Work /
Will it be easy to find a job within 6-10 months of moving to Poland? [41]
Hi all,
Speaking from my very real experience (I can only speak for Gdansk where I've been living for the last 6 months) here's my take:
Finding work is difficult for non poles who don't speak Polish because:
1. You don't speak Polish - you may be learning (as I am), but that's not going to make any difference unless your level is advanced already.
2. We're in very tough economic times - companies are simply not hiring or are hiring much less. That's less jobs to go round
3. There's a huge resource pool of people who do speak Polish - so why would they hire me or you? (also see point 2).
4. The system seems to work differently here to what you may be used to - for example, the way you should contact companies, the language and cultural differences etc, etc.
There are two caveats here. Firstly, if you're seconded by a foreign company to Poland, or you have a very specialised skill that can't be sourced locally then the above doesn't apply because you've probably already got a very well paid job. In which case why would you be reading this post anyway?! Secondly, if you're prepared to do something that wasn't in your prior job remit, i.e. making use of your native language skills, then you may also be able to find some kind of work relatively easily (probably with far less pay than you're used to, but I'm going to assume that you you didn't come to Poland to get rich).
In my case, the net result of the above 4 points is that after 6 months of almost full time effort looking for work I've built up a network of contacts, I have some bits and pieces of contract work (somewhat related to my skills and also some English language stuff) that will keep the wolf from the door for a bit and I'm hopeful that with continued efforts I'll land the "big fish" job within the next 3 months BUT I still don't have a full time, stable, permanent job which is my goal.
I'm extremely talented (I've been told I'm overqualified for a few roles so you can't win!), but the bottom line is that points 1-4 above are the reasons why, despite my wealth of skills and experience, I am where I am. That, plus mistakes and distractions on my part - there are always better ways of doing things and I think I spent the first three months of my search doing things the wrong way (oh that and my daughter being born at the end of September was and continues to be a constant but beautiful distraction!). I'm constantly trying to improve the way I look for and do work.
Despite the difficulties I've experienced looking for work I've gained some very valuable things in the last 6 months and these shouldn't be discounted. I'm much more motivated, determined and driven now than I was before I came here and I've surprised myself at how resilient and resourceful I am. I also very much more aware now where my strengths and weaknesses lie - something which by the way, employers are very keen to hear - tests of character don't get much bigger than this! I also had it very easy before I came here and now it's not so easy, so I've been able to re-evaluate what's important to me and to appreciate what I have right now as well as what I had before I came here. I also appreciate much more now than I ever did before the value (or lack thereof) of money! :-)
So to reiterate what others have written, and from my experience, my advice would be:
* Knowing people definitely helps - build a network, preferably before you arrive, but keep the network focussed as well - don't just add everyone that you can think of because you'll be wasting valuable energy on low (career) value contacts.
* Be prepared for a lot of hard work, frustration, knock backs and at times feeling lost and hopeless.
* Before you commit yourself to moving here, ask yourself why you are coming here, do you really want to be here and can you handle (and afford) the distinct possibility of being out of work in 6 months time and if not are you prepared to do something else in the meantime (i.e. native speaking for example).
* Don't just send emails to companies when looking for work, the chances are that you won't get a response (especially if the email is written in English) - find out the names of the person who recruits for the work you want to do and call them up. Be brave. Sending emails will get you almost nowhere.
* Get online and get signed up to the various jobsites (I'm not going to list them here, see other posts for that).
* Consider going it alone - as one friend who started his own business here told me, "If you can't join 'em, beat 'em!".
* Find ways to keep your skills up to date while you're looking for work - it's no good if you do spend 6 months here looking for work only to get an interview and then realise you've forgotten everything you do or the only answer to the question "So what have you been doing for the last 6 months?" is "Looking for work." (even if it's true!)
Well I've gone on long enough I think, but I do have more ideas and advice, so feel free to message me for more info and or if you want to just connect with me for job leads, general chit chat or meeting up and the final piece of advice I'd give you is that if you find a job, put in a good word for me eh? ;-)
Good luck to all you job seekers and apologies for what turned out to be a long post.
