I'm an IT professional with good programming skills and seeking a job
for a couple of years in Spain, with either a US or international
firm.  I've got good research skills on the web and believe I've
already found all the expat/job search sites for this subject, and
they are consistently poor, including Yahoo Groups.  I sense the best
sources of information on how to find a job in Spain / internationally
will be in print.  I have an exhaustive directory of US firms with
operations in Spain already, but this is just a starting point. 
Questions I have include: what are the market dynamics now, i.e. do
they favor US citizens or do they favor EU members?  How important is
fluency in Spanish (I have just a little)?  How badly do US and
Spanish firms need leading edge software development skills now (Java
and web) in Spain?   Would moving to Spain for a few weeks enhance my
ability to interview, or would email/phone be sufficient for most of
my preliminary job hunting?  Are there headhunters that specialize in
finding International jobs, especially for IT professionals?  What
cultural issues should I consider when interviewing in Spain, e.g. are
there certain things the Spanish favor or disfavor that would surprise
an American?

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Clarification of Question by trave11er-ga on 10 Jul 2002 14:20 PDT

I originally stated that I wanted "non-web" resources since I was
under the impression that Google researchers were volunteers...I was
afraid that I'd get flooded with a bunch of "Work Overseas" sites that
sound good in practice but have little activity and/or good info.  I
should clarify that I'm of course open to any good information,
regardless of its source.

Your first step should be to contact the U.S. Embassy in Spain.  They
will not only be able to provide an assessment of business conditions
in Spain, they will also know all about any work permints you will
need and can offer tips on blending into the culture. You ask how
important a knowledge of Spanish would be? Obviously that would be of
prime importance since you will be working in a technical area with
native Spanish speakers and even a slight misunderstanding would be
disastrous where it is related to programming.


US Embassy in Madrid, Spain is located at Serrano 75; telephone
(34)(91) 587-2200, and fax (34)(91) 587-2303 
Official U.S. Embassy Web Site (English version):
http://www.embusa.es/indexbis.html

Although their focus is mostly on telling the natives about U.S.
technology and companies, you should be able to get a lot of useful
information from:
The head of the sticnece and technology office, Laura Lochman, Officer
Telephone: 91587-2385; Fax : 91587-2292 
E-mail: estmad@bitmailer.net 

The Embassy itself is staffed by foreign service workers and mostly
Spanish citizens, but they occasionally hire U.S. citizens who have
Spanish work permits.

There is currently an opening for a computer programmer at the
Embassy, here is a link to the Vacancy Notice:
http://www.embusa.es/vacan07-24.html

Submit applications to:
Human Resources Office
Serrano, 75
28006 Madrid
Telephone:  91-587 2226
FAX:           91-587 2229



There is also a consulate in Barcelona

The State Department recommends that you contact the Spanish Embassy
for information on obtaining a valid work permit for Spain.

Embassy of Spain 
2375 Pennsylvania Ave., NW 
Washington, DC 20037

The official Embassy Web site is:
http://www.spainemb.org/ingles/indexing.htm
202-452-0100

Although Spain has benefited from joining the EU, it is still a
relatively poor country with a low cost-of-living.  Economic
statistics for Spain from Spanish sources are not very helpful with
the last employment numbers on the Embassy Web site dating from 1994.
This showed a 22.4% unemployment rate. The Embassy report describes
unemployment in Spain as “endemic.”

The Labor Market In Spain:
http://www.sispain.org/english/economy/labour.html

Using Google’s Search just on the Embassy site looking for work
permit:
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=site:www.spainemb.org+work+permit
did not result in any useful information about obtaining a work permit
which actually indicates that it will probably be very difficult to
obtain a work permit.

Given the high unemployment in Spain and the ease of outsourcing to
the U.S. and to countries such as Ireland and India, it’s quite
probable that U.S. companies operating in Spain will favor native
employees as will Spanish companies. The best way to gage the
employment possibilities in any country is to look through the
newspapers.
 
