{"id":11652,"date":"2024-08-01T11:59:43","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T11:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/?p=11652"},"modified":"2026-04-20T13:45:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:45:49","slug":"why-knowledge-of-german-is-important-after-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/why-knowledge-of-german-is-important-after-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Why knowledge of German is important after all…"},"content":{"rendered":"

A foreign-language client, let’s call him Michael, did a trainee programme at an international company in Zurich after completing his studies. His employer offered him a personal and professional assessment with me as he was undecided about his professional direction. I advised him in English. The company was subsequently unable to offer him a position that suited him and he was therefore looking for a job. He asked me how he could invest in his career in this situation. He didn’t like my answer.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter N\u00e4f<\/a><\/em><\/strong>
\nZurich, August 2024<\/em><\/p>\n

Michael was very well educated, had worked a lot alongside his studies and impressed with his confident communication and good demeanour. His employer rightly regarded him as a high potential. He was also ambitious and extremely impatient regarding his career<\/a> development. When he asked how he could invest in his career, I replied with a counter-question: \u00abDo you intend to stay in Zurich?\u00bb After he answered in the affirmative, I advised him to learn German. He had neglected this for the last two years.<\/p>\n

The experiences in companies are deceptive<\/h5>\n

Michael looked at me as if I had just said something naughty. We then had an intense discussion about learning German – with little agreement. The conversation and his strong reaction irritated me, and I wondered whether I was ignoring something in this topic. This is mainly because I have similar discussions time and again and encounter considerable resistance. Even people who have lived in Switzerland for years and whose children speak Swiss German often cannot be persuaded to learn German.<\/p>\n

A few weeks later, two outplacement clients showed me that I was not entirely wrong in my assessment: they had been working for an international company for many years. As the company language was English and the Swiss often prefer to speak English rather than High German, they were not forced to improve their language skills. When they lost their jobs, no people were being recruited by competing international companies either. My clients therefore applied to export-orientated Swiss SMEs. Although they would have been an ideal fit for various positions, they were not considered due to a lack of German language skills (good, not perfect). They were therefore in a restricted labour market, which they could have avoided.<\/p>\n

An effort is needed from all sides<\/h5>\n

Companies would do well to encourage their foreign-language employees to learn German. This would facilitate cooperation within the company, especially as the informal exchange of information often takes place in German. Above all, however, they would improve or maintain their employability<\/a>. And German-speaking employees could make it easier for their foreign-language colleagues to learn the language by making the effort to speak High German with them instead of English.<\/p>\n

#career<\/a> #application<\/a> #employability<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A foreign-language client, let’s call him Michael, did a trainee programme at an international company in Zurich after completing his studies. His employer offered him a personal and professional assessment with me as he was undecided about his professional direction. I advised him in English. 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