By Mesia Quartano and Barb Freda

You have a great education, solid work history and you’re bilingual to boot, but landing a job isn’t only about your skills and experience. You also have to know how to successfully market yourself to employers.

A job search is much more than simply “finding a job.” It is actually an integrated marketing campaign – an action plan for targeting the right employers with the right message, creating a positive perceived value of what you have to offer.

Your perceived value in the mind of the employer is the reason you will be hired over other candidates vying for the same position.

Your “Get Hired” Marketing Plan

1. Clarify your Objectives

Before jumping in and trying to find any job that offers a steady paycheck, you should take the time to think about your interests, evaluate your strengths and determine the overall direction you’d like your career to take. Really reflect on what you want and where you would like to be in 5 years, 10 years and beyond.

This self-reflection and understanding will steer your job search in the right direction, helping you to make career decisions that complement your skills, satisfy your interests and fulfill you professionally.

2. Research your Target Market

Any good marketing campaign begins with market research. As a job seeker, you must know your target market and how your special mix of abilities meets the needs of these employers.

Learn everything you can about the companies and industry you wish to target. Review leading trade magazines, read corporate publications, search online for company news and research industry trends. This information will help you uncover what the market needs and which of your skills will be most valued by the companies you set your sights on.

“You need to ask: what is the market looking for?” says Maureen Crawford Hentz, Manager of Talent Acquisition at Osram Sylvania. “The employer is the buyer and you are trying to sell your skills.”

3. Your USP: Differentiating Yourself in the Job Market

After you’ve done your market research and decided on the niche you wish to target, the next step is to evaluate your strengths and competencies. What separates you from other jobseekers? Is it your education, drive, creativity, experience, breadth of knowledge, leadership abilities, or some other skill?

Whatever makes you different from other candidates and gives you a competitive advantage is known as your USP or Unique Selling Proposition (sometimes called Unique Selling Points).

However, employers won’t automatically recognize your USP. You must effectively communicate how you are uniquely positioned to benefit their company and solve their problems. This means you have to understand the value of your skills in the marketplace and know how employers will benefit from hiring you. One skill you can be confident the market needs these days is multiculturalism, particularly Latino multiculturalism.

“The whole Latin American arena is really hot,” says Peter Newfield, founder of Career-Resumes.com. As the Hispanic market grows within the United States, companies are expanding to do business in previously untapped Latin American markets.

The same multiculturalism is also important for jobs within the U.S. borders as companies recruit to fill posts that will be involved in marketing to new communities with different cultures.

Juan Guillermo Tornoe, Senior Strategic Planner at LatinWorks and LatPro’s Hispanic Marketing Expert, notes that very soon, Hispanics in the United States will make up 25 percent of the population. As that community's buying power increases, understanding Latino consumers and knowing what to offer them will be of enormous value to any companies interested in growing within those communities.

> Read Part 2 of this Article

About the Author: LatPro Inc

An innovator in the online employment industry, LatPro was launched in 1997 to become the very first job board connecting Hispanic bilingual candidates with employers. Our staff authors share targeted advice gained during our 10 years serving Hispanic jobseekers and diversity-conscious companies.

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