Spanish Job Search

 

Be aware of the regional differences in both cultural manners and language, because, if you want to apply successfully for a job, you better realize that an application in the Spanish might not even be read in Barcelona where people speak Catalan! The Castilian Spanish is used for business in most of Spain and the second most commonly spoken language in the country is French.

Spain Basic Data

Background: Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II, but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). In the second half of the 20th century, Spain has played a catch-up role in the western international community; it joined the EU in 1986. Continuing concerns are Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and further reductions in unemployment.

Capital: Madrid

Climate: temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast

Ethnic groups: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Languages: Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%
note: Castilian is the official language nationwide; the other languages are official regionally

Economy - overview: Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is 80% that of the four leading West European economies. Its center-right government successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency (the euro) on 1 January 1999. The AZNAR administration has continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and has introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment has been steadily falling under the AZNAR administration but remains high at 11.7%. The government intends to make further progress in changing labor laws and reforming pension schemes, which are key to the sustainability of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness in a single currency area. A general strike in mid-2002 reduced cooperation between labor and government. Growth of 2.4% in 2003 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European economy. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and reducing unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years.

Labor force - by occupation: services 64%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 29%, agriculture 7% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate: 11.3% (2002 est.)

Natural resources: coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land

Industries: textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism

Currency: euro (EUR)

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999)

Internet country code: .es

Spanish Job Search Info

Now to finalize your job search, if your cover letter and CV are ready, you may email them through our international job search engine to recruiters and executive headhunters.

In addition, on spanish cover letter, spanish CV and spanish job interview pages, you will find useful tips.

Good luck with your spanish job search!