Extra lingo gives business edge

It's time to pick up a second — or even a third — language, according to a recent survey of executive recruiters.

Almost half (49%) of North American consultants at executive search firm Korn/Ferry International say there is a significant competitive advantage for executives who are multilingual, while 66% say being at least bilingual will be even more important 10 years from now.

The languages recruiters say are most frequently demanded by employers in North America are Spanish (79%), French (43%) and Mandarin Chinese (30%).

Professional services is one of the top three sectors that most often calls for multilingual services, while marketing and sales (37%), president or general management (23%) and CEO (14%) were the types of jobs where multilingual executives are most frequently needed.