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For Hispanics and Latinos, getting a job has rarely been as simple as trotting out Spanish-language skills. But with this population dominating growth in the US workforce, leveraging a Mexican, Latin American, Cuban or other form of Hispanic heritage has become a complex career strategy.
Opposing Forces Create Complex Career Prospects
While Hispanics/Latinos have made great progress in the US economy, many still struggle, especially new immigrants -- legal or otherwise.
"The spread of information technology and the way manufacturing jobs have gone from screwdriver-and-wrench to operating computer equipment has shifted the labor demand toward workers with greater education and skills," says Rakesh Kochhar, associate director of research at the Pew Hispanic Center. These are areas where recent migrants may fall short.
Kochhar is the author of a December 2005 study on Hispanics/Latinos in the US workforce that reveals representation of Hispanics in management and professional occupations declined between 1990 and 2000.
Others see more positive trends for Hispanic/Latino workers. According to HispanicBusiness.com's report, "The US Hispanic Economy in Transition," Hispanics account for more than 13 percent of US labor, a number that should increase to nearly 20 percent by 2030.
In addition, a key demand driver for the Hispanic/Latino labor market, Hispanic/Latino purchasing power, is rising. The mean income of Hispanic households increased from $32,873 in 1972 to $44,887 in 2002 in constant dollars, according to the March 2005 report.
Spanish Is Just Another Skill
Spanish-language skills are valuable assets in many career paths, but in today's Hispanic/Latino labor market, they are neither essential nor sufficient.
"Many second- and third-generation Hispanics do not speak Spanish as natively as English," says Cathy Areu, president of the National Association of Latina Leaders. "In fact, the majority of US-born Hispanics don't speak Spanish. It's a lot for employers to expect all Hispanics to speak Spanish, much less read and write it."
And companies often take too narrow a view when recruiting workers to serve Hispanic/Latino markets. "Employers hire people who speak Spanish without making sure they're qualified for the job," says Dave Stafford, CEO of bilingual insurance shopping service Hablamos Seguros.
Wanted: Job Seekers Who Understand Hispanic/Latino Markets
But plenty of jobs do require Spanish language abilities, and marketing and customer contact are where Hispanic/Latino cultural skills are most needed. Recent Monster job postings specifically targeting this knowledge include these job titles:
- Director of Hispanic markets
- Senior media manager for Hispanic and youth
- Bilingual recruiter
- Bilingual escrow assistant
- Social services case manager.
"The Hispanic market is growing, and more and more companies need people that know that market -- not just the Spanish language -- for key positions in sales, marketing, advertising, support and customer service, among others," says Carolina Reyna, founder of the National Society for Hispanic Professionals.
Understanding the psychology of Hispanic/Latino communities is critical. "It's not enough to just understand the social and demographic aspects -- you have to understand how Hispanics think and the lifestyle trends of Hispanic consumers," says Edward Rincon, president of market research firm Rincon & Associates and a teacher at Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business.
Those seeking work in the Hispanic/Latino labor economy should also understand its many dimensions of diversity. "This community's new dynamics hinge on emerging second and third generations, native- and foreign-born differences and broad geographic growth," says the HispanicBusiness.com report.
Finally, it's important for job seekers of any background to recognize that many opportunities in the Hispanic/Latino labor economy are open to everyone. "There are probably plenty of jobs in marketing to Hispanics, but those jobs aren't necessarily going to Hispanics," says Kochhar.
