# finding work in spain



## dekat (Jun 20, 2010)

hi in mew to this forum. I was just wondering if any one can give we some information. me and my partner are thinking about moving to Spain. we aren't sure where yet we are just looking into things be for we set a date on moving. we are from Scotland. 
Is it hard to get work in Spain? 
Does any one no of any sites on the web for jobs in Spain?

would be very grateful for any help

Dekat


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

dekat said:


> hi in mew to this forum. I was just wondering if any one can give we some information. me and my partner are thinking about moving to Spain. we aren't sure where yet we are just looking into things be for we set a date on moving. we are from Scotland.
> Is it hard to get work in Spain?
> Does any one no of any sites on the web for jobs in Spain?
> 
> ...


Theres not very much work. 20% unemployment, the is incountry in crisis and a lot of industrial action by those who have got jobs. 

If you are fluent in written and spoken spanish or have a profession that the Spanish may need and thats in short supply here then you maybe lucky???

Why not come over for a fact finding mission/holiday, ask some of the expats you'll probably meet, have a look around and see what you think

Jo xxx


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## dekat (Jun 20, 2010)

is there any where in spain that would be nicest?


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

dekat said:


> is there any where in spain that would be nicest?


That would depend on you definition of 'nicest'.  Can you be more explicit?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

dekat said:


> is there any where in spain that would be nicest?


Define "nicest"???? Spain's a big place and theres pretty much something for everyone. The coasts are in the main, touristy and have a fair few expats, theres further inland, theres up in the mountains where its a little more rural. Theres Madrid which is a major city, but there are several cities dotted around?! When we moved here we wrote a list of the things we needed. We needed to be near an airport cos my husband commutes, we needed to be near schools...... We chose this particular area, cos Málaga has a good airport and my husband hoped to start a business here, but then the recession happened !!!

Jo xxx


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

dekat said:


> is there any where in spain that would be nicest?


I'd go where ever I was offered a job, if I had that kind of freedom.
What I mean is that, with jobs being pretty scarce over here, if I was offered a job that came with a living wage and I didn't have to think about being near schools or hospitals or what ever, I'd go where the job was.


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## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

Spain has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe, but there may be this bit of hope: 80% of employers want multilingual staff, whereas statistics say only 20% of Spaniards are fluent in another language. So if you know a bit of Spanish and you're fluent in English you may have a chance.

Check wemploy.com, that's a site specifically catering expats and want-to-be-expats in Spain, and some employers needing foreign staff use their services. There was another similar site as well, but can't think of the name. Other than that, you may consider picking up a temporary job in an Irish pub in a touristic place (speaking English often does the trick to work there) so that you can pay the bills and meanwhile keep eyes open for a more permanent job.

The economical crisis is a pain. I would so much love to return to Turkey, but with the current economical climate there's little hope. I think Spain is a bit in the same boat, with very high unemployment rates. The countries with most expat-friendly vacancies will be the former East Bloc countries, there's a lot of outsourcing companies that open offices and create new jobs constantly there. But having lived there myself I would advise against it, I personally disliked about everything there. Not so much the people or the environment, just the general atmosphere ; also, the salaries are nothing to be enthousiast about. So while finding a job there will be much easier than here in Spain, I would personally not encourage anyone to go to the new EU states that used to be in the former East Bloc.


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## Eamon (Mar 5, 2009)

*wemploy down?*



gerrit said:


> Spain has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe, but there may be this bit of hope: 80% of employers want multilingual staff, whereas statistics say only 20% of Spaniards are fluent in another language. So if you know a bit of Spanish and you're fluent in English you may have a chance.
> 
> Check wemploy.com, that's a site specifically catering expats and want-to-be-expats in Spain, and some employers needing foreign staff use their services. There was another similar site as well, but can't think of the name. Other than that, you may consider picking up a temporary job in an Irish pub in a touristic place (speaking English often does the trick to work there) so that you can pay the bills and meanwhile keep eyes open for a more permanent job.
> 
> The economical crisis is a pain. I would so much love to return to Turkey, but with the current economical climate there's little hope. I think Spain is a bit in the same boat, with very high unemployment rates. The countries with most expat-friendly vacancies will be the former East Bloc countries, there's a lot of outsourcing companies that open offices and create new jobs constantly there. But having lived there myself I would advise against it, I personally disliked about everything there. Not so much the people or the environment, just the general atmosphere ; also, the salaries are nothing to be enthousiast about. So while finding a job there will be much easier than here in Spain, I would personally not encourage anyone to go to the new EU states that used to be in the former East Bloc.


