The economic downturn has affected every single demographic segment in America’s workforce. Reports have discussed how Hispanics have been affected in many aspects, thanks in part to a reduction of jobs in construction and other industries. Professional jobs are, as we know, not untouched by the downturn and while today's rates of new unemployment fell, bad news have continued for many workers. Just in the last week, Univision announced cuts, and Hispanic media has continued to shrink staff, just to cite an example.And according to this CNN report, the worst may be yet to come in terms of job losses.
Competitiveness in the job market is at an all time high, but opportunities still exist. Following is a conversation with Rob Steward, an executive from leading Latino job portal LatPro, on how Hispanics can make their mark on today's narrow market.
Rob Steward is currently the Vice President of Sales for diversity job board LatPro.com and he has been with the company for 6 years. Prior to joining LatPro, Rob worked as an executive recruiter in New York City for 5 years, specializing in financial placements. Rob graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY in 1994 with a degree in Chemistry. He currently resides in Florida with his wife and two children.
Q: In the current economic climate, what is the employment outlook for Hispanics?
A: The current economic problems are affecting everyone in the US, including Hispanics. I would argue, however, that professional Hispanics are in a position to present themselves and their unique skills in such a way as to give them an advantage. Multicultural and multilingual candidates offer a lot to employers, and it’s up to Hispanic job seekers to make their skills shine during an interview.
Q: Considering the professional realm, what opportunities are available to Hispanics?
A: Some fields or professions are still very much in demand, like health care, engineering and sales. But let me give you a few examples of how a Hispanic professional would be able to take advantage of their cultural and lingual skills to thrive in these roles.
Sales, marketing and customer service positions are the most obvious, as these people are on the front line communicating with customers. As companies expand their businesses to new communities, states, or even countries or continents, the need for people to understand the local language and customs is absolutely essential. Maybe less obvious would be the impact on a business that a bilingual human resource manager or an engineer or a factory foreman. Think about the technical aspects that HR may need to communicate to its employees about the new health plan. Also consider the engineer reading blueprints and going over them with a contractor about the new power plant in Mexico and discussing the local customs and environmental impact or the foreman that needs to speak with a group that prefers to speak in Spanish. The business could not ever be as effective without these people and their skills.
Q: What is the mission of LatPro? How did you get started?
A: LatPro was founded in 1997 by our CEO Eric Shannon. Our story can be read here in detail. Our mission is to be the Authority on Diversity Employment. And we strive to let those guiding principles shine through in everything we do and say.
Q: Are you changing your strategies now that employment is harder to find?
A: LatPro has developed multiple ways for companies to reach diversity candidates, and for its membership to reach each other, peer to peer. LatPro has started a professional social network where job seekers and human resources professionals can seek or give advice to each other related to careers or job hunting and other related topics. In just a few months, we have over 1200 active participating members. In addition to our Hispanic and bilingual job board and networking website, LatPro has also launched DiversityJobs.com which is a general diversity job board and a way for employers and all diversity job seekers to connect with one another. DiversityJobs.com has several hundred thousand jobs and has been launched for over 2 years now. LatPro is in its 4th year of producing offline Diversity Job Fairs. Our job fairs are national and we typically have around 30-40 exhibiting companies and around 700-800 candidates in attendance.
Q: What do you recommend Hispanic job seekers concentrate on currently?
A: Hispanic job seekers can do a number of things that will increase their marketability and the speed with which they will find a position in their profession. First, they must update their resumes, both for style and content (no typos and formatted so it’s easily read). They must make sure that their resumes give examples of their work experience that highlight their skills, including their cultural and language skills. And for some Hispanics, they need to make sure that they don’t include their photos and personal information that does not belong on a resume in the US.
Secondly, I’d recommend that they try to expand their connections. They must make it known to everyone they know that they are looking for a job. Word of mouth and referrals are very effective ways to get leads and interviews. Joining a social network like the LatPro Network would be a great way to meet others who are sharing information on what’s out there in terms of employment. There are also numerous Hispanic organizations that can provide support, resources, advice and knowledgeable people. These organizations often are very specific in their membership’s scope, which makes them very valuable assets—Hispanic Nurses, Hispanic Engineers and Hispanic Journalists are just a few examples.
Q: How can companies do a better job of attracting Hispanic candidates?
A: Companies need to have a brand identity that says diversity is important in our company and we can prove it. Now that doesn’t happen overnight, and it must come though true dedication, not just quick speak. If a company is creating Latino groups within their company and the CEO is a champion for those groups, that company will find itself in a good position—the employees themselves will tell everyone they know about the company they work for and how great an environment it has.
Companies should advertise to the Hispanic community when they are hiring. Of course they can do that with sites like ours, but there are other non-job board related places that will make sure that Hispanic professionals hear about their recruiting efforts. Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, Hispanic Professional Associations, Hispanic media, Hispanic groups on business network sites such as LinkedIn are great places for corporate recruiters and/or community relations people to be ambassadors for their companies.
Q: What are the top 3 trends regarding Hispanics in the workforce?
A: One trend is that Hispanics are promoting their cultural and language skills more than they ever have in the past. This may be due to the fact that more companies are actively pursuing those skill sets and Hispanic candidates are being given advice to promote themselves more.
Also, Hispanics are attaining increasingly higher level positions within companies, at the managerial, executive and board levels.
Finally, Hispanics are leading the way as their companies expand into Latin America. They know the cultures and they know the languages and this knowledge is growing many businesses in this country.
Thank you Rob, and our friends at LatPro, for the insight.
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