Importance of English language in the job market

ndia is one of the few countries which have two official languages- Hindi and English. However, the official business language of the world is English. With India fast becoming a global economy, it comes as no surprise that companies are increasingly focusing on English language skills of candidates.
  

Whether you are vouching for a government job, or a job in the corporate sector, having English language skills is of paramount importance. Companies do not expect candidates to be proficient in English with a rich vocabulary. All they expect from them is to have good sense of the language while speaking and writing.
  

If you haven’t paid attention to your English language skills so far, here are some reasons why it is important for your career:

     

There is fierce competition in the same skill set

Every year, India churns out lakhs of engineers, most of them having the same skill set. The same goes for other fields too. In the government sector too, every year, lakhs of candidates sit for bank PO exams, civil services exams etc. It is often the English language skills which separate these candidates. A candidate who is fluent in written and spoken English is always preferred by most organizations, since most communication in offices happens in English language.

 

You get global opportunities

The world is increasingly becoming a small place. Today, job opportunities are not just limited to India alone, although you may have completed your education here. A whole lot of other countries have Indian workers employed in scores. The US economy is a good example of Indian people making their mark globally. However, to make the most of a globalised job market, English language skills are critical. You cannot hope to survive in a foreign land without having a grip on the language.

  

It is important for a faster career growth

If you think you can make fast progress in your career based solely on your talent and skills, you are wrong. Companies increasingly prefer candidates with good soft skills, English language being an important part of that. The ability to communicate well in English opens the path to faster progress in your chosen field.

      

There are immense opportunities for self employment

With English language skills, there are immense opportunities for self employment as well. In fact, most work-from-home jobs require decent levels of spoken and written English. Some hot self employment options for those good in English include English trainer, content writing, blogger etc. You can make a sizeable amount of money with each of these self employment options.
 

The importance of English language in the job market cannot be undermined. For those of you who find it tough to come to grips with the language, reading a lot will help matters. Start out with simple books or topics that interest you. Over time, you will be able to comprehend the language much better, improving your skills in the process.