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Working in Santiago de los Caballeros

Work in Santiago de los Caballeros
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Updated byAnne-Lise Mtyon 19 April 2024

Do you wish to settle in Santiago de los Caballeros? Here is how to proceed to find a job in this major Dominican city, some insightful tips about the region, and why it is an attractive spot to live. 

Santiago de los Caballeros, better known as Santiago, is the second most important Dominican city after Santo Domingo. This city offers the opportunity to learn firsthand how some of the most potent rum, tobacco, and coffee industries work, all this away from the large crowds of tourists. Located in the Cibao region, Santiago de los Caballeros is located in the North, next to the province of Puerto Plata. It is positioned to the South next to the municipalities of Janico and San José de Las Matas. To the East are the municipalities of Tamboril, Licey al Medio, and Puñal. And finally, to the West, it borders the municipalities of Villa González and Esperanza. Like the rest of the country, Santiago is located in the Caribbean and has its respective climate. This, in addition to the altitude of the city, 1243 meters above sea level, makes cloudy weather predominate most of the time.

Hurricanes also predominate in the country and nearby regions. Fortunately, this region is not affected by these climatic factors due to its coverage by the Cibao Valley. In short, it is a strongly developed city, not quite as much as the capital, but you can find pretty much anything you need. That is why the number of foreign visitors is constantly increasing every year. An entertaining and exciting fact is that this city has baseball as its primary sport, with fans in every corner of the city. In addition, Santiago de los Caballeros houses the Cibao, the largest stadium in the Dominican Republic, where the Caribbean Eagles play. Also, as a result of its vital economy, Santiago offers numerous job opportunities for foreign professionals in various areas, so you shouldn't have much difficulty finding a job there.

Santiago de los Caballeros' economy

The economy of Santiago represents about 50% of the economy of the entire region, contributing a large percentage to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). According to experts, Santiago is among the most prosperous cities in the area, as well as Central America and the Caribbean. Santiago is the result of an actual geographical location for a wide variety of predominantly agricultural industries. The region is considered the backbone of tobacco production, responsible for half of the country's elaboration, and the leader for its exports in the international market, highlighting the highest quality worldwide; so it has become one of the leading horses that pull the carriage of the national economy. Soil and climate explain the positioning of their industries; Santiago de Los Caballeros is synonymous with good conditions, a factor that gives rise to the agriculture of other minor crops that also cover part of the national market. This city is connected to two major airports and is located between Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata.

The transit of goods, the growing population, and industrial demand are favorable characteristics: an economy with a growth trend, more than 115,000 jobs, and 953 million dollars annually. Note that Santiago has a diversified economy, written in detail, and specializes in the following fields, namely agri-food, textile and clothing, tourism, trade (accounting for 6% of urban activities), tanneries and hides, cigars and tobacco, construction, health, and education.

Good to know:

Twenty-six percent of the active workforce is employed in the manufacturing industry, while 25% is engaged in commerce, 25% in the service sector, and 5% in tourism.

However, be sure to find out about the requirements of your labor market and about working conditions before proceeding with your job search. Working there can be quite different from what you expect.

Finding a job in Santiago de Los Caballeros

Despite the current situation, Santiago de Los Caballeros aims to be recognized as a tourist city in the near future. This city contributes between 15% and 18% of GDP to the Dominican Republic.

Perhaps finding a job in this field can be pretty complicated unless you offer something really different. However, official figures indicate that the monument to the Heroes of the Restoration of the Republic receives about 40,000 visits a year, while the tobacco shop receives approximately 80,000 visits a year.

As it happens, the cultural experience can always go hand in hand with an accommodation proposal; several hotels are located inside and on the outskirts of the city. In addition, the launch of HODELPA, which is a new and genuine hotel company with 520 rooms, is an actual job bank for foreigners. It also offers internship opportunities.

The area of commerce, such as shops and supermarkets, represents 37%, employing 16% of workers.

Santiago is home to a local hypermarket, namely the La Sirena El Embrujo Multicenter, as well as many supermarkets and shopping centers. The Plaza Lama, which is located on Juan Pablo Duarte Street, and two other similar buildings near the city center are some others.

In the Dominican Republic, leisure and festivity encourage tourists to immerse themselves in the local gastronomy; the experience of rum and the cuisine of the Taino Indians have to be appreciated in a number of bars and restaurants.

In short, the city is home to about 14,000 trade companies, including services, firms, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. They all represent an accurate job exchange, both for locals and foreigners.

Finally, in the financial sector, Santiago has a market significantly developed with 10% of financial firms in the country, including Banco Leon, Banco Popular, Banco Caribe, Banco Santa Cruz, Savings, Loan Association Cibao, etc. Try your luck with these if you have the qualifications and skills required in the financial sector.

