LatPro was recently interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as an expert source on professional Hispanic employment for its article Language Groups Get Support in Jobs Search.

The article, which appeared in the Sunday paper, is also featured on the ajcjobs.com website. The piece addresses special challenges that non-English speakers face when seeking employment, and also offers advice on how speakers of other languages can use their language skills to their advantage when finding a job.

Language Groups Get Support in Job Search

By Karl W. Ritzler, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION


ATLANTA — […]At a job fair sponsored by the National Society of Hispanic Professionals last month at the Cobb Galleria Centre, Carolyn Altemus was taking résumés and interviewing prospective employees for national and local jobs with the Boy Scouts of America.


She attends job fairs; posts openings on job Web sites, called job boards; and places classified advertisements in publications aimed at minority audiences as well as mass-circulation media.


"I like doing job fairs because you can meet people face-to-face," she said.


Altemus pointed out that the recruiting process is two-way: trying to find the right people for the jobs available and persuading them to work for a nonprofit organization like the Boy Scouts.


The job fair focused on professional positions for people of Hispanic background and bilingual candidates.


Rob Stewart, sales director for LatPro, a Miami-based job board for Hispanic and bilingual professionals,* said the single most important skill that employers want is someone who can speak English.


"It's the way to advance in your career," he said.


"You can find a job if you don't speak English," he noted, but there is little room for advancement. But with knowledge of the language, "you can sell yourself as having multicultural and bilingual skills."


LatPro works with organizations such as the NSHP to organize and present job fairs.


Some jobs, he said, are hot regardless of the languages that applicants speak.


"Health care is always in the top 10," he said. "And there's always a need for people with specialized degrees, such as engineering, or CPAs."


In those fields, "no matter what the ethnicity, there is crossover" among people of different ethnic backgrounds who attend the job fairs, Stewart said. […]


"We're keen on highlighting a multicultural skill set as well as being bilingual," he said. "It's really good for businesses."


The primary vehicle for bringing jobs and candidates together is the organization's jobs board, Stewart said.


Like large, mainstream Internet job boards, there is no charge for candidates to access the listings.


LatPro reaches out to professional organizations and Hispanic chambers of commerce to be partners for events such as jobs fairs.


Read the complete article here

* bold emphasis added