So you want to be a video games tester?

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Steve Shacklock

We hope you found our first blog post on life as a football researcher interesting and that it sheds some light on the kind of exciting opportunities that languages can offer. Here is the second one – carry on reading to find out about life as a video games tester.

What does the role entail?

Being a video games tester involves testing computer games to see if there are any issues, and if so reporting any bugs so that they can be fixed prior to being released. You will also be involved in translating the content and scripts into different languages. You will spend a large part of your time playing the video games so an interest in gaming is a must!

What languages are needed for it?

A range – we have previously recruited for roles requiring German, Dutch, French, Turkish, Italian, Norwegian and Danish.

What’s the typical pay?

Depending on your experience you can expect to be paid between £14,000 and £26,000 a year.

What skills and qualifications will you need?

A passion for gaming is a must as you will be spending a large amount of time testing out games. You will also need to be fluent in a specific language, e.g French if you are going to be translating scripts that are in French. A translation qualification or a degree is an added advantage but not a must for this role.

Why is it a great job?

For those of you that love to play video games, what better opportunity is there to work doing something you love – playing video games for a job surely can’t be bad?

How can I apply?

If you are interested in working as a video games tester look for QA or localisation roles on the online job boards. Alternatively, keep an eye out on our website for the latest vacancies we have on offer or contact w.tritton@eurolondon.com . Good luck!

So you want to be a football researcher?

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Steve Shacklock

So you want to be a football researcher?

You may have seen our last blog post explaining that we’re going to be profiling a range of the different jobs you can do with languages here on the blog. So here is the first one – read on to find out about life as a football researcher…

What does the role entail?

Being a football researcher involves using the internet and other sources to research and analyse all aspects of football, clubs and players. This information will then be passed on and used to make betting decisions. Hours that you work will follow the football calendar, including weekends.

What languages are needed for it?

A range – we have recruited for roles requiring French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese.

What’s the typical pay?

Normally around £24,000 a year.

What skills and qualifications will you need?

You’ll need fluency in a specified language, e.g. German if you’re going to be working on the German league. Some research experience would be beneficial but mainly you’ll need an excellent knowledge of football in whatever country you’ll be working on. You’ll be asked a series of questions on the football leagues of that country and must get the majority right to be considered for an interview.

Why is it a great job?

For football fans, this is the opportunity to do a professional job doing something you follow and absolutely love. Not many people realise that is possible! Many companies also offer great benefits which can range from free healthcare to free food.

How can I apply?

If you think a football researcher role is for you, keep an eye on our website for the latest vacancies, or send your CV to m.eddleston@eurolondon.com so we have your details on file. Most importantly, make sure you know your football and get some research experience if possible. Good luck!

Anything we’ve missed? Let us know below and we’ll answer any questions you may have.

So you want to be a…?

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Steve Shacklock

You don't have to be a teacher!

At Euro London, every day we’re recruiting for a wide range of jobs involving languages. Yet we’re often surprised at the fact that many people don’t really know what opportunities are out there. Time and time again, we hear that people think their only option is to become a translator or teacher. We have run workshops with school students who didn’t realise what great jobs they could do if they continued to study languages and this proved to be one of the most popular discussion points among graduates at the Language Show, which we recently attended. Plus in our recent poll you told us what you wanted to hear about most was what jobs you could do with languages.

If there was more awareness about what exciting jobs multilingual people can do, in which you can really make a difference and more importantly earn good money, would it encourage more young people to learn languages? Well, we hope so, which is why we’re starting a series of blogs profiling some of the interesting jobs we’ve recruited for. If there are any you have in mind and would like more information on, just leave a comment below and we’ll do our best to cover it!

Look out for the “so you want to be a…” posts coming soon. We’ll also be posting links to the blogs on Twitter and Facebook to ensure you don’t miss a thing.

EU backs linguist recruitment drive

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Steve Shacklock

I was pleased to see an article in EurActiv about the European Commission taking steps to promote language learning in school – a topic we have blogged about before and one that I feel strongly about.

According to the article, the European Commission has teamed up with several other international organisations to call for proper funding to be made available to schools for their language departments. Furthermore, they call for better funding and career prospects for professions like translators and interpreters which are currently facing a shortage and will continue to do so over the next 5 to 10 years. Continue reading →

Hiring on the up, time to sell yourself

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Steve Shacklock

We were featured in CITY A.M today giving our top tips for interview techniques now that hiring is on the up. We know how important it is to succeed at interview so if you want some good advice take a look at our article and find out more!

Think German, think EuroLondon!

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Steve Shacklock

We blogged a couple of months ago about joining us here at Euro London; we had a good response but we are still looking for talented, enthusiastic and hard working people.

In particular we are looking for candidates that want to use their German language skills and come and work for us in our award winning Frankfurt office. You don’t necessarily need recruitment experience but what you do need is determination and enthusiasm. If this sounds like you and you fancy moving to Germany and getting some great international experience then contact Dawn Nell at Euro London d.nell@eurolondon.com – send in your CV and a covering letter telling us a bit about yourself.

You can also check out our new Facebook page which has all our current roles – you’ll even see some photos of the Euro London team enjoying team outings, getting to know clients, and generally enjoying life at Euro London.

