Finding jobs in Euope???
Oct 12th, 2004, 06:14 AM
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Finding jobs in Euope???
I've been living in Prague for the past year, have been home for about 3 months, and feel the need to go back!
In Prague it's easy to find work, no prob, but I'm looking for a more PROFESSIONAL job this time around. In Prague I was working for an English film production company, but want something with an American company if at all possible.
Ideally I'd like to be in Italy or Spain...has anyone done this? Or know how to find good, respectable jobs without being there first???
Any help or suggestions would be more than welcomed. Thanks...
In Prague it's easy to find work, no prob, but I'm looking for a more PROFESSIONAL job this time around. In Prague I was working for an English film production company, but want something with an American company if at all possible.
Ideally I'd like to be in Italy or Spain...has anyone done this? Or know how to find good, respectable jobs without being there first???
Any help or suggestions would be more than welcomed. Thanks...
Oct 12th, 2004, 08:19 AM
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You may want to check out transitionsabroad.com
I am looking into doing this as well and would also prefer to work for an American company who will hopefully provide assistance with acquiring work visas and such. If you are fluent in the local language (and English), you can check out jobs at the U.S. Embassy in the country you would like to stay at.
OR, depending upon what you do professionally, you can check out American companies that have offices abroad.
I am looking into doing this as well and would also prefer to work for an American company who will hopefully provide assistance with acquiring work visas and such. If you are fluent in the local language (and English), you can check out jobs at the U.S. Embassy in the country you would like to stay at.
OR, depending upon what you do professionally, you can check out American companies that have offices abroad.
Oct 12th, 2004, 10:08 AM
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I wouldn't limit myself to one country. Once you get over here, you can network and eventually land in a specific country. We have been in 3 different countries so far. Each move and location has been great.
Cheers,
Jan
Cheers,
Jan
Oct 12th, 2004, 12:07 PM
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Some may dislike working for the US government abroad, but it's a great solution as you don't have to deal with work permit issues.
Go to www.usajobs.com and you can search by country or region in europe. Italy and Spain both have military bases that need civilian employees from bakers to forklift drivers to psychologists.
The government will ship your things for you, there's good medical care, and once you're in you have a very good chance of being hired to other positions.
Go to www.usajobs.com and you can search by country or region in europe. Italy and Spain both have military bases that need civilian employees from bakers to forklift drivers to psychologists.
The government will ship your things for you, there's good medical care, and once you're in you have a very good chance of being hired to other positions.
Oct 12th, 2004, 02:19 PM
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kmchick,
Have you ever done this? My experience is that all the low level, and even some upper administrative, positions in US embassies and consulates around the world are filled by locals, or even by people from other countries. Americans are not easy to find amongst the staff.
For lwinokur I recommend finding a US company to hire you and ship you over. You don't say what your profession is, except "working for an English film production company" which means nothing.
Select a transportable profession that would interest an American company enough to ship you over, pay for your housing and other expenses, and maybe even help you with local language training. I've done this for company paid moves to Holland and Germany. It is a matter of being in the right place, for enough time.
Oct 12th, 2004, 02:32 PM
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no mention of your nationality.. i assume you are U.S citizen, otherwise no problem getting to spain or italy without visa.
a tesol (teaching english as a second language) is a great degree that can open many doors worldwide..there is also teh tefol , i believe, this is the best advice i can give you as i am unfamiliar with any system of getting a company to hire you and do the paperwork for visas from state-side, other than schools that are very interested in staff with this degree, or other accredited positions.
a tesol (teaching english as a second language) is a great degree that can open many doors worldwide..there is also teh tefol , i believe, this is the best advice i can give you as i am unfamiliar with any system of getting a company to hire you and do the paperwork for visas from state-side, other than schools that are very interested in staff with this degree, or other accredited positions.
Oct 12th, 2004, 02:35 PM
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hopscotch,
I have a question for you. Did you work for the company here in the U.S. then got transferred abroad? I would hope that one does not necessarily need to work for that company here before being hired for a position abroad. My thinking on this is that they are hiring for a position that happens to be located outside of the U.S.
All I would be asking for is assistance with obtaining a work visa and medical insurance. I don't need housing and am not expecting to be reimbursed for moving costs.
I have a question for you. Did you work for the company here in the U.S. then got transferred abroad? I would hope that one does not necessarily need to work for that company here before being hired for a position abroad. My thinking on this is that they are hiring for a position that happens to be located outside of the U.S.
