16 TheLinguistAPRIL/MAYwww.iol.org.ukFEATURESA career in international sales, marketing and PR couldbe a shrewd choice for linguists, says Jessica MooreThe thing about people who work in sales,marketing and public relations (PR) is you cantake them anywhere. These professionalsocialites make a living from beingpersonable, vivacious and communicative. Ininternational roles, that's as likely to be in aParis bistro or a Tokyo sakebar as a Londonpub - not to mention offices and boardroomsall over the world.'PR is all about relationships,' says EmilyBritt, International PR Manager at computergames company, Square Enix. Working withcolleagues and journalists throughoutEurope, as well as in America, China andJapan, Britt has put a lot of effort -and significant air miles- into developing'Being able to speak French is important,'she says. 'People can usually communicatemore effectively in their first language. If thepeople I'm negotiating with feel confidentand at ease, I am able to work moreproductively.' Macdonald's language skills help her buildlasting relationships too. 'Throughout theduration of their licence, which is normallytwo or three years, I'll meet regularly with ourlicensees to make sure I understand theirbusiness plans. Being able to communicatein their language makes me stand out.'Both Britt and Macdonald have to conveycompany strategy clearly to colleagues,enabling staff in other countries to deliver theright messages. That dialogue also helpsidentify any cultural differences. 'People whoare based locally have better understandingof their market,' Macdonald explains. 'Wewould adapt a strategy on the basis of theirfeedback. A good example is greetings cards,which are really big in the UK. We give eachother birthday cards, Christmas cards, allsorts of cards for all sorts of occasions.They don't really do that in France or inItaly, so greetings cards in those territoriesaren't a very big licence for us. It's thesame with gift wrap and party bags. Sowe have an overarching strategy andwe adapt it for local markets.'In PR, Britt says: 'It's useful to be able tospeak to the journalists and local agents, butmy languages also help when I'm coordinatingmessages and timings for the PR campaigns.'Sometimes, that requires a face-to-facemeeting, at other times it's a phone call oremail. 'Even though I can do that fluently, it'smore satisfying than emailing in English ,because it's an additional challenge,' she adds.Marketing talentthese relationships throughout her career. Shespeaks French and Spanish, and has regularlyused both. 'My role is about being adiplomat', she says, 'and being able to speakother languages is an excellent tool in mydiplomatic pocket. You can buildrelationships far more profoundly if you cancommunicate in the local language.'According to Lisa Macdonald, Vice-President of Mr Men Ltd, this is equally true of careers in sales. Macdonald's mainremit is to negotiate licences that enableexternal companies to use the Mr Men brandin publishing, animation, digital developmentor merchandising. The role requiresglobal travel but her focusis France.© ISTOCKPHOTO

Vol/51 No/2 2012APRIL/MAYTheLinguist17FEATUREStell you to do when you're learning alanguage at university, I actually do.' Macdonald takes an academic approach.In the early stages of her career, she askedher employers to pay for an evening coursein French for business. More recently, she hashired a tutor herself. 'We've done one-to-onesessions and tailored those toward my job,'she explains. 'Sometimes we have debatesbecause my tutor will know the "correct"words, but I'll know the colloquialisms. Once,we went through one of my documents andchanged every reference to packaging fromle packaging, which I had used, to the Frenchword she recommended [encapsulation]. Itcame back from the French office withlepackagingput back in.' There is something inherent in the processof language learning that benefits a career insales and marketing. Leaf puts it succinctly: 'Ifyou're able to speak more than onelanguage, chances are you're a goodlistener.' Britt's experience backs this up: 'Ifyou start learning a language at school at 11,as I did, and you go through the academicprocess, you have to watch and listen andattempt to understand how other people arecommunicating. I spent my whole academiccareer doing that. It deepens yourunderstanding of human behaviour.' That is akey skill, and one that indicates a crucialinterest in people. According to Britt, a language degree isher biggest professional asset. Her office ismultilingual. 'It's like a mini world inWimbledon!' she says. 'We have peopleworking in every language.' As for her role: 'Iwould recommend having a languagedegree. As the world develops, Japaneseand Chinese are increasingly useful - andSpanish means you can work across a hugenumber of countries and emerging markets -but any language is useful.' Macdonald goesfurther: 'I probably wouldn't shortlistsomeone applying for this type of role if theydidn't have a language,' she says. Perhaps most importantly, language skillscan increase job satisfaction. 'This is the firsttime I've really enjoyed speaking French',Macdonald admits, 'and I think it's becauseI've been getting positive feedback. Throughschool and university, the focus seemed to beon getting everything 100 percent correct,which meant I always focused on what I wasdoing wrong. Professionally, I am now able tocommunicate and build relationships withlicensees, and even though I'm sure I makelittle mistakes on the way, they appreciate thatI'm making the effort, and ultimately they'regetting the information they need. So while Imay need to work on my accent at times, thebigger picture is more important.'For Britt, using her French and Spanish is'one of the things I love about this job themost. It's very exciting. And in every job I'veever done', she concludes, 'the fact that I'vehad language on my CV has opened a door.'Sales and marketing industries arebecoming increasingly global. In PR, 'languagecan be extremely important', says Bob Leaf, aFellow of the Chartered Institute of PublicRelations [CIPR] and Chairman of Robert SLeaf Consultants. 'People with languages arein demand. The opportunity for people whoknow more than one language hasdramatically expanded in recent years.' As the former International Chairman ofBurson-Marsteller, at a time when it was theworld's largest PR firm, Leaf set up offices in anumber of countries. He knows the value ofemploying people with language skills. 'Ifyou're in a PR role within a global company,or within a company that has aspirations togo international, you're going to be moreproductive if you speak the language of morethan one of those countries. Languages createan enhanced role for you.' They can fast-tracka career, too: 'Let's say you're working for aPR firm and all of a sudden they get a hugeaccount in Germany. If you're the only personin the office that speaks German, youbecome a huge asset.' Language skills caneven render you suitable for roles you maynot have considered otherwise, Leaf notes.'Say a senior job then comes up in that newoffice - who's going to be put up for that?'Mastering the jargonVocabulary can be very specialised,depending on the sector, but priorknowledge isn't essential, says Macdonald. 'I used to work for a children's publishingcompany and there's loads of language to dowith the production of books which I nowknow in French but would never have knownotherwise. I didn't even know it in English.' To help, she used a bilingual publishingdictionary. Britt agrees: 'Computer games isquite an informal industry, but it is an industryof jargon. We talk about things like "firstperson shooter" - phrases that mean verylittle to people outside the industry.' She has to master this jargon in threelanguages; it's a constant learning curve. 'Idownload podcasts from the radio, readnovels in other languages as often as possible,watch foreign language films, keep abreast ofinternational news, and just chat to people tokeep an ear in,' says Britt. 'All the things theyQualifications: For international roles insales, marketing and PR, language degreesare valuable. Britt studied French andSpanish; Macdonald, History and French. Personal qualities: To be successful,candidates should be confident, articulate,adaptable, diplomatic and vivacious. Where to start: A junior marketing/salesrole is a good place to launch a career.Macdonald started as a Rights andContracts Assistant at a publishingcompany; Britt testing foreign-languagecomputer games. Both say a personalpassion for your sector is desirable.Useful websites: www.cipd.co.uk(Chartered Institute for Public Relations);www.cim.co.uk (Chartered Institute forMarketing); www.ismm.co.uk (Institute ofSales and Marketing Management);www.marketingweek.co.uk; andwww.prweek.co.uk.'I probably wouldn'tshortlist anyone forthis type of role if theydidn't have a language'Getting started