When to start the job search ? How long does it take?

After my last week’s post with 10 key tips & ressources to find a job in Spain, I had an e-mail from Aude, who asked some very relevant questions. I will answer them here, as I believe many other people will find these questions relevant.

When is the best period to look for a job ? How much time in advance should you start looking for a job ? How long does it take usually to find one?

In you are in Aude’s case, you are looking for your first job after your studies. If your target includes large companies, such as Inditex, be aware that they tend to organize their graduate recruitment so that you can join the company in September. Then, application deadlines to start in September start as soon as November – December of the previous year for large banks, and as late as March for some.
My advice: Let’s say that a good idea for an expat is to arrive in Madrid in September, start speaking Spanish every day all the time, work on your networking and presentation, and know that you will start the first applications and job fairs in November-December. This will allow to train yourself with some interviews, gain some good contacts in your key targets and start working seriously to get your top job as as soon as December, January and February. March and April, until the “Semana Santa” will be the last period large companies will be looking for people for its top graduate positions.
To sum up, november and december is a great time to start, January and February will then be key months for applications and first interviews, in order to close a good position in March-April with lots of interviews. The following months before summer will then be dedicated to either searching for a job in smaller companies if you did not secure the job you aimed for, or just start an internship to earn some money and experience before you start in September.

I will answer to other questions by readers in my following posts, and also through steb-by-step posts in the following weeks in my Madrid relocation blog.

Again, these are just my opinions, after failures and finally landing 2 jobs in the sector and company I wanted on my first year in Spain (Accenture Management Consulting), I share what I wished I would have known a few years ago.

Do connect with me in any way you want if you have any question, send them to me via twitter @pierrewaters !

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Yours madridly,
Pierre-Alban Waters – Moving2Madrid

Posted on 27 July, 2011 by Pierre-Alban Waters in Sin categoría - Rent, New? Start Here