All I would be asking for is assistance with obtaining a work visa and medical insurance. I don't need housing and am not expecting to be reimbursed for moving costs.
Oct 13th, 2004, 03:36 AM
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<i>Message: hopscotch,
I have a question for you. Did you work for the company here in the U.S. then got transferred abroad? </i>
Yes. I worked for both of the companies in the US before getting my transfers.
<i>I would hope that one does not necessarily need to work for that company here before being hired for a position abroad. My thinking on this is that they are hiring for a position that happens to be located outside of the U.S.</i>
I have met Americans abroad who were hired in specifically for an overseas job, but that is rare. Companies normally pick from their ranks.
<i>All I would be asking for is assistance with obtaining a work visa and medical insurance. I don't need housing and am not expecting to be reimbursed for moving costs. </i>
You are underestimating the complexity of a legal move to Europe.
If you give some details I might be able to give you some guidance. What is your profession, age, family status, language ability, and where do you want to work and live? Or you can do a google.com search for that magic word <u>expatriate</u> with or without the name of the country in which you are interested. There are plenty of web sites with all kinds of valuable free (contradictory word combo?) information on moving over and living in Europe. And there are forums and newsgroups with loads of back and forth support for expatriate wannabees and newbees.
It takes a bit of luck and work to find a good position overseas, but it is worth it for the adventure and the learning experience, and the cash. Go when you are young. Have fun.
I have a question for you. Did you work for the company here in the U.S. then got transferred abroad? </i>
Yes. I worked for both of the companies in the US before getting my transfers.
<i>I would hope that one does not necessarily need to work for that company here before being hired for a position abroad. My thinking on this is that they are hiring for a position that happens to be located outside of the U.S.</i>
I have met Americans abroad who were hired in specifically for an overseas job, but that is rare. Companies normally pick from their ranks.
<i>All I would be asking for is assistance with obtaining a work visa and medical insurance. I don't need housing and am not expecting to be reimbursed for moving costs. </i>
You are underestimating the complexity of a legal move to Europe.
If you give some details I might be able to give you some guidance. What is your profession, age, family status, language ability, and where do you want to work and live? Or you can do a google.com search for that magic word <u>expatriate</u> with or without the name of the country in which you are interested. There are plenty of web sites with all kinds of valuable free (contradictory word combo?) information on moving over and living in Europe. And there are forums and newsgroups with loads of back and forth support for expatriate wannabees and newbees.
It takes a bit of luck and work to find a good position overseas, but it is worth it for the adventure and the learning experience, and the cash. Go when you are young. Have fun.
Oct 13th, 2004, 04:50 AM
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First deal with the sponsorship, work permit issue and go from there. Prague may be easier to get work as an American. Spain and Italy I feel are a fifferent kettle of fish and you cannot walk into work as easily. Target the industry ayou want to work in and go from there. You may not have a choice of "professional" jobs. People will be wary of hiring a non national in a high level job because the would be concerned that you may leave and then they would have to incurr the cost of recruiting again. Give us a better idea of what you do and we could go from there.
Oct 13th, 2004, 06:08 AM
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You seem unfamiliar with the rules about all this.
They're slightly different, for now, in the 10 new EU countries, and as one or two posters have mentioned there's an exception if you're employed directly by some foreign governments (or international bodies), but the general principles are:
Non-EU citizens may not work in the EU unless:
- their employer can guarantee he's advertised for that vacancy and can't find a qualified person anywhere in the EEA (EU plus a couple), or
- they are being transferred, under tightly defined circumstances, within a multinational company, or
- the potential employee qualifies for a short-term work permit under the special schemes several countries have for younger people from designated countries (virtually none of which, as far as I'm aware, apply to Americans unless you're a full-time student), or
- you have special, short-supply skills (like a doctor), or
- uniquely in the UK, you've got pretty much the normal qualifications, career development history and salary of an averagely intelligent and motivated university graduate of your age. If this interests you, google on the UK's Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (make sure you spell it right)
This gives you three broad more or less legal choices, apart from working for a foreign government or working in the UK:
- find an employer who'll swear you're unique. Speaking English, even with a teachinq qualification, is pushing it: there's no shortage of qualified teachers with British, Irish, Cypriot or Maltese passports. So you need to find employers either so in love with you, or so good at lying, that they'll go through the pain of demonstrating your unique wonderfulness. To do this without being on the spot and meeting them locally - or knowing a European business who owes you or your family one - is virtually impossible
- get transferred within a multinational. For this you MUST be working elsewhere in the company already
- get unique skills.