During your job search, you can consult offers on the Internet thanks to numerous general and specialized websites, as well as professional social networks.

You can even look for assistance from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Santiago or just visit their website.

Important:

It is recommended that you update your resume according to Spanish standards. In addition, a good knowledge of Spanish will definitely be an advantage, either during your job search or the interview.

Essential tips for applying for a job in the Dominican Republic: How to make an excellent resume to find a job

All of us who are part of the working world or who wish to integrate into it know that writing a resume is necessary to get a job.

However, making a CV does not only mean putting a list of previous jobs in a document.

It is a detailed job that requires knowledge of certain tricks and secrets within the field of recruitment. At Expat.com, we know that entering the recruitment field as an expat can take on specific challenges due to the limits that the foreign language imposes on us. The formats and the work culture are often different from those of our homeland.

We will give you these essential tips on how you should build your CV to apply your application in the Dominican Republic job market correctly.

Update your contact information

Update the personal data of your CV and make the relevant changes according to the national contact forms. We are mainly referring to your phone number, and acquiring a national number is a way to facilitate the contact process.

Remember to modify it in your curriculum vitae. This way, if the employer wishes to contact you, he will be able to do so without any complications.

It is not necessary to include your date of birth or your marital status, and you can do without that information. What we do recommend is that you put your full name, email, and mobile phone. These are the three essential elements that belong to this section, although you can always provide extra information, such as your website or your LinkedIn account. Along with the primary source of your CV, the personal description on your CV is of great importance and requires correct and detailed wording that supports a competitive presentation.

Therefore, for our expats, the way in which this section is developed may present difficulties. We are here to help you land the right job in the Dominican Republic. Although you may already know this, we recommend that you look at the examples that we will put and select which one suits your needs the most.

Other ways to find a job in Santiago de los Caballeros

The best platforms to search for online jobs in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic.

Thanks to the Internet, today, we have a simple and effective way to get jobs, whether it's providing online services or arranging an in-person interview with previous resume submissions. On most platforms, you just have to give some information and complete your profile to launch your professional online appearance and offer your skills.

We have made a list of some pages we thought might help you explore where to get a job in the Dominican Republic.

In addition, within this list of pages that offer strong work connections, we have selected some that offer jobs located in Santiago de los Caballeros. You can read more general information about the job landscape and the country's economy in our article Work in the Dominican Republic.

Job possibilities on platforms for Santiago de los Caballeros

We start with the most popular and internationally recognized fonts. The vast majority of job offers are for a large selection of professionals, both novice and experienced. This means that they have many subscribed users.

Opción Empleo

Like Indeed, it is a search engine that optimizes the achievement of available offers. It locates all the available offers and summarizes them on a page with a friendly interface. Their search is mainly based on employment networks, recruitment agency sites, and specialized recruitment sites. Job offers are not presented by Opción Empleo, and the user is redirected to the root pages where the proposal was previously formulated.

Opción Empleo is also a very present site, with its base in 90 countries and offering local service in a large selection. That is why it has a significant presence in the Dominican Republic, with offers that possibly originate in Santiago de los Caballeros.

Bebee

Bebee is a recognized platform where you can find local services, freelancers, groups, bloggers, and ideas with collaborators. It offers a friendly and straightforward interface with offers right on the homepage. It has a great presence in the country, and that is why it makes it a place where you should definitely test your luck.

Mercado Jobs

It is also a great job search engine, with a range composed of 56 countries and several five languages. Mercado Jobs brings together job offers from the most popular websites and companies in the world to offer its audience personalized and strong-skilled search tools to obtain the best results.

Mipleo

Unlike search engines, Mipleo is a simple-to-use direct job platform, and you can search in the upper left corner for the job you want to apply for or choose it from the list below. According to research, this platform concentrates on several jobs located in Santiago de los Caballeros.

Workana

It is a great match to provide online services with the security of agreeing with the client through the intermediary page, and you can create your profile and point out your skills to attract more employers. Try to stand out with competitive prices and good proposals to raise your ratings and improve your work experience.

With these recommendations, you already know some great places to start your job search before or during your arrival in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic.

What are you waiting for? Start your job search now!

Useful links:

Santiago de los Caballeros – CIDEU

Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Mipymes

LinkedIn

Freelancer

Upwork

Fiverr

We do our best to provide accurate and up to date information. However, if you have noticed any inaccuracies in this article, please let us know in the comments section below.

About

Anne-Lise studied Psychology for 4 years in the UK before finding her way back to Mauritius and being a journalist for 3 years and heading Expat.com's editorial department for 5. She loves politics, books, tea, running, swimming, hiking...

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