That site seems to be NO MORE? Called the various numbers I found online, to no avail. Even had people from just landed call....no luck either?


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## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

Hmmm, that's odd, they were very active last year when I jobhunted in Spain myself (although I found my job through another recruitment agency in the end, I did see Wemploy was quite active back then). Maybe their server is down? I know they're on LinkedIn and Twitter as well. I didn't check again since I found my job here, but I would be surprised if they'd ceased to exist.

There is another jobsite for expats in Spain as well, I don't know the URL by heart but I can dig into my archives if you wish.

Also, don't forget Loquo.com where people put all types of announcements. Including "job wanted" ads.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Eamon said:


> That site seems to be NO MORE? Called the various numbers I found online, to no avail. Even had people from just landed call....no luck either?


It must have been down when you looked 'cos I've just got in no prob. Here's the link
Work in Spain - Wemploy Recruitment Specialists - Jobs in Spain

There's also
Job Search: Find Job Openings | Jobs.com

and 
Jobs in Spain employment vacancies and opportunities in Spain - Recruitment Spain

But I don't know if they're any good...


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## Eamon (Mar 5, 2009)

gerrit said:


> Hmmm, that's odd, they were very active last year when I jobhunted in Spain myself (although I found my job through another recruitment agency in the end, I did see Wemploy was quite active back then). Maybe their server is down? I know they're on LinkedIn and Twitter as well. I didn't check again since I found my job here, but I would be surprised if they'd ceased to exist.
> 
> There is another jobsite for expats in Spain as well, I don't know the URL by heart but I can dig into my archives if you wish.
> 
> Also, don't forget Loquo.com where people put all types of announcements. Including "job wanted" ads.


Well it does seem odd...there website is active etc, but no one answers the phones, or replies to emails?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Eamon said:


> Well it does seem odd...there website is active etc, but no one answers the phones, or replies to emails?


I heard that they had gone out of business around a year or so ago - & that most of the jobs on the website before they closed were old/filled/non-existent :confused2:


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2010)

Indeed, they've been out of business for well over a year, their site will die soon enough.

There is still work in Gibraltrar, in fact I inadvertantly got someone a job there from here!


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

gerrit said:


> Spain has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe, but there may be this bit of hope: 80% of employers want multilingual staff, whereas statistics say only 20% of Spaniards are fluent in another language. So if you know a bit of Spanish and you're fluent in English you may have a chance.
> 
> Check wemploy.com, that's a site specifically catering expats and want-to-be-expats in Spain, and some employers needing foreign staff use their services. There was another similar site as well, but can't think of the name. Other than that, you may consider picking up a temporary job in an Irish pub in a touristic place (speaking English often does the trick to work there) so that you can pay the bills and meanwhile keep eyes open for a more permanent job.
> 
> The economical crisis is a pain. I would so much love to return to Turkey, but with the current economical climate there's little hope. I think Spain is a bit in the same boat, with very high unemployment rates. The countries with most expat-friendly vacancies will be the former East Bloc countries, there's a lot of outsourcing companies that open offices and create new jobs constantly there. But having lived there myself I would advise against it, I personally disliked about everything there. Not so much the people or the environment, just the general atmosphere ; also, the salaries are nothing to be enthousiast about. So while finding a job there will be much easier than here in Spain, I would personally not encourage anyone to go to the new EU states that used to be in the former East Bloc.


There used to be a few other agencies as well like Recruit Spain, Job Finder, Ambient, though I doubt if they are still going either.

Probably Gibraltar would be the best option, as Andy says, although unless you are dealing with companies that have exclusively British clients, I would imagine many will want bilingual Spanish/English or multilingual employees. Multilingual does not mean you are in with a chance if you speak a little bit of Spanish. It means you need to be fluent in at least 3 languages. On the Costa Del Sol you have to remember that you will be competing not only with native Spanish but Scandinavians, Germans and Eastern Europeans and other nationalities who are often multilingual with 3 or 4 languages. 

And although only a small percentage of Spanish have a high level of English, it’s a mistake to assume that that means if you speak a little bit of Spanish you will have the advantage. On the whole, Spanish employers will be looking for native Spanish with language skills rather than native English with Spanish skills, since they will need someone who can communicate fluently with other workers. And British companies will be looking for employees with good language skills too. There are exceptions but they are few and far between.