Getting a job is a numbers game. Your chances of getting a job anywhere are maximised by being legal, being close to the employer, being somewhere there are lots of vacancies and having skills the employer needs at a given moment. None of these apply to an American with undefined skills looking to chase jobs in Italy or Spain (where unemployment is sky-high) from the US. And your chances of success are even lower if you retain this incomprehensible faddishness about your employer's nationality.
Get yourself as many as possible of the following:
- be in Italy/Spain
- real, marketable, transportable, skills
- a passport of an EU country.
Otherwise, I'd strongly suggest you learn to love where you are.
They're slightly different, for now, in the 10 new EU countries, and as one or two posters have mentioned there's an exception if you're employed directly by some foreign governments (or international bodies), but the general principles are:
Non-EU citizens may not work in the EU unless:
- their employer can guarantee he's advertised for that vacancy and can't find a qualified person anywhere in the EEA (EU plus a couple), or
- they are being transferred, under tightly defined circumstances, within a multinational company, or
- the potential employee qualifies for a short-term work permit under the special schemes several countries have for younger people from designated countries (virtually none of which, as far as I'm aware, apply to Americans unless you're a full-time student), or
- you have special, short-supply skills (like a doctor), or
- uniquely in the UK, you've got pretty much the normal qualifications, career development history and salary of an averagely intelligent and motivated university graduate of your age. If this interests you, google on the UK's Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (make sure you spell it right)
This gives you three broad more or less legal choices, apart from working for a foreign government or working in the UK:
- find an employer who'll swear you're unique. Speaking English, even with a teachinq qualification, is pushing it: there's no shortage of qualified teachers with British, Irish, Cypriot or Maltese passports. So you need to find employers either so in love with you, or so good at lying, that they'll go through the pain of demonstrating your unique wonderfulness. To do this without being on the spot and meeting them locally - or knowing a European business who owes you or your family one - is virtually impossible
- get transferred within a multinational. For this you MUST be working elsewhere in the company already
- get unique skills.
Getting a job is a numbers game. Your chances of getting a job anywhere are maximised by being legal, being close to the employer, being somewhere there are lots of vacancies and having skills the employer needs at a given moment. None of these apply to an American with undefined skills looking to chase jobs in Italy or Spain (where unemployment is sky-high) from the US. And your chances of success are even lower if you retain this incomprehensible faddishness about your employer's nationality.
Get yourself as many as possible of the following:
- be in Italy/Spain
- real, marketable, transportable, skills
- a passport of an EU country.
Otherwise, I'd strongly suggest you learn to love where you are.
Oct 13th, 2004, 06:11 AM
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Sorry:
The first lines of the general principles should have read
Non-EU citizens may not work in the EU unless:
- their employer can guarantee he's advertised for that vacancy and can't find a qualified person <b> who is a national of an EEA country </b> (EU plus a couple),
The first lines of the general principles should have read
Non-EU citizens may not work in the EU unless:
- their employer can guarantee he's advertised for that vacancy and can't find a qualified person <b> who is a national of an EEA country </b> (EU plus a couple),
Oct 13th, 2004, 12:45 PM
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We're American civilians living in a military community in Germany. There are many, many American civilians who are employed by the U.S. Government here, working in a wide variety of jobs. As mentioned by someone else, you can find these types of jobs on www.usajobs.com. There are also lots of Americans living here who are employed by companies that have contracts with the U.S. military (we fall into that catagory). We were not living in Germany when my husband was hired, and his company handled all of our paperwork and paid for our move.
There are military bases in both Italy and Spain, so I'm sure that there are the same types of opportunities in those countries.
Good luck!
There are military bases in both Italy and Spain, so I'm sure that there are the same types of opportunities in those countries.
Good luck!
Oct 13th, 2004, 01:36 PM
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I personally have not taken a GS position overseas, but know a number of people who are overseas currently.
I am NOT talking about positions at an embasy or consulate. Those are given to locals, or through the foreign service. I'm refering to GS jobs-usually attached to military bases.
IMO, it's easier to get a GS job than find a US company that will send you overseas. US companies (big ones at least) operate subsidiaries that are bound by local laws. It makes very little sense to hire a US citizen that will cost the company far more in the long run (work permit fees, relocation, cost of living allowance etc). The only exceptions I've really come across are for people fluent in the local language.
