Hi,

Recruitment is an evergreen field and HR is also one such. However many foreign countries (especially the western world) has a surplus of this talent area. Getting jobs for these area is Europe or US or Australia will be difficult.

Having said that, foreign language is always a benefit. Traditionally German or Spanish or French would have been an advantage. Now I would even suggest Japanese or Chinese if you have the stamina for this. It is a trending area for Indian expats now.

But, in a global recruitment environment, I would think it should be sufficient to know and speak English, because anyone seeking employment in your country should have to be able to speak English at least. Still, which language helps you will depend on the kinds of clients or companies you work for and where the majority of their target talent exists. It will also depend on which city/country you wish to be employed in.

• Spanish is the easiest language because its syntax, grammar and even the words are similar to that of English. It is the third most widely spoken language next to English. 5.6% of the world population speaks Spanish.
• French occupies the second place. The pronunciations can be tricky, but syntax is similar to English. French is the second highest learnt foreign language in the world and first in India.
• Next in line is German. Takers for German language are far low when compared to French or English due to its complex syntax and applicability. 1.8% of the world population speaks German. Germans have seen to have no inclination to learn any foreign language. Per force, foreigners working or studying there need to learn German.
• Chinese comes from a very different language root and hence takes time to learn. To understand a new language, it must have some similarity with a language that we know. Chinese is mostly learnt by students, business professionals and translators.
• Though Chinese and Japanese look familiar, they are very different when spoken. Of the lot, Japanese is the most difficult language to learn. Since the language does not have any significant reach in Europe and the Americas, only executives and interpreters learn Japanese for their jobs.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.