Speaking a foreign language (or multiple languages) shows more than just language skills. It demonstrates culture awareness, openness to get on with different cultures, flexibility, ability to appreciate when colleagues need something rephrased or reframed, and much more.
Having language skills as part of your skill set will make you stand out from the crowd, it can open up new opportunities and industries, and it can give an employer a reason to differentiate and choose you, from the rest. Perhaps a company are planning to expand into a different country, and they would really benefit from having someone that speaks the language and understands the culture. It's also a great networking tool, when you meet someone from a different culture. It helps you to empathise, and they may subconsciously warm to you. Additionally, the reason that you speak a foreign language can tell a great story, and show passion and enthusiasm for learning. Perhaps you were passionate about a country, and wanted to learn how to speak the language, in order to fully integrate into the culture. Perhaps you studied it at school or university, and have made the effort to maintain your skills in it. Or perhaps you learnt it in order to build relationships with people.
Of course, it will depend on the industry sector and type of company, with which languages are most profitable. But it goes without saying that any foreign language will show skills, and be valuable in some way - and it's never to late to learn a language.
As the unemployment rate in US is still pretty high, millions of people are trying to make themselves more valuable for employers. Luckily, learning a foreign language is one of the ways to gain extra value as an employee, a fact which was proven by surveys among employers. Moreover, being bilingual can bring you higher income.
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