How to get a job in Spain? A quick guide for everyone, foreigner and Spanish

Everyone who wants to get a job in Spain needs first to find a job in Spain. A good start can be a job website like InfoJobs, Indeed Spain, or Milanuncios.

You can look for recruitment agencies or employment agencies in Spain. And you can look for jobs also on Facebook groups in Spain.

Once you find a job, you may need a work permit. You can do this from abroad or in Spain. Spanish citizens don’t need a work permit to get a job. Nationals of a European Union (EU) country also don’t need a work permit to work in Spain. In most cases, every other nationality needs to apply for a work permit. You can do this together with your new employer, or employment agency. Read more below on how to find a job in Spain and on how to get a work permit for Spain.

Spain is one of the charming places in Europe. It pulls you with its delicious and ubiquitous wine. It’s easy to enjoy the Mediterranean sunshine, finding a job, and relocating here. Jobs can be party promoters, sales managers, juice makers, boutique salespeople, and more.

How to get a job in Spain?

The first step in getting a job in Spain is to find a job in Spain. Find out where to look for work in Spain in the sections below.
Once you have a job offer, you may need to apply for a work permit, or a work visa, together with your employer or on your own. You will not likely need any permit if you are a resident of Spain or a citizen of an EU country.

In most cases, you apply for a work permit with your new employer, a company, or an employment agency. They will get you a visa to enter the country if you are not in Spain already.

Once you have an employer who can sponsor you. You will need to handle together all the paperwork to get you a work permit or a work visa.

First, find a job, and after you’ll worry about a work permit if you need it.

How to find a job in Spain?

You can find a job in Spain by searching online for job opportunities in Spain. You can find a job either with a company, or with a recruitment agency, or through an employment agency.

Most of the following websites or apps are in Spanish. If you need, use Google Translate, or any other translation service, to browse them.

Job websites in Spain

Many job websites can help you find work in Spain. Some focus on certain professions and industries. A good start is to search for a job on these popular job websites.

Baidu, Google, Naver, Sogou, Yandex, or any other search engine, can be a good start for a job search. You can search for a job that you want. That can be for example, “Construction worker in Madrid” or “Babysitter in Barcelona”. Use the language that you feel most comfortable speaking. Don’t stop at the first pages and go deep with your search. You’ll get an immediate feeling of what’s around and of which job websites are best suited for your needs.

Google Maps, Baidu Maps, Naver Maps, 2GIS, or any other map app, can help you find employers near you or abroad. Look for the kind of organization that might have job opportunities for you. You can look for “Retail in Tenerife” or “Mall in Madrid” for example.

Facebook groups can be also an option to start to see what’s around you. You can search for Facebook groups that talk about Spain or about jobs.

InfoJobs is one of the most popular job websites in Spain.

Indeed Spain is another popular job website in Spain. The sister to the big US job search site Indeed.

Jooble Spain is another of the most popular job websites in Spain.

Infoempleo is another of the most popular job websites in Spain.

EURES (European Employment Services) is a job portal network by the European Commission. It wants to ease free movement within the European Economic Area.

If you’re from the EU or the EFTA (that is Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Iceland). You can search for jobs in Spain on the EURES website. You can post CVs. Get advice on the legal and administrative issues involved in working in Spain. You can search for jobs in any other country in the EU or in the EFTA.

Clasf is another website of classifieds in Spain. They have a section about employment as well.

Oficina Empleo is a Spanish job search portal.

Opcion Empleo is another job website in Spain.

Trabajos.com is another job website in Spain.

Busco Jobs is another job website in Spain.

Tecnoempleo is for IT, technology, and telecommunications jobs.

Public employment services

The Public State Employment Service ( Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal ) or SEPE has information on vacancies, training courses, and advice on job seeking.

Empleate is a government job portal. It is also a job bank with thousands of public and private job offers.

Sistema Nacional de Empleo is a government portal for local employment and job vacancies. The Autonomous Communities also have employment offices nationwide, look on the SEPE website for local addresses.

Jobs in Spain for graduates

Graduateland is a job website of job opportunities for graduates.

iAgora is a website for people looking for an internship.

Primer Empleo is about finding first jobs, internships, scholarships, and work for students without experience.

Jobs in Spain for English speakers

You can search for jobs in Spain at the job websites of an English-speaking country. The Guardian Jobs is an example for the UK.

These are some English-speaking websites in Spain. They have job listings as well.

The Local is daily news from Spain written in English. A fun mix of the latest news, politics, sports, business, and features from Spain.

ThinkSpain is news and classifieds about Spain in English. It has job opportunities, news stories, articles, businesses, and services in Spain.

These websites support professionals moving abroad. Most of the jobs listed are for people with a degree, or with qualifying experience. You can also speak either English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Spanish or Chinese.

