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You might think you’re an experienced job seeker who understands how hiring processes work. But behind the scenes, hiring often works differently than job seekers assume it does. Here are five hiring secrets you probably don’t know that can give you an advantage over your competition.

1. Application deadlines often don’t mean anything. Job seekers often take application deadlines as gospel, but they’re frequently interpreting them incorrectly. Many job posting sites require employers to list a deadline when submitting a job opening. That means employers are forced to pick a date even if it doesn't reflect how they’re actually managing the search.

So candidates might see a deadline listed and figure they have until then to submit an application, when in reality, the employer might be interviewing candidates on a rolling basis and make a hire before that deadline has rolled around. READ MORE AT U.S. WORLD AND NEWS REPORT

Silvia Tergas was recruited out of college to work for Macy’s, moving from up from sales to the financial division. Though she really enjoyed helping colleagues answer questions about their 401Ks and other financial matters, she never pictured herself working in the world of investments.

“I didn’t see myself reflected in the profession. I saw it as very male-dominated...wearing pinstripes and living in New York,” she said. She didn't see many Hispanics in the field, either.

It wasn’t until Tergas, who's of Honduran and Cuban descent, helped her own family manage their retirement that she decided to make a career switch. READ MORE AT NBC NEWS

The U.S. Hispanic population will account for 40% of employment growth over the next five years and more than 75% from 2020 to 2034, according to a new study.

That’s around 11 million jobs out of 14 million new positions across the economy.

Job growth among the Hispanic population is particularly notable given that the growth of the non-Hispanic working age population is set to slow to near zero as the number of new non-Hispanic workers will barely match the drop from retiring baby boomers, according to the study from IHS Global Insight, an economic forecasting firm.

The forecast sees Hispanic labor-force growth set to accelerate by an average 2.6% over the next 20 years, even as the labor force will grow by 0.6% for the country as a whole from 2020 to 2034. READ MORE AT THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Here’s some welcome news if you’re eager to find work that blends purpose and a paycheck: 2015 is shaping up as a banner year for hiring at nonprofits.

According to the 2015 Nonprofit Employment Practices survey released today by Nonprofit HR, a human resources consulting firm, 50% of the 362 nonprofits it queried anticipate creating new positions in the coming year.

The upward trend continues the post-recession nonprofit hiring resurgence of last year. In 2014, 49% of Nonprofit HR respondents said they planned to create new positions, up markedly from just 19% in 2009. READ MORE AT FORBES

Hispanics are the dominant minority group in Colorado, but when it comes to small business loans, they are falling significantly behind. In fact, Hispanic-owned businesses are the only group borrowing less money today than they did five years ago.

To understand two of the big reasons why, let’s meet Marjorie Silva. Back when she was still living in central Peru, someone told Silva the cake at her son’s birthday party was so good that she should sell them. Eventually she was running a small cash-only business out of her kitchen.

"I did a little sign, with wood, painted it very pretty, and put it above the door of my house," said Silva. "And I was actually pretty busy, I was doing everybody’s cakes in town." READ MORE AT COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

Beauty sales at many kinds of stores were sluggish last year. But one consumer segment emerged looking radiant: Hispanics.

The Hispanic market posted more growth across all beauty segments last year than the general population, sometimes dramatically so, according to an analysis released Friday by Nielsen.

Cosmetics purchases were up 7.4 percent among Hispanic consumers, while they fell 1.2 percent among non-Hispanics. Hair care and accessories grew 3 percent among Hispanics while declining 3.6 percent among non-Hispanics. Even in product categories that grew among non-Hispanics — bar and liquid soaps, hand and body lotions, facial cleansers and moisturizers — the growth among Hispanics was significantly greater. READ MORE AT CHICAGO TRIBUNE

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A cherry-flavored fancy light beer, a café con leche Milk Stout, and an India Pale Ale infused with passion fruit — these are some of the blends concocted in a kitchen in uptown Manhattan and brewed to perfection two-and-a-half hours north of there, in a private manufacturing facility in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

For 29-year-old Juan Camilo, the recipes for his beers are deeply personal, as he was inspired by his single mom and accomplished school teacher, his Dominican roots and the working-class Manhattan neighborhood he grew up in.

Camilo started the Dyckman Beer Company a year-and-a half ago. Today, his craft beers are being sold in about 70 bars, restaurants and grocery stores in New York City. He has also established new accounts in the Dominican Republic. READ MORE AT FOX NEWS LATINO

If your firm isn't marketing to Hispanic travelers, you may be missing out on a lot of revenue.

In the U.S., Hispanic travel is growing at a faster rate than the general market, with an economic impact estimated at more than $56 billion annually in leisure travel, according to the National Tour Association.

Hispanics, who see taking vacations as a sign of success, represent a growth in cruise vacations of 34 percent vs. 21 percent on non-Hispanics, 11 percent vs. 0.2 percent on foreign travel, and 13 percent vs. -0.4 on domestic travel, according to Experian's Simmons National Consumer Study. READ MORE AT ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL

Every day, chronically ill Latino patients stream into Harbor-UCLA Medical Center's family medicine clinic.

Some have neglected their health because they're flummoxed or alienated by the medical system, Dr. Gloria Sanchez believes — in desperate need of care from providers who understand their words and their problems.

"Latino physicians tend to be that bridge, this critical piece of healthcare communication," she said. READ MORE AT L.A. TIMES

I never burn bridges. But I try to build them any time it’s possible.

The formula for success is about 20 percent what you know and about 80 percent whom you know. That’s why it’s so important to network and to make the most of the business contacts you come across during your career.

