Excerpted from the Nicaragua Career Guide

Commonly, interviews are granted in Nicaragua only after good personal marketing through résumés, networking or a combination of both. Interviews provide a good opportunity to reinforce résumé data and expand on it as required to persuade the company as to the candidate’s competitive advantage and the value he or she would add to the company.

Pre-Interview Preparation

Employers are interested in using interviews to confirm a candidate’s qualifications, regardless of experience held or required, such as the value he/she would bring to the organization; competitive advantage; motivation and potential; the ability to communicate and work as a team player; tolerance; the ability to take advantage of cultural diversity; the ability to fit into a company culture; creativity and intelligence. In addition, it is increasingly important to be outstanding, or at the very least acceptable, in terms of language skills. A third language, in addition to Spanish and English, is a definite advantage.

Interview Conduct

Nicaraguans, along with the rest of Latin America, do not emphasize punctuality. A 15-minute or even longer wait can be expected. For personal marketing purposes and specifically for interview purposes, being late is highly disqualifying. Thus, it is best to arrive early and wait.

The Interview

Most interviews last between 30 and 60 minutes. However, some companies give a first short interview, while others last up to 90 or more minutes. Interview length usually depends on interviewers and the degree of attention the candidate attracts. Human resource/human development representatives often take less time conducting an interview than do unit heads, managers, presidents and CEOs. This, however, is not a general rule and the first interview can be conducted by a human resource representative or by the company owner.

This is just a sample of what you'll find in the complete Nicaragua guide.