You will also be competing with a lot of young people who are truly bilingual, so I think you have to be really well prepared (and/or very lucky!) to come here to find work in the middle of a crisis. That is not to say that finding work is impossible. There is some work, just an awful lot more people chasing the few jobs that exist and fewer jobs for foreigners. It’s sometimes a question of being in the right place in the right time, which is something you can’t really plan but you can at least try to maximize your chances by preparing and researching well.

People are being optimistic and still opening businesses here, which is good news but you have to have a Plan B or even a Plan C too as a back-up plan. At the very least you have to be very clear about what it is that _you_ have to offer an employer that others don’t. But, like everyone says, try an extended holiday to see what you can find. If you are young and just thinking about having a year (or a season) out here working in a bar, you might be okay (but even that may not be easy), but if you are looking to settle long term in a stable job, then it’s probably going to be much tougher.


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2010)

SRGibraltar are definitely still going as we're doing their SEO/Marketing!


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## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

Ambient and Recruit Spain, those were the other two I was thinking of.

Odd that Wemploy ceased operations, they were quite active and advertising their services on loads of channels such as LinkedIn and Twitter. Several companies in gambling industry had a callcenter in Gibraltar and recruited their staff most through Wemploy...


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

gerrit said:


> Ambient and Recruit Spain, those were the other two I was thinking of.
> 
> Odd that Wemploy ceased operations, they were quite active and advertising their services on loads of channels such as LinkedIn and Twitter. Several companies in gambling industry had a callcenter in Gibraltar and recruited their staff most through Wemploy...



I guess with the fewer jobs around and more people looking, companies are saving money and advertising themselves - or maybe simply getting enough enquiries thru the door

Jo xxx


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## Guest (Jun 24, 2010)

There's plenty of jobs and loads of enquiries, I'm under the impression the reason for Wemploy's demise isn't anything to do with the state of the market!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

ShinyAndy said:


> There's plenty of jobs and loads of enquiries, I'm under the impression the reason for Wemploy's demise isn't anything to do with the state of the market!



get me a job then Andy !!!!!! :eyebrows:

Jo xxx


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## Guest (Jun 24, 2010)

Are you a PHP programmer with experience of CRMs and SQL backend databases? (I know 2 companies that need these and can't get anyone - one even offered a job to a Spanish guy who couldn't even be bothered to reply)

Are you a French/Russian/German speaking Customer Services person? - They are always needed in Gib

Are you a ACCA qualified Finance Director type person? - Lots of qualified finance roles in Gib

Remeber Nicbec from here? She got a job actually working for the recruitment company I put her in touch with and did such a good job she's now been contracted out at a company in Gib too

Just landed a contract job for a friend of mine who will be heading up a big sales team responsible for a large solar energy investment opportunity. He's got 20 years experience of investment sales/managment.

Met a guy (10 years experience in SEO) at a b2b meeting that we're now using for SEO/online marketing and a meeting yesterday with one of our clients landed him a 2K a month retainer for a massive project

Seems to be an influx of teachers into the area at the moment based on posts on lots of forums, including this one. 

Doesn't seem to be so bad down here to be honest, like I've said always.. if you're skilled, lots of experience and work hard there is definitely still work down here.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Nope, none of that!!! I am/or was a registered Prescribing nurse, was CEO of a contracted health authority company, and have 100s of years of sales/customer services experience, I have degrees in fine art and graphic design, I used to be fluent in French, I'm incredibly hard working and I am diplomacy personified!! However, I'm blindingly poor with computers/IT and anything vaguely technical LOL

Thats me out then lol!!! - just a thought!

Jo xxx


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

ShinyAndy said:


> Are you a PHP programmer with experience of CRMs and SQL backend databases? (I know 2 companies that need these and can't get anyone - one even offered a job to a Spanish guy who couldn't even be bothered to reply)
> 
> Are you a French/Russian/German speaking Customer Services person? - They are always needed in Gib
> 
> ...