Let’s be honest, if you’re good at what you do, it will show. Your work will be done and done well. This blog is written from the assumption that you’re good at what you do. But it can get you noticed for being good in a job, and it can help you get a new or better job. READ MORE AT TIRE BUSINESS

Hispanics' confidence in the economy and their own personal finances increased to a new high in January, according to a survey by the Florida Atlantic University.

An index of consumer optimism among Hispanics across the nation jumped to 101 last month, up from 87.4 in December, the highest level since FAU's Business and Economics Polling Initiative started the index in August 2014. The lowest index possible is a 2, the highest 150.

Hispanics in the South were the most upbeat, said Monica Escaleras, director of BEPI. "They are very optimistic about the future," she said. READ MORE AT REPUBLICAN AMERICAN

Silicon Valley Latino takes a proactive approach to engaging, empowering and inspiring Latino high school students while also addressing the lack of diversity in tech issue.

As is stated in the company’s vision statement, Silicon Valley Latino is committed to engaging, educating and inspiring the new generation of Latino heroes. With this commitment in mind, Silicon Valley Latino decided to create an initiative where Latino professionals from the STEAM fields would engage and ultimately inspire Latino high schools through a newly created program, the “Inspire Higher Tour.” The “Inspire Higher Tour” is a high touch/high impact component within the Inspire Higher Initiative and it’s comprised of a touring and rotating panel of Latino professionals visiting numerous schools where the student body is predominantly Latino and/or students of color. READ MORE AT SILICON VALLEY LATINO

About an hour south of Silicon Valley in a classroom at Hartnell Community College, Daniel Diaz and Brian De Anda stand at a whiteboard mapping out ideas on how to reduce the size of a mobile app their team is building.
This isn't a class, and the app they're building an informational guide for a drug rehab center isn't even a school project. But this is what it takes to have a chance at an elite summer internship, says Daniel Diaz.

"What you are taught at school is not enough," Diaz says, "especially in today's competitive society. I think you need to do some more outside learning." READ MORE AT GPB NEWS

Recently, a Comcast employee infamously gave the company a black eye by changing a customer’s name from Ricardo to “A--hole” on his account. The story of this uncouth behavior was verified and then went viral.

No matter how many public apologies the company’s executives made for the rogue employee’s action, their carefully crafted brand suffered in the public’s mind. Who can tell how many potential customers, as a result, chose not to hire Comcast as their cable provider, without regard to how well the company’s services might fill their needs?

There is a powerful lesson here for job hunters. Behavior, attitude and manners are all components of your personal brand and the impression you make. No matter how qualified you might be for the role you seek, if you act in a discourteous fashion, you will diminish your chances of being hired. READ MORE AT U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT

Historically, financial service companies have been slow to focus on the burgeoning U.S. Hispanic market. While certain sub-categories, namely money transfer services, check cashing and mortgage providers have aggressively pursued Hispanics, most efforts have been focused on the “unbanked” — an unsophisticated and relatively small segment of unacculturated Hispanic consumers that were generally outside the mainstream financial world. 

However, with continued growth of the Hispanic population and the well-documented increases in socio-economic status of Hispanics — e.g., college enrollment by Hispanics has surpassed Whites and Hispanics were the only major ethnic group to see a decline in its poverty rate in 2014 – the financial services industry is paying a lot more attention.

 READ MORE AT MEDIAPOST

Extroverts thrive on the energy they gain from interacting with other people. With their ease in approaching new contacts and their outgoing ways, extroverts may seem like the ultimate networkers. While they do enjoy some distinct advantages in making connections, their gregarious nature can also work against them. An extrovert can either come across as interested, charming, and charismatic or can seem overbearing if they're not mindful of their energy.

Here are 8 Networking Tips for Extroverts:

Follow the 60/40 rule. Listen 60 percent of the time, speak and ask questions 40 percent of the time. Open-ended questions encourage others to engage in the conversation. Show a genuine interest in their responses. READ MORE AT HUFFINGTON POST

Latinos are taking over the small business world, according to a 2014 report by the Partnership for a New American Economy.

The study states between 1990 and 2013, the number of Hispanic entrepreneurs in the U.S. more than tripled, going from about 321,000 to 1.4 million.

But when it comes to online, fewer Hispanics are starting up businesses compared to other ethnic groups.

Melissa Rossiter with the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce said, "You have to know your market, you have to make sure you have a product that's going to sale or a service that's going to sale." READ MORE AT BAKERSFIELD ABC 23

Not all college students will go to graduate school, but the percentage of Hispanics who get a master's degree is especially low.

Only 7 percent of all master's degrees earned in 2012 were awarded to Latinos, according to a recent report from Excelencia in Education, a nonprofit organization that studies how Latinos perform and advance in school.

Although the percentage lags behind that of other groups, this 7​ percent also represents significant growth among Hispanics. "From 2003 – 2012, the number of master’s degrees earned by Latinos increased 103%, compared to African Americans (89%), Asians (65%), and Whites (36%)," the report states.READ MORE AT U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

The time is ripe for aspiring female programmers and developers to make their mark in a male-dominated industry, says Michael Choi, founder and chief instructor of Coding Dojo.

It’s hardly news that the tech industry has a gender gap issue. While women were once the pioneers of computer science, their ranks have fallen since, even as the ubiquity of computing has grown.

What is news is just how bad the situation has become: As Google GOOG 0.46% recently revealed, women make up only 17% of the company’s technical workforce. At Facebook FB 0.46% , it’s 15%. And while women make up 57% of U.S. college students, they earn only 18% of computer science degrees. READ MORE AT FORTUNE