Member of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada and Win Exports of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service

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Jaime Horwitz was pleased to have participated in an article published by the Possiblities Project regarding employment challenges and opportunities for Spanish speaking people in Toronto. The following is an excerpt of the original article.

Spanish Speaking Job Seekers:
A Toronto Resource Guide
Updated March 28, 2002

Spanish is among the top five languages spoken in the GTA with 2.4 per cent of the population citing Spanish as their home language (that's almost 60,000 people).

The growing number of Spanish-speaking Canadians, including arrivals from Spain and Latin America, has had a strong influence on the city's cultural identity. This imprint is seen in employment agencies, such as Anne Whitten Bilingual Human Resources Inc., that cater to job seekers who can speak both English and Spanish.

Spanish language skills are a huge asset now that trade has opened up between Canada, Mexico and the United States (where Spanish is the second most spoken language). If French is a key employment asset in Canada, Spanish is the ace in your pocket if you want to work for a company dealing with our southern neighbours.

Working Your Advantage

But it's only a trump card if you know how to play it. As is true for all job seekers whose first language is other than English, your skills must be backed with a strong ESL foundation. According to Rosa Cortez, an employment counsellor at Yorkgate Employment Resource Centre , her office refers clients in need of English language training to a Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) Program . As these are federally funded classes there are eligibility requirements that must be met including an assessment test. You can find out more by contacting a centre offering (LINC) Programs .

Cortez says many clients come to Yorkgate  to participate in the centre's unique Spanish-language training sessions run weekly. Courses on Internet job searching and resume and cover letter writing are offered, along with one-on-one resume critiques and interviewing technique sessions.

Cortez says while instructors are fluent in Spanish, a great benefit to participants, all reading materials for the courses are provided in English only. Participants need "at least level 2 or 3 in the (LINC) Program ."

To find out more about these courses, or to register for a workshop, call the Yorkgate's  Spanish-language line at (416) 667-8831 and leave your name and contact information.

Work Culture Shock: How to Avoid it

Learning in a your language of preference offers clear advantages, but the real benefit of courses such as Yorkgate's, geared towards newcomers, is the chance to be introduced to Canadian job search etiquette and the expectations of Canadian employers.

This information is as vital as any education and experience you may have, says Toronto's Jaime Horwitz, founder of Cactus Rock New Media. His company has created a series of web sites, including www.canadaenespanol.com and www.torontoenespanol.com, introducing Canadian culture to Spanish speakers around the world.

He speaks from personal experience.

After arriving in Canada in 1989, a fully bilingual MBA graduate with U.S. work experience, he believed he'd be a shoe-in for a job in Canada. But he says Canadian "work culture shock" was a huge impediment.

"When I think back at the first few interviews I had, I wouldn't have hired myself," he says. "I had no idea about work culture, how to behave in an interview here, the specifics of a professional resume."

He explains that the experience of looking for work in Mexico and South America is different from job searching in North America. For instance, in Latin American countries it's common to put your age, marital status, number of children and even a photo of yourself on your resume.

"Here, those are the resumes that get tossed aside," he says.

Know your NHL - Make Canadiana Work for You

Explaining important, unspoken Canadian culture standards to Spanish speakers is one of the reasons Horwitz started his information sites. Designed primarily as a Canadian introduction to Spanish speakers living abroad, the sites offers newcomers Spanish-language information on political, historical, sports and employment topics. In recent years a focus on business and labour markets has been added.

"In the past three years, there has been a strong interest in immigration," says Horwitz, referring to e-mails received from site viewers as well as advertisements from the Ontario Ministry of Development and Trade promoting business immigration.

Horwitz has recently begun conducting face to face presentations in Mexico that give a "realistic overview on life in Canada, including information about the founding cultures, how business works and what living in Canada looks like from a Latin American point of view."

The kind of preparation offered through his seminars and the publications available (for a fee) on his web site can pave the path to employment and settlement in Canada.

For example, he notes that Canadians are reserved about pursuing workplace relationships, a quality that is not present in Latin American workplaces.

"In Canada friendship comes after a long time of work interaction," he says. This knowledge can make it easier for those used to a more immediate camaraderie on the job to face a seemingly unfriendly workplace.

"I used to think there was more racism than there actually is," says Horwitz. While he readily admits racism can effect employee-employer relations, to him much of it is simply cultural difference.

"You didn't grow up with the same hockey teams I did, that kind of thing. Employers like Canadian experience, because it leads to common cultural experiences. Familiarity breeds professional confidence," he says.

Of course, as with anywhere else, racism can raise its ugly head on the job. Knowing where to go for help to diffuse an unfair or volatile situation is imperative. Organizations such as the Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples  offers research and promotion services to Spanish speakers.

The Knack of Networking

"A lot of people (from Latin America and Spain) do not know the power, the necessity of networking."
- Jaime Horwitz, Cactus Rock New Media Inc.

Jaime Horwitz says it was through the art of networking that he landed his first good job in Canada, and it's the best way to uncover the hidden job market. Great!

So how do you do it?

The first question you should ask yourself is: where to do it! If you think you'd be most comfortable in a Spanish language environment, several Hispanic community centres in Toronto can offer you the chance to meet new people, find out about the city and even volunteer your time.

The Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples  is always looking for volunteers. This centre also provides employment services and is a central point in Toronto's Spanish-speaking community. Introducing yourself to people working in a wide variety of jobs and companies is the first step in uncovering that hidden job market.

You may also want to contact the Hispanic Community Centre for the City of York  which offers not only employment and skills training services, but sponsors cultural heritage events and volunteer placement.