How to Find Jobs in Spain for English Speakers
With its infamous art and architecture, exquisite beaches, and diverse landscape, sunny Spain is an alluring place to live and work. Millions of tourists flock to the home of Flamenco dance and enjoy the glorious sunshine, paella and sangria and relaxing siestas. When looking for jobs in Spain for English speakers, it is important to be prepared as English jobs are harder to find and competition can be very fierce. Here are 3 Tips that will help you find work and enjoy your stay in Spain.
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How to find jobs in Spain for English Speakers?
Tip 1: Make Contacts
Since most jobs are found through personal contacts, having a good social network of friends and acquaintances is very important. Increase your personal and professional network by joining Networking Sites and Meetup Groups like LinkedIn and Meetup Spain. There are many business networking events you can attend locally, visit Guiribusiness for details. Try your best to meet people online and even get your job set up before leaving for Spain!
Step 2: Know the Market
English speakers often find work with multinationals in tourist areas or within the expat community where there is a demand for English speaking employees in shops. (Shops that cater to British tourists often require English speaking employees). Keep in mind that many of the jobs in tourist areas tend to be seasonal or part-time. You can visit the following websites for more information on jobs in Spain for English speakers:+
Here are some examples of jobs in Spain for English speakers:
-Professional Jobs: If you have expertise in any of the following areas, you can find a job with a large multinational company.
-Engineering: you will need some work experience and enough technical Spanish skills to communicate with co-workers.
-IT: you can find IT jobs doing software testing, programming, iOS and Android development, and more.
-Finance: with experience and other languages, you can work in jobs like treasury inspector, collections manager or financial director on an International scale.
-Retail and Customer Service Jobs: cashiers and shop assistants in touristy areas or where expats live require English speaking employees. International companies with call centres in Spain often require people who speak multiple languages other than Spanish.
– Creative Jobs: you can find work as a singer, dancer, entertainer, show host, an interior designer, or as a photographer. Beauty related jobs like beautician, hairdresser and fitness related jobs and personal trainer are good options for creative people who work well with the public.
-Tourism: this includes catering, restaurants and hotel jobs. Bartending jobs are plentiful in Spain and if you have a sharp memory, enjoy facts and have good speaking abilities, you can work as a tour guide.
-Cleaning, Gardening and Driver jobs: you can clean houses/villas, do gardening or landscaping, drive a taxi or do removals in areas where there are expats.
-Agriculture: You can find jobs for English speakers working in vineyards and on farms Spain picking vegetables and fruits. More information can be found at Picking Jobs.
-Care Jobs: this includes health care assistant, childcare and elderly care jobs
-Skilled trades: if you have training as a plumber, mechanic, welder or electrician, there is a need for you!
-Teaching English: Having TEFL (Teaching English as a Second Language) qualifications is not always needed to teach at a University or to do private tutoring. You can apply for a position in a private language school or a training agency. Visit i-to-i and or any TEFL website for more information.
-Freelance Work: Freelance work doing translation, writing, proofreading/editing might be a perfect option for you if you want to work from home. You can join sites like Upwork and Freelancer that allow you to work remotely
Other helpful websites:
- Jobs in Barcelona
- Jobs in Madrid
- Indeed Spain
- The Local
- Infojobs
Step 3: Apply From Home
Try to get a job or an Internship before you get to Spain by applying from your home country. Send in your CV and cover letter, and see if your Spanish contacts can refer you.
See also: The Magic CV Formula to Find an Internship Abroad [With Template]
If you are an EU citizen, you are entitled to work in Spain. Otherwise, you will likely need to arrange a long stay and/or a residence permit if you are going to be working for more than 3 months with a Spanish employer. Make sure to follow the correct procedures. Your job in Spain awaits you!
How did you find a job in Spain as an English speaker?