How to find a job in Miami: A guide for newcomers

Starting over in Miami? Maybe you just landed at the Miami airport with two suitcases and a dream. Maybe you’re still back home, scrolling through Miami job posts at midnight. Either way, you’re probably asking yourself the same thing: where do I even start?

Here’s the upside. If you speak Spanish, Miami can be a good place to look for work, and employers here are used to hiring people from all over Latin America. In fact, more than half of Miami-Dade residents were born outside the U.S.

You’ll still need the right papers, a résumé that works for U.S. employers and a plan. To help you through a process that may be new to you, we’ve put it all in one place, one step at a time.

What’s the job market in Miami like?

Miami’s economy is closely tied to Latin America and the Caribbean. That shapes which jobs are easiest to find and which skills employers value most. Some numbers:

• The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area added 42,600 jobs in the year to June 2025. That’s a 1.5% gain, compared with 1.1% nationally.

• Education and health services added 13,400 of those jobs, and retail added 6,300.

• About 1,200 multinational companies run their Latin American headquarters from the city.

• Trade and logistics accounts for 30,000 direct jobs and supports about 340,000 more in the county.

• Aviation accounts for about 88,500 jobs in Miami-Dade.

• 30% of Miami-Dade businesses are Hispanic-owned.

In practice, hospitals, airports, ports, shipping companies, banks and hotels hire regularly. Construction, retail and restaurants are also common first jobs for people who are just arriving.

Sending part of your first paychecks home? With Ria you can send money to Colombia and other countries online, in the app, or at a location near you.

Get your paperwork in order

Before you send a single application, check your documents. U.S. employers must confirm that every new hire is allowed to work in the country.

Work permit

What you’ll need depends on your immigration status:

• Green card holders don’t need anything extra. The green card itself shows you can work.

• Some visas (H-1B, L-1B, O and P, for example) let you work for a specific employer as part of your status.

• Other people need an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), also called a work permit, before they can start a job. You request it by filing Form I-765 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

• Depending on your category, an EAD lasts one or two years.

Immigration rules change, and every case is different. For your own situation, check with USCIS or a qualified immigration attorney.

Social Security number

Employers use your Social Security number (SSN) for payroll and taxes. In most cases you can apply for one once you have your work authorization. Bring your EAD and another official photo ID, such as your passport, to the Social Security Administration.

Not sure whether you need an SSN or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)? They’re both nine-digit numbers, but only one lets you work. Our guide on ITIN vs SSN explains the difference and which one applies to you.

Get your degree evaluated

If you studied outside the U.S., many employers, universities and licensing boards will ask for a credential evaluation. It’s a report that explains what your degree is worth in U.S. terms. Most organizations accept evaluations from members of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).

There are two main types:

• A general (document-by-document) evaluation confirms your degree’s U.S. equivalent. It’s often enough for general job applications.

• A course-by-course evaluation lists your subjects, credits and grades. Licensing boards and graduate schools usually ask for this one.

Plan ahead. You may need certified English translations of your documents, and the whole process can take anywhere from weeks to months.

Licensed professions

Nurses, doctors, accountants, real estate agents, cosmetologists and contractors all need a Florida license to work in their field. Look up your profession on the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation site or the Florida Department of Health site before you apply.

Many people take a related job while they work on their license, for example as a medical assistant while going through nursing licensure.

Where to look for jobs in Miami

Employ Florida and CareerSource South Florida

Employ Florida is the state’s official job site. Register as a job seeker, upload your résumé and search openings by zip code.

CareerSource South Florida runs the state and federally funded workforce programs in Miami-Dade. It offers:

• Employ Miami-Dade, its own job search tool

• Help with job searches and résumés

• Job fairs, workshops and hiring events

• Training programs, including support for refugees and people who lost their jobs

• The Professional Placement Network, for experienced professionals getting back into their field

Job boards and LinkedIn

Indeed, LinkedIn and Glassdoor list thousands of jobs in Miami. On LinkedIn, write your headline in English, list your languages, and set your location to Miami so recruiters can find you.

Some of Miami’s biggest employers post openings on their own career sites first. Check Jackson Health System, the University of Miami (which includes the UHealth hospitals) and Florida International University (FIU).

Staffing agencies and temp-to-hire roles

Staffing agencies fill a lot of positions in Miami, especially in logistics, office support and hospitality. Large agencies such as Randstad, Adecco and Robert Half all have offices in Miami. Randstad and Adecco recruit for roles in customer service, logistics and office administration, while Robert Half focuses on accounting, finance and administrative support.

A temp-to-hire job starts out temporary, and the company can make you permanent if things go well. Many staffing agencies pay weekly, so you can start covering your bills and send money online to your family sooner.

Make your résumé work for the US

A U.S. résumé looks different from the hoja de vida or CV many Latin Americans are used to:

• Keep it to one page, or two if you have a lot of experience.

• Leave off your photo, age, marital status and ID number. U.S. employers don’t expect them.

• Start each bullet with an action verb and include results where you can (“Managed a team of eight,” “Cut delivery times by 20%”).

• Put your languages near the top. In Miami, “fluent in Spanish and English” is a selling point.

• Add a short note about your degree’s U.S. equivalent once your evaluation is done.

Why being bilingual helps in Miami

Many Miami employers serve customers across Latin America or in the local Spanish-speaking community, so speaking Spanish is an asset in customer service, sales, health care, banking and logistics.

Better English still makes a big difference, especially in professional and management roles. If you want to improve, look for ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) classes at local adult education centers and community colleges. Many of them are low cost.

For more help settling in, see your first 30 days in Miami and our guide on how Latin American migrants can find a job in the U.S.

Tips for Colombian newcomers

South Florida has a large Colombian community, and that network can help you find your first job faster:

• About 138,000 people of Colombian origin live in Miami-Dade County.

• In Doral, nearly 13% of residents are Colombian.

A few tips to get started:

• Get your academic documents ready for your credential evaluation. Colombian degrees and transcripts first need to be legalized by the Ministry of Education through its free online process. Then you get them apostilled by the Cancillería. Both steps are online, so you can do them from Miami.

• If you have a tarjeta profesional (Colombian professional card), bring a copy. It won’t replace a Florida license, but it helps show your experience.

• Look for alumni groups from your Colombian university on LinkedIn and Facebook. Many have members in Florida who share job leads. For example, the Universidad Javeriana keeps a list of its alumni chapters around the world, and the Colombian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Miami hosts networking events and workshops for Colombian professionals.

• Colombian companies with offices in Miami, and U.S. companies with operations in Colombia, often value candidates who understand both markets.

Our financial checklist for moving to the US from Colombia covers banking, your consulate and sending money home in your first months. Once you’re settled, you can send money online to your family in Colombia whenever they need it.

FAQs

Your first paycheck, sent home your way. Once the first paychecks start coming in, Ria makes it simple to support family back home. Send money to Colombia straight to a bank account or a Nequi wallet, or for cash pickup.