Diversity

Do you want to increase your chances of landing an interview and earning the job offer with a company that is welcoming to Latinos? When conducting your research on a potential employer there are additional questions that Latinos can ask of company representatives at a diversity career fair, Hispanic professional associations, Latino contacts at the company, the company's Hispanic Employee Group (see Hispanic Employee Networks / Affinity Groups) or other knowledgeable resources in your network. These sources are often open to providing the critical information you need to achieve success in your job search.

Assessing Latino-Friendly Company Culture

Your basic questions are "What makes your company an employer of choice for Latinos?" and "What do Latinos need to know about your company to determine if it is the right fit for them?"

It is often best to ask personal questions to open dialog such as:

• What do you enjoy most about working for the company?
• Why did you apply for a job with the company?
• Why have you continued your employment with the company?
• What do you see for your future with the company?

You may need to ask follow-up questions such as:

• What is the work environment for Latinos?
• How many Latinos are in the company, at what levels, and specifically, work in the department that you are applying for?
• What characteristics do successful Latinos in this company seem to share?
• What support systems does your company have for new Latino employees (orientation, training, mentors)?
• What support systems does your company have for the retention, development and advancement of Latino employees (ongoing training, educational benefits, special rotations, employee networks)?
• What is the retention rate of Latinos vs. others in the position for which I am interviewing?

Identifying Company Access Contacts / Strategy

Your basic question is "What are the best strategies for Latinos to get their résumé reviewed by the right people and secure an interview in your company?"

Some sample follow-up questions are:

• Who can I contact in your company to get my résumé reviewed and secure an interview (such as actual hiring official, division manager, Latino/diversity recruiters, chief diversity officer, Latino managers or employee groups)?
• What is the best way to initiate contact and follow-up with these individuals?
• Can I use your name as the person who suggested I communicate with these contacts?

Preparing for the Interview

Your basic question is "What do I need to know about your interview process to be selected for employment?"

You may need to ask follow-up questions for instance:

• What types of interview formats are used for the position I am applying for (individual, panel, sequential, behavioral)?
• What characteristics are the interviewers looking for in a candidate for this position?
• What do the interviewers look for from Latino candidates? (Author's note: see our upcoming article, "How to T.R.I.U.M.P.H Over Illegal Interview Questions")
• How do you assess Spanish speaking and writing proficiency?
• Should I bring my career portfolio to the interview and what should it contain?
• Do you have other recommendations for preparing for the interview and discussing my cultural and/or language expertise?

Hispanic professional associations can play a pivotal role in maximizing career opportunities for Latinos. Many organizations strategically sponsor career centers, career fairs, professional development, mentoring programs, networking, scholarships, advocacy, benefits programs, and social functions. Several of the national organizations have local and student chapters. The groups often maintain strategic partnerships with employers that hire from their specialized career fields.

Some niche organizations are leading reverse efforts to help corporations grow their diverse talent by lending themselves in a way that creates stronger retention. Manny Espinoza, CEO of ALPFA explains that while their main mission is to build Hispanic leadership in accounting, finance and other related fields, ALPFA'S employment relationships with corporations have grown exponentially due to its talented, experienced membership. In fact, Espinoza said some companies will also utilize ALPFA as their own employee resource group if they do not have a large number of Latinos on board (read more at Hispanic Employee Networks / Affinity Groups).

If any of the associations are of interest you, we recommend that you:

• Review the organization’s website thoroughly for free services and member benefits
• Identify a chapter in your local area
• Sign up for the group’s electronic newsletters, eList and mailing list (check privacy policies)
• Search current job postings and check out companies that support the association
• Submit your resume to the organization’s resume database or job matching system. (check privacy policies)
• Establish a networking relationship with appropriate staff contacts and members
• Participate in the organizations message boards for information gathering and networking
• Attend onsite or participate in online organization events, professional development activities, mentorship programs and career conferences
• Volunteer if you can

You can find a list of iHispano.com partners by clicking on our Partner Page

¡BUENA SUERTE!

HISPANIC résumés are persuasive career marketing tools that set you apart from the competition in today's tough job market.

HISPANIC résumés are dynamic and honest portraits of "Brand YOU."

HISPANIC résumés are crafted to be read from the hiring official's perspective. Companies are seeking employees to satisfy some kind need: The need to be more competitive, expand business, make or save money, improve productivity, save time, attract or retain customers, build relationships, solve problems, and so on.

Seven Key Factors of a HISPANIC Résumé:

High-impact summaries of measurable achievements: Your résumé should focus on contributions, core competencies, and skills, with emphasis on what you can accomplish and how you can contribute to the bottom line.

Illustrate your capabilities: Examples of personal and work attributes -- like detail orientation, communication abilities, team working skills, and the ability to multitask -- should be added to the résumé in context to illustrate your competence and ability to contribute to the bottom line.

