Would it be worth learning some basic Mandarin if I was thinking of working as a PA/Executive Assistant in Sydney/Melbourne/Perth?
I have a few years to add some new skills to my CV before we emigrate so thought it might be time well spent given its the most spoken language on the planet.
One concern I have (apart from it looks quite hard!) is that there would already be plenty of native Mandarin speakers already in Oz with English as their second language, so I wouldn't be offering anything new, if you know what I mean !
Would it be worth learning some basic Mandarin if I was thinking of working as a PA/Executive Assistant in Sydney/Melbourne/Perth?
I have a few years to add some new skills to my CV before we emigrate so thought it might be time well spent given its the most spoken language on the planet.
One concern I have (apart from it looks quite hard!) is that there would already be plenty of native Mandarin speakers already in Oz with English as their second language, so I wouldn't be offering anything new, if you know what I mean !
Any thoughts anyone?
Angelica
Just because our beloved PM speaks mandarin I dont think it would be that advantageous to you really (not unless you fancy a FA posting to Beijing). There will be any number of native mandarin speakers here because we have a significant Chinese immigrant population and without wanting to be too negative, they do have a tendency to employ people of their own ethnic background in their companies which still have a strong connection with their homeland and as a WASP you would probably not be first choice if they needed a mandarin speaker.
That is not to say, of course that you shouldnt broaden your horizons and if mandarin takes your fancy well go for it. If you want to enhance your skills then look more at the IT area and the packages you may be expected to be familiar with.
I was probably thinking of it being more of an "useful" requirement rather than an "essential" requirement to a PA role. I have seen it mentioned in quite a few jobs on seek.com which sparked the thought.
Although, your IT idea is an excellent one, do you have any suggestions of what packages it would be useful to learn, I have the basic Microsoft ones - Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, Visio and Outlook. So maybe Publisher or Frontpage might be useful to add on??
My husband is just waiting on his result from the Australian Computer Society - so fingers crossed !!
I was probably thinking of it being more of an "useful" requirement rather than an "essential" requirement to a PA role. I have seen it mentioned in quite a few jobs on seek.com which sparked the thought.
Although, your IT idea is an excellent one, do you have any suggestions of what packages it would be useful to learn, I have the basic Microsoft ones - Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, Visio and Outlook. So maybe Publisher or Frontpage might be useful to add on??
My husband is just waiting on his result from the Australian Computer Society - so fingers crossed !!
Thanks again for your reply.
Angelica
I would definitely add Publisher and Front Page - or equivalents - and bear in mind that many agencies are now going Mac (have seen quite a few recently) and even though they may be running windows in parallel, they may see some mac programs as being an advantage especially in publishing and web design. You might also think about some accounting packages like MYOB just to add another string to the bow.
Just because our beloved PM speaks mandarin I dont think it would be that advantageous to you really (not unless you fancy a FA posting to Beijing). There will be any number of native mandarin speakers here because we have a significant Chinese immigrant population and without wanting to be too negative, they do have a tendency to employ people of their own ethnic background in their companies which still have a strong connection with their homeland and as a WASP you would probably not be first choice if they needed a mandarin speaker.
Ohh please Quoll.
The simple fact is WASP's are too lazy to learn to speak mandarin.
Some of these kids are fluent in both english, manderin plus several other languages. They also understand the cultural sensitivities of both western and eastern societies.
The brightest, best and most talented come from a competition pool of 1-2 billion people, they are bound to leave most aussies and poms standing.
Its a good idea to learn mandarin but its a tough gig.
The simple fact is WASP's are too lazy to learn to speak mandarin.
Some of these kids are fluent in both english, manderin plus several other languages. They also understand the cultural sensitivities of both western and eastern societies.
The brightest, best and most talented come from a competition pool of 1-2 billion people, they are bound to leave most aussies and poms standing.
Its a good idea to learn mandarin but its a tough gig.
I dont disagree with you. You said what I meant, only better
