Text messaging, and translation

Phones seem to be able to anything these days. Calls are just the beginning – now we can surf the web, listen to music and play games on our handsets too. But those technology pioneers over at Google are preparing the next big thing when it comes to phones: translation. It is building software to translate languages almost instantly – your very own translation machine.

Google are building the software from a combination of automatic translation and voice recognition technology, and aim to have a basic version ready within the next two years. Will it work? That remains to be seen. The existing online translation tools are handy if you want a rough translation, but can’t be relied on for accurate interpreting – as I’m sure many of us have experienced before! The question is: if the people at Google do pull it off, will it spell the end of language learning?

Personally, I don’t think so. First of all, even if you did have a tool like this to enable you to communicate in another language, what about the cultural knowledge of the country that is so crucial? What about the use of slang? What if your machine breaks?! There really isn’t a substitute for learning another language, and although this would be a great tool to help you out, I don’t think it will replace the old fashioned way.

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New year, new job

Back in January we asked readers of our blog what their career plans were for the year ahead. Not only is it a new year, it’s a new decade; and it’s a time when this question is even more vital than usual – if confidence in the jobs market is increasing after the long recession then that’s a very positive sign. And luckily it is!

57% of respondents said they had already started job hunting and another 29% said they were considering a move in the near future. Just 14% said that they were staying put for the time being and not one person said that they were staying in their current job because they had their eye on a promotion.

These results seem to mirror opinions reported in the press, and also in our European Hiring Trends report, that economic conditions are improving, confidence is returning and the jobs market is recovering slowly but steadily. It also shows that although more people are looking for new positions, the optimism when it comes to promotion and pay rises is still relatively low – or perhaps it’s that all the people that have wanted to move over the last year or two but sat tight are now all ready to move. Either way it’s good to know that the future is looking bright. If you’re looking for a new job with languages, get in touch with us at Euro London!

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Join Euro London!

Graduates! Want to use your language in your career? Like the idea of working for a multi-national company? 

Recruitment Consultants! Are you reaching your potential? Are you frustrated at the lack of progress in your current role, investment in your professional development and interest in your ideas?

Then perhaps we should be talking!

Euro London Appointments is the largest independent multilingual recruiter in Europe and has offices in London, Manchester, Windsor, as well as France, Germany, Luxembourg and Zurich.  We recruit professionals with languages into a range of sectors from banking to office support and from igaming to marketing, dealing with a wide range of clients, candidates and international markets on a daily basis.

We have ongoing business improvement and development plans, which means that we can offer exceptional career opportunities to both graduates and experienced recruiters. You’ll get to join a diverse team, a true meritocracy and a company that passionately believes in investing in is people, along with great incentives and a formal structured training scheme for graduates to ensure that you develop all the business skills necessary to become a successful consultant.

But don’t just take our word for it. For a flavour of what it’s like to work at Euro London, read our case studies: http://www.eurolondon.com/content_static/careers.asp

If you are confident that you have what it takes to succeed then prove it by sending your CV with a covering letter explaining what attracts you to a career in recruitment to Dawn Nell at Euro London d.nell@eurolondon.com or call 0208 974 6843 for an informal chat.

At Euro London we’re going places – don’t get left behind!

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Jobs market improves for linguists

Towards the end of 2009 Euro London was busy putting together its biannual ‘European Hiring Trends Report’ – a survey of employment markets across the areas we operate in (London, Windsor and Manchester in the UK and Paris, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Munich, Luxembourg and Zurich across mainland Europe.)

The results? Overall the message was positive – conditions are improving slowly but surely and the jobs market looks set to improve throughout 2010.

Here’s a summary of what we found in the UK:

• French and German remain the most popular languages, although there has also been a strong demand for Dutch and Scandinavian languages
• Most sectors improving slowly
• Demand has grown for sales and marketing professionals, especially in the digital marketing arena and inbanking and finance
• iGaming and betting remains buoyant
• Continued lack of high quality candidates but bigger pool of talent has led to employers being less flexible
• Increased confidence about the year ahead

Elsewhere, Germany has been experiencing stronger growth, especially in IT. Along with France it has also seen a boost in sales and marketing, and accountancy remains quite strong. Most countries also found that the decision making process was a long one when it came to hiring new staff, often leading to businesses losing out on the best candidates.

The full report contains details of recruitment trends in each region – for your free copy just click here: http://bit.ly/85FRbI.

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