Re:Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, an...
by bborud on Saturday March 04, 2017 @06:56AM
(#13790507)
That's not entirely correct. I've experienced several cases of inadequate language skills leading to misunderstandings that took months to clear up and that had real consequences. On a day to day basis, bad language skills also introduces friction and frustration.
Learning whatever language you use for work properly and being able to make yourself understood is immensely important.
I work for a company that has a pretty extensive global footprint. Just in the office I work we have around 15 nationalities, and it isn't even a big office.
Just about the only hard requirement I have for people being hired on my team is that they can make themselves clearly understood in english over a dodgy phone connection. Despite the fact that we are a norwegian company, I don't care if people know any norwegian at all. But english they must know. And yes, I have passed on norwegian candidates that could not make themselves understood in english.
And to underline how important people being able to communicate is for me: despite almost exclusively hiring people that are multidisciplinary (just being a software developer isn't enough, you need at least one other skill) I don't care about what education people have and I don't look at their grades.
If you are a developer, the most important language isn't any programming language: it is english.
Learning whatever language you use for work properly and being able to make yourself understood is immensely important.
I work for a company that has a pretty extensive global footprint. Just in the office I work we have around 15 nationalities, and it isn't even a big office.
Just about the only hard requirement I have for people being hired on my team is that they can make themselves clearly understood in english over a dodgy phone connection. Despite the fact that we are a norwegian company, I don't care if people know any norwegian at all. But english they must know. And yes, I have passed on norwegian candidates that could not make themselves understood in english.
And to underline how important people being able to communicate is for me: despite almost exclusively hiring people that are multidisciplinary (just being a software developer isn't enough, you need at least one other skill) I don't care about what education people have and I don't look at their grades.
If you are a developer, the most important language isn't any programming language: it is english.