Michael Page is an international executive recruitment website. This site is targeted towards high-paid job seekers.

eFinancialCareers is a search engine for finance jobs on the web. They are not limited to Spain.

Go Abroad I’ve always been a fan of GoAbroad. In fact, on the visa information portion of my website, you will find where I have linked to their global embassies directory. They have a good job portal too.

More useful websites to get a job in Spain

These are more websites that can be useful when you are looking for a job.

Milanuncios is a popular website of classifieds in Spain. They have a section about employment as well.

Tablon De Anuncios is another popular website of classifieds in Spain. They have a section about employment as well.

noticiasTrabajo.es is a popular website with a lot of information about working in Spain. You can find new job opportunities for government jobs.

Expansion is about employment news and the job market in Spain.

Facebook groups and other social media to get a job in Spain

Facebook groups help you to connect with people about jobs in Spain. The following links are some Facebook groups I found, but you can look for more.

Jobs in Spain and Portugal

You can use your favorite social media to look for groups that talk about jobs or about Spain.

LinkedIn Spain is also a popular choice when networking for jobs.

Any social media or communication platform can help you to find a job in Spain. It can be for example Instagram or any WhatsApp group of people in Spain.

Recruitment agencies in Spain

A recruitment agency receives a description for a job from an employer who needs someone. Then the recruitment agency looks for a person to do that job.

Recruitment agencies look for skilled workers to suit the job role available. A skilled worker has some experience, and certifications, to work in a particular role. Examples can be a nurse, an accountant, a chef, a construction worker, or a truck driver.

Recruitment agencies specialize in particular sectors. Those can be care, computing, engineering, nursing, accounting, catering, construction, or other sectors. Sometimes an agency can contact you first if they struggle to find people.

You can look up a recruitment agency that can help you to find a job that matches your skills. You can type ‘recruitment agency near Valencia’ on Google Maps or any other map website. There you can find a list of good agencies that you can contact. If you are not in Spain, you can search your area for local recruitment agencies. They can help you find a job in Spain.

Employment agencies, temp agencies, temporary job agencies, staffing agencies in Spain

Employment agencies hire people to do jobs. The agency employs you to work for another company. Employment agencies can be temp agencies (temporary job agencies), or staffing agencies. An employment agency registers someone who’s looking for work, a job seeker. The agency then contacts employers who have positions available for the new person.
These agencies can hire new workers for new jobs. Agencies contract those new jobs from other companies. An employment agency will assist any job seeker. Unskilled workers are more likely to find a job with an employment agency. An unskilled worker has no qualifications, or experience, in the job that they want. They have finished school recently, or they are changing industries or they are new to the region.
These agencies specialize in particular sectors. Those can be care, computing, engineering, nursing, accounting, catering, construction, or other sectors. Agencies offer full-time jobs, part-time jobs, temporary jobs, seasonal jobs, or freelance jobs.
If you, for example, type ‘employment agency near Madrid’ on Google Maps, Baidu Maps, or any other map website. You can find a list of good agencies that you can contact. If you are not in Spain, you can search your area for local employment agencies. They can help you find a job in Spain.

Be aware that you should not pay an agency when they find a job for you. So be careful when an agency asks you for money. Registered agencies are on the Sistema Nacional de Empleo website.

Ask around you for jobs in Spain

Form connections, ask around, and find opportunities among your contacts. Speak with friends of friends of people who may have traveled or worked in Spain. You will see that some of your friends or family know someone who knows someone.

You can email local businesses and companies for jobs in Spain

You can search for companies and local businesses anywhere in Spain. An easy tool for doing that can be any map app or map website. Below is, for example, a Google Maps search for “factory near Barcelona”.

Walk around anywhere in Spain for possible jobs

If you are somewhere in Spain, you can explore the area and see what job opportunities are around you. You can look for organizations and businesses around you and visit them. For example, below is a search on Google Maps for “market near Las Palmas”. You can visit these places asking for job opportunities.

Search for employment schemes

You can apply for an employment scheme or an employment support program that can help you to find a job. Those programs can be local or national. They can be open only to Spanish residents but they can be open to foreigners as well. You need to look for a program that fits your profile. You can search for employment schemes at your local government or embassy. You can search for “EU employment scheme” or “Spain employment program”.

Spanish jobs in newspapers

Spanish national, regional, and provincial newspapers advertise job vacancies daily. And Most jobs are in the Sunday editions.

Several print publications target foreigners, some with online versions, that list jobs. Post or respond to recruitment ads in publications such as Metropolitan (Barcelona).

Teaching jobs in Spain

There are lots of opportunities for teaching a foreign language in Spain. Being a native speaker might not be enough to secure a job. You stand a much better chance if you hold a qualification. Consider taking a course in your home country or one based in Spain.

