Being a ‘native’ English speaker does not mean anything at all when it comes to medical writing.
Why on earth do certain job applications specify “native speaker” as a necessity?
Most people who aren’t “native” English speakers and work as writers in an English-speaking country have far greater grammatical intellect than your typical ‘native’ speaker.
Since when did your average Joe start to understand complex terminology that a so-called ‘non-native’ speaker can confidently write about?
Most content writing is distilled heavily for the general public to understand. Our ability to distil such complex topics comes with our fundamental understanding of the English language.
We distil content so that the so-called ‘native’ speaker can understand what we’re talking about.
Hiring only ‘native’ speakers just demonstrates your lack of understanding of what it means to read and write.
It’s also verging on the edge of racism.
Hire good writers. Not ones who understand Brummie slang but can’t differentiate between their, there, and they’re.
How many of you have had a writing role turned down just because you’re not a so-called ‘native’ speaker?
P.S. Hiring a writer who speaks more than one language can help give you the upper hand when it comes to marketing your services elsewhere in the world.
Always apply to job roles as a medical writer, even if English is not your “first” or “native” language. It’s what you put down on paper (or on screen) that counts.
Start your journey to becoming a medical writer now, with Hass and Virginia to help you along the way.