Puerto Rico Job Fairs to Target Hispanic Professionals  

Blackanthem.com, WASHINGTON, D.C., October 04, 2005

In an effort to boost Hispanic representation within its civilian workforce, the Defense Department is sponsoring career fairs in Puerto Rico specifically designed to recruit Hispanic professionals.

Recruiters from throughout the Defense Department, including the services and DoD agencies, will be on site to discuss career opportunities and make job offers to qualified applicants, Mark Smith, chief of DoD's recruiting assistance division, told the American Forces Press Service.

Workshops on federal resume writing, as well as information sessions on federal government opportunities and benefits packages, will also be offered.

The recruiters will seek out students and graduates with degrees in civil, electrical, environmental, industrial, mechanical, chemical and computer engineering; land surveying and mapping; architecture; business administration, particularly finance and accounting majors; and nursing, Smith said.

The first fair, slated for 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. Oct. 11 at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico in Hato Rey, is open to the school's students and alumni. Interviews from the fair will be scheduled for Oct. 12.

The second event, the DoD 2005 Career Fair Extravaganza, will take place at the Mayaguez Resort, near the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. That event, to run from 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. Oct. 13, will be open to all students, graduates and graduate school candidates. Interviews will be scheduled for Oct. 14.

With a relatively high unemployment rate and lower-than-average salaries, Puerto Rico is expected to be a ripe recruiting ground for the department, Smith said, particularly in its technical schools, which produce top-quality job candidates.

"This is a way to demonstrate that the federal government offers good career opportunities" to a population Smith said is underrepresented within the federal government and Defense Department.

"It's a way to showcase what DoD has to offer and to provide bridges of opportunity to prospective members of its workforce," he said.

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service