In the last episode of our recruitment trends 2021 audio series, Stephen Molloy, Principal Team Lead of Cpl Language Jobs sits down remotely with Gabriel Mamaradlo, Senior Language Jobs Recruitment Consultant, to discuss:
Trends in the Languages industry & future predictions
Most in-demand multilingual jobs
Most in-demand second languages including German, Nordic Languages and Dutch
How covid-19 and travel restrictions have impacted language jobs
Salary and benefits for 2021
About Cpl Language Jobs
The Cpl Language Jobs team has almost 20 years of experience helping candidates find language jobs in Ireland. Our team comes from all over the world and recruits across over 50 different languages.
We know what it's like to move to a new country and we’re experts at helping people find new roles here in Ireland and across Europe. Jobs we’re recruiting for include Sales, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Content Review, Technical Support, and Marketing roles which require a second language.
We are always on the lookout for candidates that speak German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Turkish, Arabic, among many others. If you speak one of these languages and you’re interested in learning more please get in touch.
Click below to listen in full.
Read a full transcript of the interview below. Please note this text was transcribed from the audio interview and has been slightly edited but may contain slight errors.
Gabriel Mamaradlo 0:00
Hello and welcome everyone. This is Gabriel Mamaradlo, Senior Recruitment Consultant. I'm joined by Stephen Molloy, Principal Team Lead for Cpl Language Jobs. How are you, Stephen?
Stephen Molloy 0:10
Hi, Gabriel. Thanks for having me today.
Gabriel Mamaradlo 0:13
Thank you for joining. I wanted to ask you a few questions about the Language Jobs industry. What are the most notable trends in your industry over the last 12 months? And what are your predictions going into 2021?
Stephen Molloy 0:30
We have seen a big increase in the demand for remote work. That's both from the side of the client and the side of the candidate. Candidates are placing more value in employers that are offer flexibility, some sort of remote element and who takes their personal circumstances into consideration too.
They're looking at employers who are putting the employee first. Branding and social impact have taken more priority.
How companies respond to social change can make a big difference in the talent that they can attract. The other aspect, that's going to be the next big thing I think in hiring will be neurodiversity, and removing bias, be it conscious or unconscious around that.
Hiring talent, who have a different mindset, who was looking and thinking of things from a different angle, allows companies to deal with the many uncertainties that we're facing along with this "Corona Coaster", and helping them navigate and bring in some creative and innovative changes and ideas.
Adapting to government guidelines, adapting to industry changes, looking to other leaders within their own industries, as well, for inspiration and guidance as to how to navigate this is all new ground for a lot of companies.
Some of it isn't an inevitability of where we were always going anyway, with technology taking the forefront, and continuing that growth. I think this has just pushed that forward, timeline-wise, a little bit quicker. I think it's an inevitability as to where we were going anyway.
On the other side, I think we as Recruiters and HR leaders, we've gained more influence within companies, because they've put more focus on retention, more focused on global recruitment. And I think the voice of HR leaders and recruitment professionals has never been louder.
Of course, it goes without saying, as I mentioned with technology growing again, and taking more preference within a lot of companies, that will continue to gain pace, people will be looking at more innovative ways to make the candidate experience as smooth as possible, as streamlined as possible.
So that we can get from the first point of sourcing a candidate to the actual hire on-site with at least as issues as possible, I guess, and I'm trying to navigate this world, this new world that we're all living in.
Gabriel Mamaradlo 3:00
That's very interesting, Stephen, and you know, with Coronavirus a lot of things have changed in terms of what job titles and skillsets are currently in demand. So, from your experience, this year with the whole pandemic situation, what do you think are the most in-demand job titles, and skillsets, you know, has much changed as a result of COVID-19? Or changes in this industry?
Stephen Molloy 3:33
You know, it's interesting that you said that Gabriel, about the change in the job titles and things because we are seeing a slight change in what would normally be expected from candidates.
So a candidate that's hired for a Customer Service role or a candidate that's hired for even a Sales role, you'll find a bit of crossover that employees are expecting them to be more adaptable and more multi-talented, multi-focus should I say, because there is a need for that adaptability, with the uncertainty within the market.
Roles such as Customer Service Specialist, Content Moderation, and on the sales side partner Managers, Sales Development Representatives, and Technical Support roles. They've all continued to move over the course of 2020 and into 2021.
