Mickey Quinn-
You don’t have to be an employment correspondent to see that job hunting is not particularly easy today, and nor is it advisable to re-iterate that to an unemployed person if you yourself have a job, but here I go: Job hunting is very difficult for today’s young pretenders although my friend recently showed me some fantastic Interim Management Opportunities. I myself spent some time looking for jobs in Ireland after my graduation and while things weren’t as bad as they are now, crusts, scraps and general slim pickings were still the order of the day.
Writing from Spain, I can’t say that things are any better here. In fact, statistically, they are worse and have been for some time (20.33% unemployed at the end of 2010). Of course Spain has traditionally had more unemployed people than much of the rest of Europe, and so the effect on the country is perhaps not as damaging. People are frugal and resourceful here and it rubs off, making it all the more enjoyable for you if you are fortunate enough to have a job.
So how in Christ’s name does one get a job in a country with no jobs? Well if you speak English you might be in luck… and since you do; care to read on. I have once or twice bemoaned the attempted murder of our native language at the hands of the Saxons but it has to be said; without their elaborate language, I would be idle in this city. We Anglophones have benefited in two very striking ways from the Spanish Economic crisis. As the jobs have dwindled in general, so the necessity for all workers to speak at least English has grown immensely. I know from experience that in Dublin, it is often requested that one speaks English and… (insert other language). Here, however, you can speak English alone, and poorly, and you will be selected for a post ahead of the person who lives next-door and is bilingual from birth (Spanish/Catalan). The injustice here is not lost on me, but beggars cannot be moralists.
Having come to BCN in April, I searched for a few jobs in offices before the start of the academic term. The interviews were quite something. For one job I was given a 5 hour inquisition which included a group interview, a practical test followed by the authentic ‘good-cop/bad-cop’ face to face routine. The Mancunian good cop ensured me that I was the proper type of candidate and reminded me that I wouldn’t get the job if I ‘weren’t up for a few bevvies on a Friday yeah!’ Feeling great about my cool social status, I was introduced to the Catalan bad cop who took one look at my CV, looked disgusted and branded me a ‘farmer’. “We are looking for hunters here. You do not look like an action man”, I was told. Emotionally shook, as most CIA candidates would be after such a pre-meditated slight on one’s character, I had to remind myself that this ordeal was for a job which consisted of generating leads for other sales-people to call… As you can see, the interview procedure may also be different to what you are accustomed to.
It also seems that many of the office jobs available here are of a similar nature – call-centres, cold-calling, selling obscure products etc. If you have experience in this field and liked it, you might like to come here and enjoy the sun. If you’d rather stay clear of this, you may well be better off looking elsewhere.
And so, with English imposing its linguistic might upon the Spanish, many more of them are looking for classes. I have chosen this route as a way of making a living here. From September to June, the work is plentiful. There are hundreds of academies throughout the city and its suburbs. Their owners and directors range from complete cowboys and gangsters to veritable academics and professionals. At times, my own school seems more like a social club than an English academy. However, it is relaxed and I can’t complain. Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is a strange old job, depending as it does entirely on the students. One rotten potato can destroy the whole bag, and this is certainly true with classes of children. Older potatoes are generally less hassle, but they’re much more bland and hard to cut open. I know a lot of other students who have opted to complete tefl online courses, rather than going abroad to teach. A lot of the time it’s easier to teach online because you don’t have the hassle of moving and you can usually do it from the comfort of your own home. Some people take really well to telf courses and each persons experience is different so it really depends on who you get to teach.
There are many different types of courses for the students, and I am currently teaching students ranging from 6 to 40 something, around 25 hours a week. Completing my Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) course before coming certainly helped, but experience in the classroom is another world altogether. It is unlike any job I have had before, and while I’m still not sure if it’s definitely for me, I know the experience will stand to me later in my career. If you’re in the same boat as me, there’s no harm in looking at what Teaching Jobs are out there, you may be surprised at what the experience can offer.
Timing can be very important when looking for a job here: arriving in spring was a mistake, but I had found a job by June and then worked in a summer camp in July. Working in August here is as rare as a bearded baby. My advice is to save some money and enjoy the month off. I spent a short time looking for work in August last year, but it was a very futile mission indeed. Luckily I had planned ahead and saved a few coppers from my previous job in Dublin.
As Barcelona and the surrounding area retain a certain economic buoyancy due to the ever-reliable tourist influx, bar-work is everywhere. If you have experience, you are almost guaranteed a job. It seems that many bar staff stay for short periods and move on so the waiting time for this type of employment isn’t normally too long, and while there is more work available in the summer, the tourist bars in the city do a roaring trade throughout the year.
So basically, don’t be perturbed by the facts and figures. There are options galore here. Of course, jobs may not be as easy to find as illegal sex or drugs in Barcelona, but they are out there (and they are generally much more palatable).
More information about TEFL can be found here