Another option is to go through companies that contract to the military in europe-these jobs fall under the Status Of Forces Agreement, not local labor laws. These jobs also pay better than the GS scale, but tend to be more technical. Booze-Allen- Hamilton, and Kellog Brown and Root are the first such companies that pop to mind.
I am NOT talking about positions at an embasy or consulate. Those are given to locals, or through the foreign service. I'm refering to GS jobs-usually attached to military bases.
IMO, it's easier to get a GS job than find a US company that will send you overseas. US companies (big ones at least) operate subsidiaries that are bound by local laws. It makes very little sense to hire a US citizen that will cost the company far more in the long run (work permit fees, relocation, cost of living allowance etc). The only exceptions I've really come across are for people fluent in the local language.
Another option is to go through companies that contract to the military in europe-these jobs fall under the Status Of Forces Agreement, not local labor laws. These jobs also pay better than the GS scale, but tend to be more technical. Booze-Allen- Hamilton, and Kellog Brown and Root are the first such companies that pop to mind.
Oct 13th, 2004, 05:47 PM
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Craisin, go to www.inpharm.com--the best resource for pharma related jobs in Europe, particularly the UK, but the rest of Europe as well. You can register with numerous headhunters who are listed on the site as well. It's an excellent web site, full of tips and news as well as comprehensive job leads.
My work is medical related and I get frequent calls from headhunters about positions that they are anxious to fill. The market is pretty wide open. A few general caveats:
Pharma jobs in Europe will pay less than comparable work in the U.S. I worked for a major pharma company in Belgium with big U.S. offices. On the company intranet, I could check the various job vacancies. Jobs in Belgium with the EXACT same jd as jobs in the U.S. offices, with the EXACT same professional requirements and work load paid exactly half what people in the U.S. earned. And the U.S. employees got similar benefits and paid a LOT less in taxes. Go figure. Just something to keep in mind.
Headhunters are not keen to take on someone who needs a work permit, even with the strong job market. Your best bet if you need a work permit is to contact companies directly, do a strong sell via email by phone and then plan a trip at your expense to the UK (more opps there than anywhere else) where you could meet with them and sell yourself in person. Belgium also is not bad for getting work permits at the big pharma companies--it took me just 3 weeks to get mine after I received the job offer.
Another alternative is Switzerland. Novartis is the biggest player of course, but there are others. You would have little difficulty getting a short term visa (3 months) for a contract assignment; if you prove yourself, the company would probably be willing to go through the hoops to get you a "real" year long permit--it's complicated to explain, but each canton gets a set number of long term (annual) permits for foreign workers. So employers don't like risking them on unproven/untested staff.
My work is medical related and I get frequent calls from headhunters about positions that they are anxious to fill. The market is pretty wide open. A few general caveats:
Pharma jobs in Europe will pay less than comparable work in the U.S. I worked for a major pharma company in Belgium with big U.S. offices. On the company intranet, I could check the various job vacancies. Jobs in Belgium with the EXACT same jd as jobs in the U.S. offices, with the EXACT same professional requirements and work load paid exactly half what people in the U.S. earned. And the U.S. employees got similar benefits and paid a LOT less in taxes. Go figure. Just something to keep in mind.
Headhunters are not keen to take on someone who needs a work permit, even with the strong job market. Your best bet if you need a work permit is to contact companies directly, do a strong sell via email by phone and then plan a trip at your expense to the UK (more opps there than anywhere else) where you could meet with them and sell yourself in person. Belgium also is not bad for getting work permits at the big pharma companies--it took me just 3 weeks to get mine after I received the job offer.
Another alternative is Switzerland. Novartis is the biggest player of course, but there are others. You would have little difficulty getting a short term visa (3 months) for a contract assignment; if you prove yourself, the company would probably be willing to go through the hoops to get you a "real" year long permit--it's complicated to explain, but each canton gets a set number of long term (annual) permits for foreign workers. So employers don't like risking them on unproven/untested staff.
Oct 14th, 2004, 01:30 AM
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Other big military contract companies are SAIC and Titan. But be aware that the benefits offered by different companies on different contracts vary widely. Here in Germany, some contractors (usually technical or medical professionals) get tax-free status and full base access (tax free shopping, schools, medical, etc.) Other contractors get none of that, which may or may not matter to them. But we have known people who have come over without really understanding what benefits they would receive...and were unpleasantly surprised. It just pays to be informed.
