Finding work in Europe

Batigol309

Hey guys,

For last few weeks I have been looking for work in Europe. I have mainly been focusing on Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia - and few major cities like Vienna, Prague, Brussels. I dont have another language unfortunately so been focusing on multinationals mainly.

I have been onto recruitment sites and have been networking a lot with my old job to see if they have any openings too. I have worked as an analyst for 3 years (mainly data analysis, data entry, reporting, customer service) in an IT multinational. I am looking at roles to fit my skills as best as possible but I am open to any work really as I want to live abroad and experience a new culture.

I guess its tough to deal with these agencies abroad as you lack the face to face opportunities you have with recruitment agencies here. Also Im thinking I should maybe visit a few cities (funds permitting) to speak to a few people, job expos etc.

Has anyone any tips on countries, jobs to look out for or any general advise I would really appreciate it.

Cheers,
Eoin

n900guy

Batigol309 wrote: »

Hey guys,

.....

I guess its tough to deal with these agencies abroad as you lack the face to face opportunities you have with recruitment agencies here. Also Im thinking I should maybe visit a few cities (funds permitting) to speak to a few people, job expos etc.

EURES is a pretty good start if you have qualifications that can be searched. Multinationals are actually only a small % of the job market so approaching local companies in your industry that are okay with english-only speakers is a better idea IMO.

LinkedIn is huge in Netherlands.

Jim2007

Batigol309 wrote: »

I guess its tough to deal with these agencies abroad as you lack the face to face opportunities you have with recruitment agencies here. Also Im thinking I should maybe visit a few cities (funds permitting) to speak to a few people, job expos etc.

Check these guys out: Swisslinx. They have a lot of experience of placing international candidates.

Batigol309

Thanks all...will check these out

zweton

Having any luck Batigol?

Batigol309

zweton wrote: »

Having any luck Batigol?

Seems to be a lot of jobs out there just by looking at the sites but my experience doesnt really cover a lot. Lots in IT but im not techy at all - was analyst in IT company but was more reporting and analysing revenues and that...so struggling to find anything that would fit what I have done before.

At the moment Im thinking of taking a trip to Netherlands or Germany with cheap Ryanair flight for few days and try and meet few recruitment agencies.

Need to get out of here!!

zeirtz

Do you have profiles on the following networks?

LinkedIn
Xing (German focused site)
Viadeo (French focused site)

If not, then join all of them. (It's free).
Fill your profile on each of those networks, specifically mention technologies you have used (Siebel, Salesforce, SAP, revenue software, etc)
Connect to everybody that you have studied with/worked with.
Post a status message saying that that you are looking for a job on the continent.
Search for 2nd and 3rd level contacts who work in the same area as you. Find their contact details via your connections and ask them about any available vacancies.

Google for your skills and locations (This is how I found my current job). Many companies post jobs on their own sites and don't use agencies. e.g.
SAP analyst Stockholm
Revenue analyst Copenhagen

Going to a location is recommended to get your feet on the ground where you could do some casual work to get your feet on the ground. Irish pubs are excellent places to work in a lot of places.

zweton

Batigol,

Have you come across many i.t support roles during your search?
This is my area and i would be interested to know what sites your using.
Is it mainly monster?

munchkin_utd

for germany try the governmental site :
http://jobboerse.arbeitsagentur.de/

800,000+ advertised posts!
26,289 of those are in the IT/ maths branch so there should be something for you somewhere

seachto7

Have you applied to companies directly. I got a job this way before, and I also got a follow up call for an interview from a French company once as well...

Batigol309

There are a few listed on jobs.ie, monster local sites, also check out hays international sites. You can also try googling 'expat jobs' and the country you are looking for.

At the moment seems like Holland has most potential for work....just by sheer volume of job posts.

Thanks to all for the tips btw

munchkin_utd

Batigol309 wrote: »

There are a few listed on jobs.ie, monster local sites, also check out hays international sites. You can also try googling 'expat jobs' and the country you are looking for.

At the moment seems like Holland has most potential for work....just by sheer volume of job posts.

Thanks to all for the tips btw

jaysus, you are saying theres more than the 800,000 vacant positions that the german site I posted had?

Holland must be experiencing some boom at the moment!

syklops

Batigol309 wrote: »

Seems to be a lot of jobs out there just by looking at the sites but my experience doesnt really cover a lot. Lots in IT but im not techy at all - was analyst in IT company but was more reporting and analysing revenues and that...so struggling to find anything that would fit what I have done before.

