Importance of French in Professional Careers

Survey published on pollograph.com, and summary graciously shared by harman. It has been running since 6th Apr'10.

1. Please indicate your level of French?

Summary of Statistics

Total
Basic7 (70%)
Intermediate2 (20%)
Fluent1 (10%)
Expert0 (0%)
Total responses: 10

2. How did you learn French?

Allow 'Others', May select more than one

Summary of Statistics

Total
College/University2 (20%)
Family0 (0%)
Friends/Environment1 (10%)
Living Abroad0 (0%)
School/Classroom Setting9 (90%)
Travel0 (0%)
Others:1 (10%)
Total responses: 10

3. Have you spent time in a country or region where French is spoken as a first language?

Summary of Statistics

Total
None4 (40%)
Less than 6 months3 (30%)
Less than 1 year1 (10%)
1-2 years1 (10%)
More than 2 years1 (10%)
Total responses: 10

4. Please indicate number of post-secondary courses you have taken in French?

Summary of Statistics

Total
0-17 (70%)
2-40 (0%)
5-93 (30%)
10 or more0 (0%)
Total responses: 10

5. At what point in your career was French most useful?

Summary of Statistics

Total
Not useful4 (40%)
Job Search4 (40%)
Early in my career0 (0%)
Currently in my career2 (20%)
Total responses: 10

6. During your job search how many recruiters emphasized the importance of French?

Summary of Statistics

Total
None2 (20%)
Very Few4 (40%)
Significant4 (40%)
Majority0 (0%)
Total responses: 10

7. During your personal job search, how often did you find yourself ineligible due to the level of French required?

Summary of Statistics

Total
None3 (30%)
Very Few5 (50%)
Significant2 (20%)
Majority0 (0%)
Total responses: 10

8. In an interview how many times were you asked questions about your knowledge or background in French?

Summary of Statistics

Total
None3 (30%)
Very Few4 (40%)
Significant2 (20%)
Majority1 (10%)
Total responses: 10

9. How often was working on activities in French described in the job description?

Summary of Statistics

Total
None5 (50%)
Very Few4 (40%)
Significant1 (10%)
Majority0 (0%)
Total responses: 10

10. How much of a competitive advantage did knowledge of French during your job search process? Could you provide any examples of the importance of French during this process?

30th Apr, 5:16 am
- Undisclosed -
29th Apr, 9:19 am
- Undisclosed -
29th Apr, 4:23 am
- Undisclosed -
28th Apr, 6:03 pm
- Undisclosed -
28th Apr, 10:20 am
- Undisclosed -
28th Apr, 9:22 am
- Undisclosed -
Total responses: 10

11. My job title is

Allow 'Others'

Summary of Statistics

Total
Senior Management0 (0%)
Manager1 (10%)
Consultant1 (10%)
Intern3 (30%)
Specialist (i.e. sales, accountant, legal services)1 (10%)
Entrepreneur/Business Owner2 (20%)
Others:2 (20%)
Total responses: 10

12. My functional area is

Allow 'Others', May select more than one

Summary of Statistics

Total
Account/Relationship Management0 (0%)
Accounting2 (20%)
Advertising/Public Relations2 (20%)
Business Development0 (0%)
Consulting0 (0%)
Corporate Law0 (0%)
Engineering1 (10%)
Financial/Investment Management0 (0%)
Human Resources0 (0%)
Information Technology1 (10%)
Marketing/Brand Management3 (30%)
Operations/Supply Chain Management0 (0%)
Project Management0 (0%)
Sales1 (10%)
Others:4 (40%)
Total responses: 10

13. How much of your time do you spend doing business in Canada?

Summary of Statistics

Total
75-100%6 (60%)
50-75%1 (10%)
25-50%2 (20%)
0-25%1 (10%)
Total responses: 10

14. Which other foreign language has helped you at work the most?

Allow 'Others', May select more than one

Summary of Statistics

Total
Arabic0 (0%)
Chinese3 (30%)
Eastern European0 (0%)
French1 (10%)
German0 (0%)
Italian0 (0%)
Portuguese0 (0%)
Russian0 (0%)
South Asian3 (30%)
Spanish0 (0%)
Others:4 (40%)
Total responses: 10

15. How often is the knowledge of French required to execute projects or ad-hoc projects?

Summary of Statistics

Total
Daily0 (0%)
Frequently0 (0%)
Occasionally3 (30%)
Rare7 (70%)
Total responses: 10

