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A job in Spain your greatest asset when it comes to finding a job in Spain will be an ability to speak Spanish. This will greatly increase the chances of finding work in Spain
To find work in Spain even if you're not fluent
in the language, mastering the basics and being able to hold at
least some kind of conversation in Spanish will greatly increase
your chances
of finding a job in Spain. Those who speak English, Spanish and
German are usually able to jump straight to the front of the job queue
in
popular
tourist
areas.
Wherever there are large numbers of tourists and ex-pat residents
you'll find there's a big demand for people with language skills
to work in
shops, bars, restaurants, estate agencies etc. If you're a master
of two or more of the main European languages you can be fairly
certain of finding a job in Spain in the tourist industry, teaching
or translation services.
It's not impossible for non-Spanish speakers to find work in Spain but if
you're linguistically challenged you'll need to seek job opportunities
in
those areas dominated by communities of your fellow countrymen.
It's easy enough for young people to find seasonal work in Spain (bar
work, cleaning
holiday villas, holiday repping etc) but it's usually hard work
for poor pay and of course there's no job security. Some youngsters
go
to Spain at the start of the season, take on a bar job and
master the language simply by daily contact with Spanish colleagues
and
customers. When the seasonal work runs out their newly acquired
language skills
give them a wider choice of work opportunities.
There are thousands of summer jobs for Brits in popular resort
areas such as Benidorm on the Costa Blanca, Lloret de Mar on
the Costa
Brava, Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol and Magaluf in Mallorca.
But don't
expect to learn any Spanish in any of those places.
If you're looking for something more permanent it's a good idea to
get a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course under your
belt as English teachers are in big demand in Spain.
EU nationals don't need a work permit in Spain and have the same employment
rights as Spaniards. Many foreigners have been able to establish successful
businesses, in most cases targeting their own countrymen in the popular
tourist and ex-pat areas. Mechanics, bar owners, restaurateurs, B&B
owners, nurses etc have all found they can make a comfortable living
without ever having a Spanish customer!
If you plan to be self-employed or start your own business, brace yourself
for some frustrating delays while you wade through all the necessary
paperwork and bureaucracy. It's best to hire the services of a Spanish "gestor" (a
kind of Mr Fixit who specialises in Spanish bureaucratic systems).
He or she will be able to sort out the paperwork for you and make sure
you're complying with all the regulations. You'll find a "gestoria" in
every major town in Spain and in areas where there are big ex-pat communities
you can normally find at least one gestor who speaks reasonable English.
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