TtMadrid and TEFL Iberia are schools that can help you find TEFL jobs in Spain. Otherwise, you can also look for teaching jobs at Spainwise and Lingobongo.

Networking in Spain

Lots of jobs aren’t advertised in Spain. Word-of-mouth or personal contacts fill many positions before advertized. So spread the word that you’re looking for work in Spain. Network with others in similar fields. And join professional groups, forums, and networking sites such as LinkedIn.

Spanish Chamber of Commerce (Cámara de Comercio) is Spain’s largest business network. It has local chambers across the country with networking events and business support.

Self-employment and freelancing in Spain

Starting a business or self-employment and freelancing is also an option. autónomo workers have been growing in the last years. A considerable part of the Spanish workforce is self-employed. That part is above the EU average.

You can work as a freelance professional or sole trader (profesionales autónomos). Where your personal and business income are taxed together. Or you can set up a limited company (sociedad limitada). Where the business is separated from personal. This means that you will have to file separate business taxes.

Support while looking for jobs in Spain

You can claim unemployment benefits in Spain while you are looking for work. As long as you have worked at least 360 days in the last six years and are registered for social security payments. The amount you receive and the duration depend on your level of contributions.

You can apply for unemployment benefits in Spain on the SEPE website.

The Spanish job market

The country’s unemployment rate is one of the highest in the EU. But it is also one of the European Union’s most dynamic economies. Some sectors have been recruiting more lately. Some of these sectors are personal care, construction, and chefs.

Unemployment, yet, continues to be an issue. Graduates report difficulties in finding permanent work. Spanish people are seeking abroad better job opportunities. But, the highest levels of unemployment have been among low-paid workers.

Spain has jobs in IT, automobile, pharmaceutical, chemical, food and drinking, and tourism.

Spain’s big multinational businesses include:
Banco Santander and BBVA for finance,
Telefonica for telecommunications,
Repsol and Iberdrola for energy,
ACS for construction,
Inditex for clothing retail, and
IAG for air travel.

Work culture in Spain

Spanish companies have hierarchical structures. They organize meetings to exchange information or give instructions. They don’t seek consensus.

Business colleagues will spend time getting to trust you. People first consider personal qualities. As a result, business negotiations can take a long time. Because people need to trust you before considering the value of your propositions. Individualism is preferable over teamwork, although modesty is crucial for employees.

Do you need a work permit in Spain?

If you hold a passport of a European Union country, you don’t need a work permit. Many EU citizens move to Spain. Some come here for vacation and fall in love. So they never end up going home. If you stay here for longer than 90 days, you may need to get a national identity card (NIE).

If you are from a non-EU country. You’ll have to do some additional paperwork. And it’s also a good idea to secure a job before moving. Citizens of the United States, Canada, or Japan can visit without a visa. But other countries need an entry visa. If you are from Australia and are between 18 and 30 years old, you can apply for a working holiday visa.

Ways to find a job in Spain

This is a quick list of possible ways for you to find a job in Spain.

Walk with your CV in hand. If you’re from North America. This can seem like a strange way to look for a job. But if you rely on e-mail. You might wait long. What many people do is print out a stack of CVs. And will walk around.
Do seasonal and odd jobs. Popular seasonal jobs are where non-Spanish speakers are in demand.
Start freelance teaching or tutoring. If you’re a native speaker of English, French, or Arabic. You can teach a skill.
Go to a staffing agency. Meet with a recruiter who will suggest a job based on your experience.
Do a short-term volunteer. You can do volunteer projects.
Search on Facebook. We tend to think of Facebook as a place to waste time. It’s actually very helpful for a job search in Spain.

People in Spain can, many times, find jobs in informal ways. They use word-of-mouth, networking, and social media posting. They find work in small and medium-sized businesses. So do not limit your job quest to agencies and advertisements. You should be diligent, searching for networks, and opportunities.

Spain doesn’t have many job vacancies available for everyone to see. Because many employers fill new job vacancies through word of mouth and networking.

Average salaries in Spain have started to grow once again. This growth is different depending on the region, industry, or worker profile (that is gender, age, family, or else).

Every Spanish region has a different variety of jobs. Some regions are more about tourism, others more about factory production. Information on the EURES jobs mobility portal has information for each zone.

Many jobs are along the Spanish coastline. Madrid, Barcelona, and Seville are also popular for jobs.

Can I move to Spain without a job?

Yes, but you will need to get a social security number to be able to work regularly in Spain. You can get this at your local Oficina de Seguridad Social.

How much money do you need to move to Spain?

It is possible to live in Spain for a year abroad for less than one thousand euros a month. The first important move in moving is to save money. Unless you are a European citizen, you will need a visa to visit Spain.

Sources: The above tips were taken from Matador Network, and Expatica.

The above cover image shows somewhere at La Boqueria Food Market in Barcelona, Spain. Photo by real_ jansen on Unsplash