At the moment Im thinking of taking a trip to Netherlands or Germany with cheap Ryanair flight for few days and try and meet few recruitment agencies.

Need to get out of here!!

Monster in Brno are always looking for native English speakers. I know a girl who came over for a week lined up a few interviews, first one with Monster and got offered the job in the interview and was asked could she start the following Monday.

Batigol309

Right so I have decided to take bull by the horns and book a flight to either Germany or Holland for next week to go job hunting. To be honest I havent got a lot of joy from websites to date....unfortunately my experience is difficult to pigeonhole.

I am just sitting around looking at the net all day when I could be out there meeting agencies etc. Have to invest a bit of money and time to get what I want.

So have two options:
1 - flight to Munich, and maybe onto Frankfurt and Berlin - set up as many appointments as possible and meet as many recruitment agencies as I can.
2- Amsterdam as start off point - already have a lead on meeting with agent here. Would look in other areas of Netherlands too and could get to Brussels pretty easily from here.

Im at my wits end here so I think I might as well get off my ass and not wait for something to fall on my lap.

Any advise or tips would be great - i already appreciate all the ideas to date.

Would anyone know any good expat sites with job postings etc - or specialised recruitment agencies for native english speakers?

Cheers, Danke

Jim2007

Batigol309 wrote: »

Right so I have decided to take bull by the horns and book a flight to either Germany or Holland for next week to go job hunting.

I expect that you'd have a far better chance at landing something in Switzerland or The Netherlands than Germany, if you are looking for an English speaking job.

In Switzerland, we have four national languages and as a result most large companies, not just multinationals use English as the working language, in fact advertising to the under 35s is almost always in English!

A quick check of the jobs boards here suggest that there were about 700 IT jobs posted in the last 7 days, where the working language was English or it was at least one of the working languages.

n900guy

Batigol309 wrote: »

Right so I have decided to take bull by the horns and book a flight to either Germany or Holland for next week to go job hunting. To be honest I havent got a lot of joy from websites to date....unfortunately my experience is difficult to pigeonhole.

I am just sitting around looking at the net all day when I could be out there meeting agencies etc. Have to invest a bit of money and time to get what I want.

So have two options:
1 - flight to Munich, and maybe onto Frankfurt and Berlin - set up as many appointments as possible and meet as many recruitment agencies as I can.
2- Amsterdam as start off point - already have a lead on meeting with agent here. Would look in other areas of Netherlands too and could get to Brussels pretty easily from here.

Im at my wits end here so I think I might as well get off my ass and not wait for something to fall on my lap.

Any advise or tips would be great - i already appreciate all the ideas to date.

Would anyone know any good expat sites with job postings etc - or specialised recruitment agencies for native english speakers?

Cheers, Danke

I think you will struggle to get a job with just English in Germany unless it's a particularly high level job, for example, that you would be headhunted for.

As said above, Netherlands or Switzerland have much more developed "English-speaker" job markets; it's going to be limited in any case. Realistically, you need B2 level German to work in Germany or Austria, and for the most part, the same in Switzerland. Netherlands in my opinion is the most English-speaking-friendly country of them all. Lots of IT people who live here for years, all working entirely in English (usually with other people from other european countries so the common language is English). There is a huge Dutch-speaking job market of course, but you need at least NNT2(B2) level Dutch; it takes longer than B2 German if you are starting from nothing.

Batigol309

Thanks for feedback again. Going to give Amsterdam and a few other cities a try next week. I already have a meeting with recruitment agent for Amsterdam. Seems Switzerland like ye said looks more of a goer than Germany.... I did German at Junior Cert.....pity describing what my school uniform looks like isnt much use

We really need to improve our standard of teaching languages at school....I was just thinking last week that I could tell you how a sea stack and ox-bow lake is formed from geography but if I was getting attacked in Europe most likely I couldnt call for help.....good old irish education system eh

havetoquit

I really wish you the best of luck and positive experiences where ever you go. I would highly advise though, that regardless of finding work in Europe within an English speaking environment, it is imperative that you learn even a little of the language of your host country, through which of course you will meet so many other newcomers and begin a social network.

It will enhance your quality of life so much, make your dealings with bureaucracy and every other official body much easier to cope with.

I can only vouch for the German speaking countries I worked in and cannot emphasise enough how much more fulfilled my own life was and how much more contented I became, once I could master even basic German. Add to that how helpful, hospitable and welcoming people are once they know you are making an effort.

www.toytowngermany.com is a great website for expats and offers support and help to each other on a variety of things. www.angloinfo.com is the French equivalent and also excellent.