A good list of online newspapers from Spain (not just Spanish-language
newspapers) is available at:
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/spain.htm

SUR, “the newspaper for southern spain” claims to have the largest
list of classified job ads.
http://www.surinenglish.com/

Their searchable ad Web page:
http://www.surinenglish.com/

I located 10 jobs which included the word “computer” but none were
technical or programming related jobs.  One was the usual work-at-home
scam, another was looking for English speaking real estate marketers,
and the others were for “computer literate” office help.


Search Strategy:

us embassy spain
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=us+embassy+spain

Went to a list of all embassies at Embassy World
http://www.embassyworld.com

IT jobs in spain
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=it+jobs+in+spain

This led to the Web site for Spain’s National Institute of Employment:
http://www.spaindata.com/directorio/english/import-export/jobs/

spanish newspapers
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=spanish+newspapers

I hope this helps. Your best bet is to read through all the newspapers
available at :
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/spain.htm
At the same time I would contact both the U.S. Embassy in Spain and
the Spanish Embassy in Washington.

---

Clarification of Answer by siliconsamurai-ga on 11 Jul 2002 06:50 PDT

There are international headhunters but companies with weak economies
such as Spain are not good candidates for this, especially if you are
only looking for temporary employment.

There is a list of Spanish headhunters available for sale from AVOTEK,
a Dutch Headhunter's Guide:
http://www.avotek.nl/overview.htm

I believe I answered your other specific questions with the general
information I supplied about high unemployment and the difficulty in
obtaining a work permit. There's no use moving to Spain or even
querying companies about job openings until and unless you obtain a
work permit or, at a minimum, assurance from the Spanish Embassy that
you will be granted a Visa and work permit.

Since you said you are good at conducting Web searches I left out all
the obvious possibilities such as the online job sites, including
Monster:
http://jobsearch.monster.com/jobsearch.asp?ct=EU&aj=Europe

An IT job in Madrid is listed at:
http://jobsearch.monster.com/getjob.asp?JobID=14878230&AVSDM=2002%2D06%2D21+02%3A37%3A00%2E000&CCD=my%2Emonster%2Ecom&JSD=jobsearch%2Emonster%2Ecom&HD=company%2Emonster%2Ecom&AD=http%3A%2F%2Fjobsearch%2Emonster%2Ecom%2Fjobsearch%2Easp%3Fq%3Dpython&Logo=1&col=dltci&cy=&brd=1&lid=&fn=&q=python

A Web developer job is also listed but that listing is expiring today.

That's only two IT jobs listed for Spain, out of 5000 jobs listed on
Monster.com for Europe.

This site just has general information, but it might be of some use
http://www.expatexchange.com/dev/networks.cfm?networkID=101

EU nationals can freely look for work in Spain.  Other nationalities
might find it more difficult  "It is difficult for a non-E.U. Person
to Obtain a permit to work. This can only be applied for with a
contract of employment and proof that the job has been published in
the Spanish Employment Department. A visa is required; this must be
applied for on the basis of the job offer to the Spanish Consulate in
the last legal place of residence."
http://www.euroestates.net/working-in-spain.htm

However, the information at
http://overseasdigest.com/country/Spain.htm implies that there is a
great shortage of IT professionals.

Speaking as a Technical Recruiter and multi-country expat, here are
some suggestions for you:

1.  Contact the US Chamber of Commerce in Spain.  You can probably
find contact information via the US Embassy there.  This is a great
way to network with US companies that will value your English skills
and knowledge of US corporate culture.

2.  Likewise, contact the International Chambers of Commerce in Spain
of any other English-speaking countries:  UK, Canada, Australia, NZ,
etc., who may place a higher premium on your strong English skills.

It is difficult--but not impossible!--to relocate internationally in a
depressed market.  Your odds will be significantly improved if you
invest in learning Spanish, and also if you are able to go there and
make yourself available for in-person, on-site interviews.

I can not comment on what Spaniards look for when hiring Americans,
but in general, international companies considering the hire of
foreign staff place a high premium on cultural sensitivity and
flexibility, cross-cultural communication skills, psychological
stability (living and working in another culture is stressful), and a
sense of humour!

Best wishes on your job search.