And of course, the impact of travel restrictions, uncertainties with how things are going to pan out and what action governments are taking, and the government guidelines. And then,
an increase in demand for specific languages due to the reduction in the talent pool and the lack of candidates moving between countries. That's all impacted, what companies are looking for and how they're adapting to their own business needs.
So I think everybody is looking to each other and doing a lot of market analysis to find out how best to navigate these languages that are always going to be in demand for us.
I've seen a sharp increase, primarily German is always a high priority, but has seen a big increase. And then secondary to those languages would be Nordic languages, such as Danish or Swedish or Norwegian and Dutch. Also French would be another language that would be increasing in demand.
Gabriel Mamaradlo 5:28
Perfect, Stephen. And how about salaries and benefits? Has there been much of an uplift? Or have these remained relatively consistent? Our salary raise is going to be challenging to attain in 2021?
Stephen Molloy 5:42
A very good question. Many companies have been under a lot of pressure throughout COVID with the uncertainties that people are facing. A lot of companies are taking proactive measures with salary freezes, and trying to ensure that businesses are not impacted long-term. For a lot of companies there has been that restriction in place that we're dealing with.
With a language element, it has been business as usual. They have remained constant because of the business needs. With that in mind, with the end-users, and with the customer base growing and expanding, especially within the tech sector, and everybody working remotely, there's more need for multilingual professionals.
Companies are able to continue normal operations as they would have been doing. So with that in mind, candidates are able to be acknowledged and rewarded accordingly. So yeah, very much business as usual, for those salary rises, I suppose will be always on a case-by-case basis, you know, and it will depend on if there are any drastic changes that companies need to adapt to.
But for most of the companies that we're dealing with, it has been that business as usual. One of the additional changes that we have seen from companies is providing that relocation support, inclusive of quarantine periods now, as well, a lot of companies did provide relocation before.
But now they're factoring in that quarantine period that candidates will need when they come into the country, it's two weeks at the moment to quarantine time that they will need to stay in a hotel. So companies are providing support and making sure candidates are feeling that support and getting everything that they need to, to start on the right foot, you know, but for Salary Guides, we can always refer back to the Cpl website has the Salary Guide, the most recent one there in 2021 has been published.
So that's available on our website if candidates are curious about what the market is, what the market ranges for them for their specific industry or a specific role. It's a good reference point. And that should be something that is consistent with the foreseeable future for now. Anyway.
Gabriel Mamaradlo 8:18
Perfect, Stephen. And just to add another question, to summarise everything that we've talked about, as a candidate with, let's say, language skills, or any job title, you mentioned there earlier, how could a candidate in this current situation at the moment is with everything that's going on with Corona put their best foot forward when applying for jobs at the moment?
Stephen Molloy 8:48
I think being as proactive as possible, you can imagine the volume of applications has obviously increased with candidates doing a lot of remote interviews and everything being done remotely, online activity has increased a lot. I think being as productive as possible. And yes, brushing up I think on courses and things.
There's a lot of courses that are available, that you can do for free now online, there's a lot of resources that have been made available due to everybody having this remote element. There's a lot that candidates can do to bulk out their CV and make it more presentable. Putting the best foot forward is presenting yourself in the best manner.
Make sure that your CV is professional, make sure that it's relevant to whichever role that you're applying to. It is good to have different versions of your CVS for each role so that it's highlighting those skill sets or key points for that specific role.
Be determined, be motivated to be resilient. It's very hard when you're applying for jobs and you're not hearing anything, or you're not getting the responses back that you would like to see maybe a lot of negative responses or rejections, and things stay motivated.
Every no is good because it's a step in the right direction closer to the yes that's waiting for you. As always, here at Cpl, we provide a valuable service of supporting candidates through that journey with interview preparation and in-depth knowledge about company culture fit.
This is a big thing, it can make the difference between whether somebody has all the skillsets and they're hired or not or whether that would be the right place for you to be working.
All of those valuable insights are available to you. You can feel free to book a meeting with any of our consultants, and we will be able to support you along that journey. Specific languages that are high priority at the moment include German, and Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, and French. They are all in high demand in Dublin.
Gabriel Mamaradlo 11:02
Great. Thank you so much, Stephen. Those are some very interesting insights, trends, and tips for candidates and the Language Jobs industry at the moment. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Stephen Molloy 11:13
Thanks for having me.
Gabriel Mamaradlo 11:14
For those who want more information, more tips, and also updates on the industry at the moment, please do feel free to check out our Cpl Salary Guide 2021 or feel free to get in contact with anyone from our team in the Cpl Language Jobs.