Bad things to say at a job interview

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Steve Shacklock

I recently came across a funny video that someone had posted on Twitter about bad things said at job interviews. It certainly amused me and put a smile on my face at the end of what was a busy day.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DlR3AkCAd8]

Here at Euro London we spend a lot of time with our candidates going through possible interview questions and provide them with an interview guide so they are as ready as they can be when they come to the actual interview. This puts them in a good position for their interview – which – as we all know can be pretty daunting. Here are our top tips for success at an interview:

First Impressions Count – Dress professionally even if you know the company has a casual dress code. After all it is better to be too smart than too causal!
Time Keeping – Never arrive at an interview late, it is advisable to enter the building about 10 minutes before the interview.
Research - Ensure you know as much about the company as possible – it is inevitable that you will be asked. The more you know the better your chance of success.
Show Enthusiasm – ensure you smile and make plenty of eye contact with your interviewer and always speak clearly and in a confident voice, no matter how nervous you may be.
Body language – Sit up straight, avoid slouching and try not to fidget too much – this will make you appear nervous and distract the interviewer from what you are actually saying.
Listen – This is often forgotten as candidates are too worried about selling themselves. Make sure you listen carefully to the questions asked and don’t be afraid to ask them to repeat the question.
Ask Questions – many candidates fail to ask questions and miss the opportunity to find out valuable information about the company. Prepare some questions in advance – the questions you ask indicate your interest in the company or job.

I hope these tips are useful and although they may seem obvious it is surprising how many candidates don’t get the basics right!

10 jobs you can do with a language

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Steve Shacklock

When you ask a lot of people what jobs languages can offer, you get a range of answers, but the majority will say “teacher” or “translator”. And I think that this is half the battle when it comes to encouraging young people to learn languages – they think “what’s the point?”

So when we worked with some students from Lambeth Academy, we came up with the top 10 jobs that most people don’t know you can do with a language, to highlight that languages can lead to exciting and well rewarded career opportunities. These are all jobs that our consultants have recruited for over the past few years (in no particular order!)

Video games tester – playing video games to test that they say the right words in the correct language
Private jet sales executive – selling private jets, or fractional ownership of them, to high net worth individuals across Europe
Football analyst – watching and analysing the latest European football matches and producing reports on the failures and successes of the team. These are passed onto traders to aid investors in betting more successfully
International assignment manager – working for a large international company to help colleagues re-locate from country to country. You organise a place to live, schooling if there are any children involved, removals etc
Luxury yacht sales manager – Selling yearly memberships to “high net worth individuals “ who want to be charted on a route around the world on their private yacht and waited on by their own staff
Tour organiser – organising tours for pop bands around Europe, organising and booking venues and general diary and transport management
Art editor – editor and designer for a large internal magazine for a global bank
Journalist – uncovering the latest scoop on international financial trends and reporting on the information for a financial magazine
Press conference assistant – interpreting for Arsenal FC Manager Arsene Wenger and Jose Antonio Reyes for Champions League fixtures in Spain
Recruitment consultant – yes we had to get this in – you can work all over the world, recruiting people from all over the world into a range of sectors, from marketing to law, finance and IT

Why learn a language?

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Steve Shacklock

We are always going on about how many opportunities learning languages can provide and it seems that more people are catching on to the benefits of having this skill on their CVs. Saint George International (SGI), the language training specialists, saw a big increase in the uptake of foreign language courses in the UK over the first half of 2009, as people turned to languages to put them a step ahead of other job seekers in this competitive job market. This got us thinking what the top reasons for learning a language are, so here are ours:

Cultural understanding – when you learn a language, you learn so much more than vocabulary and grammar. You get a feel for the country, its practices and its people, which is crucial when doing business on an international scale.
A for effort – yes English may be considered the lingua franca, but your customers or potential customers will see you as so much more professional if you are able to converse with them in their own language. Even if you just manage a ‘hello’ it shows that you’ve made the effort.
Opportunities – the world is your oyster with a language or two under your belt. Not only does it provide opportunities to take a range of interesting positions abroad, it could open the door to a promotion or new job opportunity here in the UK.
Be wise – your new international business partner may be willing to talk to you in English, but what about when they’re talking to their colleagues? If you’re in a meeting and not able to understand everything that’s being said, can you be sure that you’ll be happy with the outcome?

What have your experiences been?

More languages in demand as organisations try to beat recession

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Steve Shacklock

As UK companies look to overseas markets to maximise on business during the downturn, there has been a boost in demand for more exotic language skills, especially within the finance and sales sectors. That’s according to a new hiring trends report from multilingual recruitment consultancy Euro London Appointments.

Dutch, German, Japanese and Russian remain popular languages within finance, but more generally there has been increased demand for Arabic, Gujerati, Polish, Czech, Cantonese and Korean as companies look to develop in new and alternative markets.

Although finance and banking recruitment, particularly within hedge funds and trading, has been badly affected by the economic problems, the report shows that demand in areas such as risk and compliance and relationship management has grown as these aspects of finance become increasingly important.

Demand for experienced candidates in digital media has also increased, as has requests for multilingual sales staff, as organisations look for ways to boost sales both at home and abroad. The online gaming sector continues to boom and is seeing continuing demand for linguists too. In the North West of the UK particularly, companies are facing a lack of IT and engineering professionals with language ability, mostly driven by a drop in the number of foreign nationals coming here.

“With the economic picture and the recruitment market varying so much across the globe, organisations in the UK are realising the importance of maximising on relationships with their customers overseas” comments Steve Shacklock from Euro London. “This is not only in Europe but increasingly across Asia too, making language ability an even more valuable skill than ever. It’s reassuring to see that despite the doom and gloom that we hear about the jobs market, that there is still demand out there for skilled and experienced candidates.”

The report highlighted similar market trends across Europe, with France seeing an increased demand for sales professionals and the online sector also expanding in Germany. Although their financial markets have been substantially affected, Luxembourg and Switzerland are still seeing demand for finance professionals, with Luxembourg seeing growth in accountancy and Switzerland experiencing a continued demand for risk and tax specialists.
Euro London’s Spring 2009 hiring trends report covers the job markets in the UK, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland and France.