I'm not bilingual. Does this lessen my chances for employment?

[Daniellef28]

Hello I'm looking for a job as a new grad, but I am not bilingual. Does that really lessen my opportunity for employment? Because right now it's extremely hard to find a job with no prior nursing experience

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

It depends on your location.

I was born and raised in a coastal city in southern California that has a 75% Latino population. The majority of people in that area were Mexican and Spanish-speaking, so I did lose job opportunities to other candidates who spoke both English and Spanish when I was living there.

However, I am now in a large city in Texas with a significant Spanish-speaking population and have never had problems finding work. My current city of residence doesn't have a large number of Spanish-speaking nurses to serve this growing subset of the local population, so managers have no choice but to hire nurses who aren't bilingual and use translators and interpreters if needed.

[gassy2be]

I'm not bilingual (although I've learned a ton since I started working) and I had no problem getting a job right on the Texas/Mexico border. It's really up to the employer.

[Fiona59]

Well if you are in la belle province, you will be screwed.

[LVN2RNMom, ASN, BSN, LVN]

Yes, I believe not being bilingual will make you less marketable as a nurse. I have found the need to use my looks (I am half Hispanic and half Caucasian) to my advantage. I was raised Caucasian, so I only spoke 1 language growing up. My advice to any nurse is to become certified in a 2nd language to make yourself marketable. It doesn't hurt your resume and some employers will pay you more as a certified interpreter.