I think the main point to be learnt from your post is that the jobs available are nearly all for skilled, experienced professionals, preferably fluent in at least one other language and with advanced IT and/or management skills.
Such people are in demand in most areas of the world.
But I don't think there's much going for dog trainers, beauticians, hairstylists, plasterers, general handymen etc etc who usually have no knowledge of Spanish and often also can't communicate well in written English.
What are salaries like? £24k p.a. is a reasonable retainer but what about the actual 'extra' salary?
From speaking with family from the UK over the weekend it seems that it's now cheaper to live in the UK as far as many items such as groceries, utilities etc. are concerned and professional salaries, especially in the finance/IT sector as you well know, start around the £70k mark for suitably qualified people.
A teacher with five years experience working in London with a post of responsibility and London weighting would expect to earn around £50k.
So how do the salaries for these posts correlate to the cost of living here and if you work in Gib, the cost of renting there or commuting from Sotogrande or somewhere near?


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## Guest (Jun 24, 2010)

I've said all along that there is worked for skilled professionals here, same as the UK to be honest.. not much call for dog walkers, wall painters, window cleaners as there's already 100s doing it

I don't agree with the cost of living being more expensive here when you compare like for like areas but then that's an undying topic that will never be agreed on

Retainer contract is just one job of many that this guy is doing on a freelance basis

Sales manager was 24k pa but with various other bolt-ons to make it more attractive

Wages in Gib were comparable to what I could earn in the UK (in fact was offered an IT Manager role similar to one I was doing in London for 40K three years ago and it was up around the 80-90K mark. All the jobs, bar the CS people, were for English speakers only

IT jobs along the coast pay less than the UK if you look at London wages but I worked all over the UK in IT and wages vary drastically - compared to London your wages go much further here


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

ShinyAndy said:


> I've said all along that there is worked for skilled professionals here, same as the UK to be honest.. not much call for dog walkers, wall painters, window cleaners as there's already 100s doing it
> 
> I don't agree with the cost of living being more expensive here when you compare like for like areas but then that's an undying topic that will never be agreed on
> 
> ...


TBH I'm not sure about comparative costs of living. We live in an expensive area here so our rent is higher than it would be elsewhere and I don't shop much in the UK -apart from cheap designer gear in TK Max -so I can't compare cost of groceries etc. I think it may be slightly higher for us here but wouldn't swear to it.
My son and dil live in very affluent leafy Surrey -a village near Reigate -so I was surprised when my dil said that she spent less on her weekly shop there than when they are in their house here.
Wages do vary dramatically in the UK, you're right and of course also in London, even within industries and companies, depending on your skill, qualifications and experience.
You could certainly enjoy a good standard of living based on the salaries you mention but I struggle to understand why people with few if any marketable skills see working for peanuts in the hot sun all day cleaning pools and houses or waiting tables as 'living a dream', especially when they leave behind all entitlement to the safety net UK benefits gives them.
Skint in Sheffield or broke in Benidorm doesn't seem an attractive choice either way.....


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## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

ShinyAndy said:


> Are you a PHP programmer with experience of CRMs and SQL backend databases? (I know 2 companies that need these and can't get anyone - one even offered a job to a Spanish guy who couldn't even be bothered to reply)
> 
> Are you a French/Russian/German speaking Customer Services person? - They are always needed in Gib
> 
> ...



Erm, you simplify things too much ...

I speak fluent German and French and never got invited for a job interview in Gibraltar even when on several recruitment sites it was indeed announced they needed people speaking these languages. When emailing my CV I was told the recruitment agency was obliged to always check first if no locals could do the job, and that they were only allowed to accept applications sent from abroad when nobody locally could fill the vacancy. Locally was to be interpretated as Gibraltar itself + the surrounding areas in Spain close to the border.

So yeah, the vacancies existed, but with the costa's crowded with expats they'll always find a multilingual living near Gibraltar and thus in practice the applications sent from further away are not often considered, even when you match the profile they're looking for.

Also note that, as far as I know, emigration to Gibraltar requires permits because it's not a part of the EU (it may be a colony of the UK but while the UK is in the EU, overseas territories are generally not)


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## Guest (Jul 1, 2010)

gerrit said:


> the recruitment agency was obliged to always check first if no locals could do the job


They just have to advertise the job locally as well so that a Gibraltarian is able to apply. They, theoretically if challenged, would have to prove that a Gibraltarian couldn't do the job - which is generally very easy to do if they used to hang about on street corners previously.