Oct 14th, 2004, 10:17 AM
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Thanks everyone....
I didn't specify exactly what my skills were because I guess I'll do just about anything. I know jobs are hard to find over there, especially without being fluent in the local language, but I would be ideally looking for something in sales or marketing.
I know it's extremely rare to be hired to a new position/company and in most cases people are transferred by their existing employers, but I was wondering if anyone had specific contacts to headhunters or local job search websites for US citizens looking for jobs abroad.
Most of the time when people are transferred abroad they are higher up in the company. I'm 23 years old with sales and marketing experience, looking to get on with my life and travel at the same time. I graduated from college in May '03 with a degree in communications and culture, and in telecommunications.
The reason I was looking specifically at Spain and Italy are because I've done the Prague winter thing, and it's COLD and because my boyfriend is Italian and lives in Naples. I speak enough Spanish that with time I could become fluent, and I'm currently taking Italian lessons.
My cousin recently got a job in Paris and the company handled her Visa, but not her living expenses. She got lucky in that her boss in Paris is an American who happens to be from a very close Chicago suburb to where we live.
So, if anyone knows of specific websites to check out, I would appreciate it. Thanks for all your help
I didn't specify exactly what my skills were because I guess I'll do just about anything. I know jobs are hard to find over there, especially without being fluent in the local language, but I would be ideally looking for something in sales or marketing.
I know it's extremely rare to be hired to a new position/company and in most cases people are transferred by their existing employers, but I was wondering if anyone had specific contacts to headhunters or local job search websites for US citizens looking for jobs abroad.
Most of the time when people are transferred abroad they are higher up in the company. I'm 23 years old with sales and marketing experience, looking to get on with my life and travel at the same time. I graduated from college in May '03 with a degree in communications and culture, and in telecommunications.
The reason I was looking specifically at Spain and Italy are because I've done the Prague winter thing, and it's COLD and because my boyfriend is Italian and lives in Naples. I speak enough Spanish that with time I could become fluent, and I'm currently taking Italian lessons.
My cousin recently got a job in Paris and the company handled her Visa, but not her living expenses. She got lucky in that her boss in Paris is an American who happens to be from a very close Chicago suburb to where we live.
So, if anyone knows of specific websites to check out, I would appreciate it. Thanks for all your help
Oct 14th, 2004, 12:16 PM
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Hi lwinokur!
I just thought of sort of a quirky angle-why not try cirque du soleil-I stumbled across their job list (these are for off-stage/marketing/production kind of things and they seem to have some european based things that are pretty interesting-plus you can also choose to send them your cv and see if they have any interest
good luck!!
jpie
It is a long link-if it doesn't work-just go to the cirque site and look at the bottom for jobs
http://cirquedusoleil.recruitsoft.co...amp;categoryH=
I just thought of sort of a quirky angle-why not try cirque du soleil-I stumbled across their job list (these are for off-stage/marketing/production kind of things and they seem to have some european based things that are pretty interesting-plus you can also choose to send them your cv and see if they have any interest
good luck!!
jpie
It is a long link-if it doesn't work-just go to the cirque site and look at the bottom for jobs
http://cirquedusoleil.recruitsoft.co...amp;categoryH=
Oct 14th, 2004, 12:23 PM
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Btilke, thank you so much for the site and information. Despite having to sacrifice certain things, I would love to take advantage of the opportunity to work in Europe. With our global market, I think this would possibly provide me with a competitive edge...not to mention the fact that I love to travel. I realize that if I do this, it's not nearly the same as going on vacation in Europe. But, living in Italy for 3 months last year just fueled my desire to live and work abroad. People always say that it's best to start young. I agree with that as I am only 24 and I do not yet have familial obligations and such. Although I do worry that people may see my youth as a negative (?).
Iwinokur, how did your cousin find out about the job in Paris? Ideally, I would like to work there as I have friends that I can stay with (at least in the beginning) and knowing people who already live there may make the transition a bit easier. Besides, j'adore Paris!!!
Iwinokur, how did your cousin find out about the job in Paris? Ideally, I would like to work there as I have friends that I can stay with (at least in the beginning) and knowing people who already live there may make the transition a bit easier. Besides, j'adore Paris!!!
