The non-profit organization Upwardly Global was created to give underemployed immigrants the tools and skills necessary to rebuild a career in their chosen field. Some of the most important job search skills for immigrant professionals to master are: how to market yourself to employers, how to present yourself in U.S. interviews, and how to network effectively within American cultural norms.

Faced with the lowest U.S. consumer confidence level in 5 years, a sluggish employment market and other slumping economic indicators, many workers are concerned about the possibility of being laid off. Here are steps you should be taking now to boost your job security and sharpen your marketability.

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. Here's how you can create your own job search marketing campaign – an action plan for targeting the right employers with the right message so you can get the job you want and deserve.

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. Here's part 2 of how you can create your own marketing campaign – an action plan for targeting the right employers with the right message so you can get the job you want and deserve.

Career fairs are a great way to network with a variety of employers at one time. To help you make the most out of your job fair experience, we'd like to share some important recommendations from our career experts here at LatPro.com. By following these tips, you’ll be able to navigate job fairs effectively and confidently while making a great impression on employers!

For some people, picking up the phone and calling a senior-level executive whom they don't know and have never met is about the most intimidating idea imaginable. We (often falsely) believe that this busy, important person won't want to talk to us. The truth is that no one gets ahead in this world without the assistance of others, and in order to get help you have to ask someone who is in a position to give it to you.

Networking can be done at almost any time and in any place. It is best done in a one-on-one setting, preferably face to face, but the phone can work as well. This is commonly referred to as an informational interview, one where you get the opportunity to interview a key decision-maker at a company where you would be interested in working.

Key Objectives of an Informational Interview:

1. You want to establish rapport with a key decision-maker at a company where you would like to work
   
2. You want to exchange information with them.
   
3. You want to get the other person's advice and reaction to what you have to say.
   
4. You want to extend your network of contacts.
   
5. You want to be remembered actively and positively.

Lets discuss each of these objectives in greater detail.

To determine this, you should first take a moment to carefully review your current situation and analyze your options. If you are completely sure that you want to leave your current job, then you are a Job Seeker. You should spend a significant amount of time actively searching for a new job somewhere else. Generally, people at this stage cannot bear to stay in their current situation any longer and many don't even want to stay in the same company. Their disappointment, frustration, and fear levels are so high that not even changes within the organization can keep them there. If this sounds like you, it's definitely time for a change.

Most people, even strangers, are more than willing to help others, but we just don’t seem to know how to ask them for the support we need. And very often, there are simple ways for us to assist those who help us. Learn how you can take advantage of your existing relationships to make everyone more productive.

During a period of unemployment, a woman by the name of Susan was being coached on the importance of networking with executives. Her coach asked her to contact senior level executives at various companies. Susan was to try to get advice from them, see who they knew, and get them to remember me when they would need someone with her skills. Initially she thought that these people would be too busy to talk to her. "How would I even get past their secretaries?" Was her first concern.