There is no preference to employing local people, they merely employ the person that would pass all the tests required (for a CS role). These are often performed over the telephone or webcam interviews, when/if a final interview is required the employer/recruitment agency will often pay for the candidate to fly into Gib/Spain. Obviously if you had two identical candidates and one was living in Russia and the other in Sotogrande they may be tempted into placing the candidate that was already here and had permits (if required) in place




gerrit said:


> as far as I know, emigration to Gibraltar requires permits because it's not a part of the EU (it may be a colony of the UK but while the UK is in the EU, overseas territories are generally not)


Work permits are not required for EU Nationals. If you seek residency in Gib then you can apply for a residency permit without any problems as you'd already have a job

It does sound like you've had a bad experience with an agency, which doesn't surprise me given the cowboys out there


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## laulah (Mar 30, 2010)

*No worries!*

Have been so busy with everything else that have had no time to write here.. from now on should check this more often 

Anyway, from a recruitment agency's point of view: 

We have a division focusing solely on multilingual speakers (= candidates with their native language (+ good level of English) + additional languages). During recession it has been the only department growing non-stop.

Even the unemployment is horrifying +/- 20%, it does not necessarily affect expats. There is increasing number of multinational companies outsourcing or placing their operations in Spain (finance, customer service, sales, support etc.) and they need constantly candidates with languages. From entry-level jobs to management level. It's completely different market and needs compared to national businesses.

I just came from London where I hold a presentation about this topic at recruitment fair. As I told everyone there, my experience is that you should not be afraid of not finding a job in Spain as a foreigner. Obviously salaries are lower than the average of Europe and probably your first job here is not going to be in line with your previous experience, but you have to start from somewhere if you are willing to relocate.

When your Spanish improves, if you don't want to create a career in a big company (they do offer very nice possibilities though) it's easier to find something from the national market when you already have got some experience from Spain.

Hope this helps, and created some hope


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

That might be the case in Barcelona but it certainly is not the case down here on most place on the Costa. A big city like Barcelona is very different from your average expat tourist area (aside from temporary seasonal work), among commercial centres like Gibraltar (and even to a lesser extent Marbella), qualified multilingual professionals will do better as they would anywhere, but, as many have pointed out, unskilled monolingual speakers have a much harder time. 

From all the people I know who have lived in this part of Spain from anything from 10-20 years, one or two who are bilingual or multilingual (and are still managing to survive), there are very few who have not been affected by the recession to some extent and all are struggling, if they are still here. So people should have their eyes wide open when they come here, and prepare accordingly, especially if they dont have such skills. It is irresponsible to suggest otherwise, IMO. 

Yes, multilingual speakers can do well, but few Brit expats are truly bilingual, let alone multilingual. And most companies here would prefer a native Spanish speaker with languages rather than other nationalities with languages. Of course, with large multi-nationals it may be different but locally it's a different story. 

Maybe the cities are better options at this point. It's like in the UK, in London and the south-east there are always more opportunities than in the North-east or other provinces for example, so outside the commerical and administrative centres it's bound to be more difficult.


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## laulah (Mar 30, 2010)

Caz.I said:


> That might be the case in Barcelona but it certainly is not the case down here on most place on the Costa. A big city like Barcelona is very different from your average expat tourist area (aside from temporary seasonal work), among commercial centres like Gibraltar (and even to a lesser extent Marbella), qualified multilingual professionals will do better as they would anywhere, but, as many have pointed out, unskilled monolingual speakers have a much harder time.
> 
> From all the people I know who have lived in this part of Spain from anything from 10-20 years, one or two who are bilingual or multilingual (and are still managing to survive), there are very few who have not been affected by the recession to some extent and all are struggling, if they are still here. So people should have their eyes wide open when they come here, and prepare accordingly, especially if they dont have such skills. It is irresponsible to suggest otherwise, IMO.
> 
> ...


I absolutely agree, regarding my post it is a lot easier to find a job in an international metropolitan such as Barcelona than around costa. Sorry for not being clear enough. If someone is willing to relocate to Spain and has no knowledge of Spanish, Barcelona is probably the best place to start looking for jobs. Also because here the supply is more stable year-round than in smaller, touristic areas where it's more season based. Depending of course what are you looking for, short-term or long-term job.

And obviously, I am not advising people to jump on a plane and come here without no plan. Always better to do your homework beforehand. Besides being in contact with recruitment agencies, it's good to upload your CV to every possible job portal and carefully explore different possibilities.

But that's the case anyway, no matter where do you wish to move.


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