Would vouch on there being far less frequent flights to Dublin airport once you have settled in your new abode.

Batigol309

havetoquit wrote: »

I really wish you the best of luck and positive experiences where ever you go. I would highly advise though, that regardless of finding work in Europe within an English speaking environment, it is imperative that you learn even a little of the language of your host country, through which of course you will meet so many other newcomers and begin a social network.

It will enhance your quality of life so much, make your dealings with bureaucracy and every other official body much easier to cope with.

I can only vouch for the German speaking countries I worked in and cannot emphasise enough how much more fulfilled my own life was and how much more contented I became, once I could master even basic German. Add to that how helpful, hospitable and welcoming people are once they know you are making an effort.

www.toytowngermany.com is a great website for expats and offers support and help to each other on a variety of things. www.angloinfo.com is the French equivalent and also excellent.


Would vouch on there being far less frequent flights to Dublin airport once you have settled in your new abode.

Hey,

Thanks for the reply. One of the main reasons I want to travel is to live in a different culture so I definitely would want to learn the language....I already feel so ignorant here in Holland....the way people can just swap between languages is so impressive....

keithclancy

Batigol309 wrote: »

Hey,

Thanks for the reply. One of the main reasons I want to travel is to live in a different culture so I definitely would want to learn the language....I already feel so ignorant here in Holland....the way people can just swap between languages is so impressive....

Its also a pain in the hole if you're trying to learn Dutch

Its not so bad down here in Brabant ... but up in Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam or Utrecht people think your a complete weirdo if you try to speak Dutch.

It gets to a stage were you have to pretend that you don't speak English.

Pauvre Con

It's amazing how it stays off so many people's radar but have you considered Luxembourg? Big British and Irish community over there and an awful lot of English speaking companies operate from it. The average salaries are comfortably the highest in the world and although in most cases the grass isn't greener it most certainly is in Luxembourg....

Batigol309

Hey all,

Just thought Id post follow up after my trip over....I was in Holland for about 2 weeks.

First thing is that there is big competition for jobs. Some of my Dutch friends have told me how difficult they found it getting jobs. I did meet a good few agencies who were up front in saying that the market is tough at the moment.

People with second languages are going to take precedence, also Im beginning to realise that my 3 years experience is all well and good but it hasnt really given me the specific "skills" needed. To be honest if you have programming, coding or strong IT background then much more doors open. Even in terms of customer service jobs you need to have a good chunk of experience.

Im still set on trying to get job in Europe anyway!! At least I have gone out there and met a few people and hope that opens a few doors.

keithclancy

Batigol309 wrote: »

Hey all,

Just thought Id post follow up after my trip over....I was in Holland for about 2 weeks.

First thing is that there is big competition for jobs. Some of my Dutch friends have told me how difficult they found it getting jobs. I did meet a good few agencies who were up front in saying that the market is tough at the moment.

People with second languages are going to take precedence, also Im beginning to realise that my 3 years experience is all well and good but it hasnt really given me the specific "skills" needed. To be honest if you have programming, coding or strong IT background then much more doors open. Even in terms of customer service jobs you need to have a good chunk of experience.

Im still set on trying to get job in Europe anyway!! At least I have gone out there and met a few people and hope that opens a few doors.

Just a tip for contract work the best place to find it is via:
http://www.freelance.nl/

A lot of the Agencies are just passing these contracts on.

jkell061

Batigol309 wrote: »

Hey all,

Just thought Id post follow up after my trip over....I was in Holland for about 2 weeks.

First thing is that there is big competition for jobs. Some of my Dutch friends have told me how difficult they found it getting jobs. I did meet a good few agencies who were up front in saying that the market is tough at the moment.

People with second languages are going to take precedence, also Im beginning to realise that my 3 years experience is all well and good but it hasnt really given me the specific "skills" needed. To be honest if you have programming, coding or strong IT background then much more doors open. Even in terms of customer service jobs you need to have a good chunk of experience.

Im still set on trying to get job in Europe anyway!! At least I have gone out there and met a few people and hope that opens a few doors.

Hi Batigol,

I've just come across this thread and currently find myself in the same situation as you were in. What was your outcome had you any joy from going out and meeting with the agencies? Hope you did anyway..

havetoquit

Did you also visit agencies in Germany....