Language Barrier during Interview
March22Collector
45 Posts
Let's pretend this really happened: A candidate for a manufacturing position comes to my office for an interview. The candidate sits down and I begin with the interview. The only problem, the candidate speaks little to no English. I can't understand a thing this person says, and this person understands nothing I say. I don't have anyone in the company who can translate, and the candidate does not have a translater either. The candidate does hand me a resume, done in English, which looks great. The candidate has super qualifications, but I just cannot communicate with him..............What are my responsibilities in this situation?
Comments
>in, whether it be language or other. I don't know that you HAVE too,
>but if you are passing a good person up because of it, why wouldn't
>you? On the flip side, how will this situation affect your training of
>this person and their ability to learn?
Exactly. This would effect every aspect of this candidate's employment. We would not be able to train, communicate about safety, or anything. So I guess I'm asking if there is any legal reason why I couldn't just say "Thanks, but no thanks".
The issue of training, and actually completing work, is critical. I am not aware of any law that requires an employer to provide language interpreters. In our community we have a large hispanic population and many of the larger companies have interpreters on hand for training etc. and if the work is primarily physical, then they can get by without knowing English. Ours is a smaller company, and nearly every job (98%) requires the ability to read & write in English. We have a note on our application that states that employees must be able to read and write conversant English.
I make everyone fill the app out in our office.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman
Although it was a win-win situation, the one drawback was turnover. As they learned the language and the American ways, they left the company to go to school or other professions that they were suited for. Many came back to visit and bring us up to date on their accomplishments. Great Country America.