16. How often is knowledge of French required to perform routine activities?

Summary of Statistics

Total
Daily0 (0%)
Frequently0 (0%)
Occasionally2 (20%)
Rare8 (80%)
Total responses: 10

17. How often do meetings in your work environment involve French?

Summary of Statistics

Total
Daily0 (0%)
Frequently1 (10%)
Occasionally1 (10%)
Rare8 (80%)
Total responses: 10

18. How important is French for handling clients?

Summary of Statistics

Total
Not Important3 (30%)
Very Little5 (50%)
Considerable2 (20%)
Very Important0 (0%)
Total responses: 10

19. How much competitive advantage does knowledge of French skills provide in your line of work?

Summary of Statistics

Total
None1 (10%)
Very Little5 (50%)
Considerable3 (30%)
Very Important1 (10%)
Total responses: 10

20. How are is French most used at your work?

Allow 'Others', May select more than one

Summary of Statistics

Total
Conversational4 (40%)
Presentation0 (0%)
Email1 (10%)
Meetings1 (10%)
Reports3 (30%)
Products/Service0 (0%)
Public Relations4 (40%)
Others:3 (30%)
Total responses: 10

21. How has your background in French helped you at work?

Allow 'Others', Optional, May select more than one

Summary of Statistics

Total
Feel comfortable with people3 (30%)
Understand business environment0 (0%)
Work on multinational teams1 (10%)
Gain respect and credibility2 (20%)
Function better with foreign cultures/regions3 (30%)
Reduce chance of misunderstanding1 (10%)
Improve negotiation ability2 (20%)
Cope with diversity in your work environment4 (40%)
Has not helped4 (40%)
Total responses: 10

22. In your opinion does knowledge of French or another language provide more opportunities and challenges that one would not otherwise be exposed to in your field? Do you feel knowledge of French provides more job enrichment in your company?

30th Apr, 5:16 am
- Undisclosed -
29th Apr, 9:19 am
- Undisclosed -
29th Apr, 4:23 am
- Undisclosed -
28th Apr, 6:03 pm
- Undisclosed -
28th Apr, 10:20 am
- Undisclosed -
28th Apr, 9:22 am
- Undisclosed -
Total responses: 10

23. The industry I work in is

Allow 'Others', May select more than one

Summary of Statistics

Total
Automotive0 (0%)
Banking/Financial Services0 (0%)
Consulting2 (20%)
Consumer Products3 (30%)
Diversified0 (0%)
Energy0 (0%)
Government/Non-profit2 (20%)
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical2 (20%)
Industrial Products/Manufacturing0 (0%)
Marketing Services3 (30%)
Technology1 (10%)
Telecommunications0 (0%)
Others:1 (10%)
Total responses: 10

24. Do you feel knowledge of French is significant factor with regards to career development?

Summary of Statistics

Total
Not Important1 (10%)
Very Little2 (20%)
Considerable7 (70%)
Very Important0 (0%)
Total responses: 10

25. How important do you believe language skills are in today's business environment?

Summary of Statistics

Total
Not Important0 (0%)
Very Little0 (0%)
Considerable5 (50%)
Very Important5 (50%)
Total responses: 10

26. Do you think there is an opportunity for your company to grow in its industry, by investing in more human capital with the knowledge of French?

Summary of Statistics

Total
Not at all1 (10%)
Very LIttle3 (30%)
Considerable4 (40%)
Very Much2 (20%)
Total responses: 10

27. Do you think the importance of French will increase in your industry?

Summary of Statistics

Total
Not at all1 (10%)
Very Little2 (20%)
Considerable5 (50%)
Very Much2 (20%)
Total responses: 10

28. The world is becoming a more global marketplace encompassing countless countries and cultures. How important do you think a company's versatility in the knowledge of other languages and investing resources to this intellectual capital will be to its success? Do you think your company and industry is moving towards investing more capital in French? Can you think of any examples to justify your answer?

30th Apr, 5:16 am
- Undisclosed -
29th Apr, 9:19 am
- Undisclosed -
29th Apr, 4:23 am
- Undisclosed -
28th Apr, 6:03 pm
- Undisclosed -
28th Apr, 10:20 am
- Undisclosed -
28th Apr, 9:22 am
- Undisclosed -
Total responses: 10