![](https://www.reed.co.uk/career-advice/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/12/career-advice-article-header-five-languages.jpg)
Learning a new language can be a great way to improve your career prospects – and your pay.
In fact, many jobs posted on reed.co.uk cite language skills or a foreign tongue as being beneficial in helping secure the role, with some employers even considering it a prerequisite. And with estimates also suggesting that learning another language increases your earning potential, there’s never been a better time to stop putting it off and start learning.
To help you with any multilingual meltdowns, here’s a rundown of the five most in-demand languages to help get you hired:
5. Mandarin
Around one fifth of the planet speaks a form of Chinese. Of those, more than 920 million people consider Mandarin Chinese their mother tongue, making it the most widely spoken first language in the world. Unsurprisingly, therefore, becoming fluent in the language opens quite a few doors when it comes to your career.
Companies from countries ranging from China to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are constantly on the lookout for fluent speakers, not to mention those recruiting right here in the UK.
And with over 200 vacancies posted on reed.co.uk currently looking for Mandarin speakers, there’s never been a better time to start learning.
View all Mandarin speaking jobs
4. Italian
Knowing Italian can have multiple benefits, no matter what industry you’re in, something reflected in the fact that over 600 vacancies on reed.co.uk call for those who speak it.
This may go some way to explain why Italian is ranked third among the most studied languages worldwide. Additionally, not only is Italy considered one of the centres of modern civilisation, it’s undoubtedly considered a world leader in everything from the cooking and culinary arts, through to fashion, furniture design and even shipbuilding.
It is also (arguably) the language of love. Although you may have to take this up with the French (and/or Welsh)…
View all Italian speaking jobs
3. Spanish
In terms of the sheer number of countries which list it as their primary language, Spanish ranks right up there. It’s 20, if you’re asking…
Whether you want to work in Spain, somewhere in South America or even here in the UK, the number of Spanish speakers and jobs available continues to rise. And that’s just part of what makes Spanish the second most studied language in the world.
Spanish speakers are being sought for in over 800 vacancies on reed.co.uk right now, so if you’re looking for a way to make your CV stand out and have more roles open up for you, ‘vamanos’.
View all Spanish speaking jobs
2. French
Parlez-vous français?
If you do, you may be eligible to apply for over 1,700 jobs advertised on reed.co.uk right now, ranging anywhere from accounting and finance vacancies, right through to roles in education, IT and energy.
Still not convinced? 29 countries speak French as their official language, making your job opportunities global. So if you think you have a sense of je ne sais quoi, why not consider learning French?
1. German
Finally, the most in-demand language recruiters are looking for right now is German.
A staggering 1,900 of all foreign language vacancies advertised on reed.co.uk look for German speakers. Which is probably not surprising considering that German is not only the most widely spoken language in Europe, but also accounts for the continent’s largest economy.
And since some of the biggest companies in the world hail from Deutschland (BMW, Audi, Adidas, Aldi), it’s no surprise that learning German will make your job prospects vast.
Thinking about learning a new language? View all available language courses today.
*Information subject to change. All stats correct at date of publishing.