To do this efficiently, social media companies are hiring native speakers who are passionate about making social media a safe place.
The most common multilingual positions available are:
Content reviewer/safety policy operations analyst with additional language e.g German, French, Arabic
Advertisement specialist with or without additional language e.g English, Japanese, Mandarin, Arabic
Is this a suitable position for you?
If you speak the required language and have an interest in online safety or social media, these kinds of roles could be for you. There are opportunities to grow within these roles, starting from an agent position.
Once you have shown your potential as an agent, there are different career paths you can take.
You could become a quality analyst, trainer/coach, SME, Team lead or Team manager. Working within the social media space has a range of unique perks too from attending company events, personalised lunch in the company canteen and of course most positions are permanent contracts.
For content reviewers, a background in law or policy or some relevant experience is very beneficial. While as an advertisement specialist, if you are analytical, tech-savvy and passionate about advertisement/marketing it’s a big advantage.
With that said, many of the social media language jobs we hire for are entry-level roles with no experience required if you are passionate about the role. We may also have senior positions available.
Would you like to work with one of the world’s leading social media companies?
If you are multilingual and are passionate about social media, please contact me on [email protected] or (01) 614 6079 or if you’d like to view all my current job opportunities, you can visit my Cpl profile.