Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008 - (Page 52)

Special Advertising Feature Uncle Sam wants you! If the idea of making an impact through government service appeals to you, there is good news: The Federal government is mandated by law to increase its pool of Hispanic employees to reﬂect Latinos’ share of the general population. Each federal agency must have an Hispanic Employment Program (HEP) manager to coordinate recruitment and retention of Hispanics, as per Executive Order 13171 signed by President Bill Clinton in 2000. Yet despite these efforts, Latinos are the only minority group to continue to be underrepresented in most Federal government agencies, comprising just 7.7 percent of the permanent Federal civilian workforce in 2007, according to the Seventh Annual Report to the President on Hispanic Employment in the Federal Government, prepared by the Ofﬁce of Personnel Management (OPM) in December 2007. This is barely half of the 15 percent of the U.S. population and 13.7 percent of the civilian workforce represented by Latinos in 2006. Factors conspiring to keep Hispanic representation in the Federal government low are varied: Federal jobs require U.S. citizenship, something not every Hispanic working in the private sector has or needs. And many federal jobs require higher levels of education than are common among Hispanics, only 59 percent of whom had high school diplomas and 12 percent of whom held bachelor’s degrees in 2006, according to the Census. Nevertheless, for qualiﬁed candidates, the prospects are encouraging. “Hispanic job candidates should realize that their cultural and language skills are in great demand in the Federal workforce, particularly in agencies like the Secret Service where foreign language proﬁciency is highly valued,” says Julia Pierson, Assistant Director, U.S. Secret Service Ofﬁce of Human Resources and Training. And several trends paint a brighter picture for Latinos considering careers in the Federal government, which “offers great job stability, opportunities to travel and an attractive beneﬁts package,” underscores Pierson. First, the demographics of the Federal workforce are changing, with roughly 40 percent of the workforce expected to be eligible for retirement within the next decade. OPM projects that, by 2016, 37.3 percent of current full-time, permanent federal employees will retire, including 63.5 percent of Senior Executive Service (SES) members. This situation presents an opportunity for new hires—especially in management and senior management positions. Second, the share of Hispanics in the Federal government has been inching up, with some agencies now boasting a signiﬁcant number of Latinos on their payroll. Of the 24 Federal agencies, the Department of Homeland Security is the largest employer of Hispanics, who make up 19.2 percent of that agency’s total workforce. From July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007, six agencies —the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Interior, State, Treasury and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission—hired 58 percent of all new Hispanic hires. Third, there are Hiring Authorities and programs in place that favor the Latino candidate, speciﬁcally the Bi-Lingual/Bi-Cultural Authority, which permits agencies to seek and hire persons proﬁcient in Spanish or knowledgeable about Hispanic culture for certain positions. Federal agencies also work with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) National Internship Program, which offers 10 and 15week internships designed to allow college students to experience the diversity of careers in the Federal and corporate sectors. The best place to start looking for available positions is usajobs.gov, the Federal government’s ofﬁcial jobs site, where you can upload your résumé and learn the requirements for each job level. “Latinos should explore all employment possibilities, checking federal job listings regularly and applying for the positions that interest them,” advises Pierson. “I often tell college students that they should consider their long-term career goals when applying for jobs. Even if their dream job seems out of reach today, with the right experience, applicants may be a perfect ﬁt for that job within a few years.” END Top Jobs for Hispanics in the Federal Government From July 2006 to June 2007, Hispanics gained the most jobs in the following occupations within the Federal government: OCCUPATION Customs and Border Protection TOTAL NEW HIRES, 2006-2007 1,528 1,389 202 394 693 289 746 363 655 1,771 NEW HISPANIC HIRES, 2006-2007 295 249 28 40 57 22 55 20 33 86 PERCENTAGE HISPANIC HIRES 19.3 17.9 13.8 10.1 8.2 7.6 7.3 5.5 5.0 4.8 Administrative Professional General Inspection, Investigation and Compliance Passport and Visa Examining Social Insurance Administration Criminal Investigation Medical Technologist Biological Sciences Internal Revenue Agent General Engineering Medical Officer Source: Seventh Annual Report to the President on Hispanic Employment in the Federal Government, Office of Personnel Management, December 2007.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008

Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008 Contents Briefcase: BIZBUZZ: Business Briefs Briefcase: Dynamic Trends Briefcase: Q&A Briefcase: Trendsetters BizLife: BizTech BizLife: Travel Feature: Target: Hispanics Cover Story: A Legend in His Own Time Feature: Top 25 Franchises Success & Motivation: The Talent Scout Education: Success by Degrees Finance & Investing: A Tough Sell Social Events: Emerge Dallas Politics & Government: The Accidental Americans Managing: Deconstructing Networking

Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008

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