Gabriel Pacheco Santa
Last December, Conservation Opportunity, in collaboration with Para la Naturaleza (PLN), offered a webchat on resume building and career paths, The Conservation Trust's Human Resources Coordinator, Sonia Rolón Otero, was able to recruit the environmental interpreter, Gabriel Pacheco Santa, to PLN's team.
“Subsequently, he was applying for employment opportunities with us, that's when we found out about Pacheco Santana. Before participating in that activity, he already knew what the PLN trust was doing,” stated Rolón Otero.
Pacheco Santa was considered a “high value” candidate, as he was an active volunteer with the organization and shared with other environmental interpreters for a notable amount of time. Likewise, his certifications and training were shown to be “attractive” to PLN.
“We were struck by his volunteer experience with us and other organizations. Also, his educational background is in chemical engineering, and we were interested in how he relates it in terms of conservation,” he added.
According to Rolón, there were several participants who applied for the position after the virtual chat, however, Pacheco Santa had considerable advantages.
“He certainly knew our processes of being an environmental interpreter. Like Gabriel, we have also had the opportunity to interview other candidates whose resumes catch our attention and in the interview they amaze us,” he said.
In addition to impressing PLN recruiters, Pacheco Santana had a good understanding of English, which is one of the most important requirements for the environmental interpreter position.
Photo posted by Para La Naturaleza on Facebook
“If a candidate can't successfully answer questions in English, it tells us that we need to dig deeper. For that position, one of the big requirements is language proficiency. If a person has all the experience and the skills for the position, but is not necessarily fluent in English, he or she may not continue in the next stages of the process, because there are other candidates who do meet that requirement,” he said.
However, those who are not fluent in the language will still be able to apply and will be oriented to other positions within the same organization.
Since its inauguration, Pacheco Santa has been working with PLN in the metropolitan area and the central region at the old aqueduct in Río Piedras and at the botanical garden of the University of Puerto Rico.
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