Strategically aim toward your job target: Your résumé should demonstrate your ability to perform the job by focusing on relevant keyword skills and industry buzzwords. If you are seeking employment in more than one industry, or at more than one level, prepare different versions of your résumé.

Professional in appearance: A good résumé should be eye appealing and have plenty of white space to invite readability and emphasize critical points. The format should also be well organized and designed in a style that is appropriate for the job target.

Actively advocate and sell your candidacy: A Professional Profile or Qualifications Summary at the beginning of the résumé is crucial to advocating your candidacy and capturing readers' interest. It provides a quick overview of your experience and expertise, and establishes who you are, what you can do, and how you can benefit the organization.

No errors: In résumé writing, attention to detail reflects your professionalism and commitment to excellence. To ensure accuracy, the résumé should be proofed several times (by yourself and others) for typos, correct grammar use, formatting consistency, and readability. Even one typo can doom your résumé to the recycling bin.

Internet savvy and keyword loaded: The résumé processing systems used by the majority of employers search for keywords to determine whether you are a match for job vacancies. Without the proper keywords, your résumé will sit unnoticed in a company's database. To ensure that your résumé has the right keywords, research your job target to determine the most important hard skills, soft skills, work experience, and industry terminology for your field.

Compelling and Inviting: If you do a good job of writing and formatting your résumé, stressing the right keywords and accomplishments -- and making readability a priority -- hiring officials are much more likely to see you as a "must interview".

Check out the H.I.S.P.A.N.I.C. Résumé Checklist

"Who am I anyway?
Am I my resume?
This is a picture of a person I don't know.

What does he want from me?
What should I try to be?
So many faces all around, and here we go.
I need this job, oh God I need this job."

-- Paul, an extremely talented Latino, who was uncomfortable about discussing the value of his accomplishments, culture and language skills for his interview in the Broadway hit "A Chorus Line."

Felicidades! You've done it! The good news is that you are one of the few applicants who have successfully negotiated the interview on ramp. Your research, resume, marketing letters, and networking have resulted in an interview with an employer you really want to work for.

The exciting news is that you now have to navigate through the rough terrain of the interviewing process. It's all in how you look at it. Unlike Paul, you are going to plan (adapt your career map to this specific interview), prepare, practice, and exercise your personal power to steer yourself into the position of receiving a job offer. We have given you directions in the Conducting Winning Interview Checklists series. Below we discuss linking our cultural backgrounds to an employer's success.

How to Maximize Your Culture and Language in Your Job Interview

U.S. companies are aggressively seeking competitive advantages in the increasingly diverse local and global marketplaces. It is a matter of not only growth, but for many, survival. These companies are not likely to be successful unless they understand the cultures and languages of their customers and employees. Our multicultural experiences and / or language skills are very critical business assets employers are seeking in order to thrive in this new business landscape.

How can you communicate your multicultural experiences and / or language skills as an asset? First, you must convince yourself these attributes are advantageous and worthy of consideration. Remember: "Yo tengo valor, I am valuable" should be your motto.

Therese Droste, a Washington D.C. based career columnist, suggests writing a list of benefits you bring to the workplace. Below are few examples that have appeared on lists developed by clients and our readers:

• My language skills will be used to resolve cultural or language conflicts or problems between customers and colleagues.
• Being multicultural or multilingual demonstrates I can adjust my style to different people and situations.
• Being multicultural or multilingual indicates I have experienced looking at problems and opportunities from different perspectives.
• Being multicultural or multilingual indicates I think before I act.
• Being multicultural or multilingual means I know how it feels to be misunderstood, and I also know what it takes to reverse misunderstandings.
• My accent will be seen as an additional competence that helps me communicate better with colleagues and customers from diverse backgrounds.
• I understand leadership and creative solutions within the context of my diversity.

The next step is to take that list you made and match them with positive experiences in your life in which your multicultural background or multilingual abilities helped you resolve a problem or communicate better with another person. It's similar to creating a life resume. Yet because so many of our life experiences become distant memories, you have to ponder the past, target such situations and write them down. Your multicultural assets must be presented in a manner that proves that you can help drive a company's business goals.

Let's say you're asked in an interview how you would deal with a problem situation with a colleague or customer. You could preface your answer with: "Partly because I know how it feels to have the shoe on the other foot..." and then fill in the rest with a specific example of how your background helped you solve a similar problem. Simply put, you provide the employer with an example of how you used your experiences as a multicultural and / or multilingual person to solve a past business problem or show how your skills helped you in a previous job. We suggest you read Be the S.T.A.R. of Your Next Job Interview and use the article's worksheet to prepare your answers.

Once you've convinced yourself of how valuable your skills are, you will articulate them better and gain an employer's confidence.

¡BUENA SUERTE!