Times are changing and this is inevitable. Everything around us is changing. We cannot stop this, but we can respond to the changes.
Undoubtedly, one of the broadest sectors in our country's economy is trade in its various forms — from small neighborhood shops to huge commercial departments of multinational companies. Traders are among the most communicative people, due to the specifics of their profession. They communicate daily with dozens, even hundreds of people. And far from all their interlocutors speak Bulgarian.
A huge number of Bulgarian trading companies have foreign counterparts. My almost 12 years of experience in wholesale trade has brought me into contact with people of all nationalities. And with all of them I had to find a common language in order to complete the work entrusted to me. It is madness to carry out a normal profitable deal if you do not master the language. Neither do you understand, nor do they understand you — what kind of business can we be talking about? And many Bulgarian traders know English at the level of 'asking for paint'. And they get it. Because in the end they end up on the street — fired and unemployed. I have communicated with many colleagues. When it comes to English, the remarks are always of the type 'I don't have time now', 'I'm too old to learn a language', 'I can't spare money at the moment' and similar.
And when is there time? When you lose your job? Do we have to reach that point to start learning it? And where do these age complexes come from? A person learns throughout their life all sorts of things. Why can 50-year-olds learn new standards, memorize new instructions, study new technologies, but cannot learn English? Who comes up with such nonsense? It is clearly hopeless laziness and depression.
I personally do not know a single person who has enough money. No matter how much they have, they always wish they had a little more to do this, to achieve that, to buy a third and tenth thing. But there is a significant difference between buying new shoes and enrolling in an English course. You will wear the shoes for one or two seasons, if you're lucky — three. But the language will in any case bring you a significant increase in salary not for a year or two, but forever. A huge part of traders receive so-called bonuses — a percentage of completed trade deals. Without knowing the language, you can only count on the Bulgarian market. But the language, especially English, opens up an endless segment for you. As long as you're a trader on the spot, there's no way you won't be able to manage. But far from just the clients being foreigners. A huge part of the suppliers do not speak Bulgarian. If you don't know the language, how will you place an order? How will you negotiate a discount? How will you understand when your goods arrive and do they even have what you want in stock? So, instead of checking everything yourself right away, you fiddle around with your colleagues who speak the language and you're actually dependent on them. If they have time, if they deign to translate for you, if they don't mind helping you...
Yes, a large part of modern Bulgarian traders speak English to some level. And that's very good. But... Often that level is truly just 'some level'. More or less something can be done, but it's not at the level of their potential. It's clear to them that they need to improve their language, learn new terminology, sharpen up their business communication and pronunciation. But there's never enough time, they never manage to fit language learning into their schedule. And so, until they are replaced by others, who have found not excuses to put off English, but have simply done it.
If you haven't noticed, unemployment is rising in trade. Trade turnover is visibly shrinking. And no one knows where the minimum is, to which customer purchasing power can fall, where the bottom of the pit is. If it's not all the same to you what will happen tomorrow to you and to those who depend on your salary, make your personal investment. Learn a language! No one forces you to walk around the city to get to the place of courses. No one limits when and how much you will study. You go online and learn a foreign language. When you want, as much as you want and however you want. If you are a true trader, you understand the value of this investment. Both as a prospect for better pay, and as climbing at least one more step on your career ladder.
There is no time to delay. Trade does not tolerate empty space. If it's not you, another will come who has done the work to prepare excellently, instead of buying new shoes. So it's time for action. Times are changing because people in them are changing. It has been so and it will be so.