Networking at Leka Leka

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a networking event hosted by a group of internationals here in Madrid. It was at a very cute bar near my place and I roped in a friend to join me too, in short, a great Thursday after-work plan. My American friends and I often remark about how wonderful it is that in Spain that midweek get togethers are so common. So we celebrated juernes (thirsty thursday) and heard stories from some expats here about how they broke into the spanish job market.

I’ve been to a few “How to Make it in Spain” chats and they tend to veer towards similiar ends. Some folks went to graduate school here in Spain, giving them the insta-network you need to branch out, other folks were helped by their Spanish partners to make connections and others shared refreshingly independent paths to landing new jobs here. I was glad that I went and felt inspired to publish my own basic guide to breaking into the job market here!

Step 1: Humble yourself. Spain is a country with incredibly high unemployment rates and landing entry-level or junior positions is extremely hard, not impossible just hard. You will not make as much money at a desk job here as you could Stateside or even teaching English when starting out.

Step 2: Learn Spanish. Really.

Step 3: Polish your resume, look for a few great jobs you want and write cover letters for each one.

Step 4: If you get the interview, be prepared to conduct your interview in Spanish and answer personal questions. What are your long term plans here in Spain? Why did you study “insert your major here” and now you want to work in “job title that doesnt sound like your major”? Are you married? How old are you? Where do you live? You won’t discuss salary until you are signing paperwork, or unless your interviewer brings it up first, in which case they will usually ask you how much you’re looking to make.

Step 5: Never give up and stay connected to people in the sectors you want to be in. That’s easier said than done but nobody got a new job by waiting quietly in their current one. Be persistent and get out there!

 

Hope those are helpful tips. I casually omitted anything about making yourself legally hirable because everyone’s situation is different and that’s another topic all together! There are some great Spain bloggers out there who cover those topics like Young Adventures and Como .

 

Leka Leka is a cute-ass bar in Latina on a quiet little street. They have cold vermuth on tap and delicious little hamburger sliders. The menu del día is reasonably priced and very good; best of all they have a great indie rock playlist more often than not. Check it out and lemme know what you think!

july photos

biscuits, pulled pork and coleslaw

**Some snapshots from my 4th of July weekend in Virginia with my sister Becca. Barbecue (the kind you really cant get anywhere but there) and blackberry picking!

Philadelphia!

I’m here in Philly visiting cousins and I have to admit I’m in love. Again. Those same cousins got married just a few years back when I had my first adventures through the City of Brotherly Love. Maybe I’m just homesick or maybe it’s really one of the most beautiful cities east of the Mississippi but Philadelphia is truly a brick-and-mortar darling. In downtown it’s impossible to miss the history and if you do its ideally because you are shoving a salty, doughy, soft pretzel in your face. First stop with Kristen (said cousin, who now has two amazingly behaved kids) was the Liberty Bell and the Constitution Center, where there were way too many other people and it was starting to get hot. I had forgotten how humid the Easy Coast gets, so did my hair. Next stop Benjamin Franklin’s grave and the Quaker Free House – for those of you that don’t know, Philadelphia was the U.S. Capital for a hot second and was, more importantly, a major strategic point during and after the War of Independence. It was hard for me not to feel just a little bit patriotic.

For lunch we went down to Harbor Park, an ultra cool urban waterfront compete with food trucks, hammocks and giant Legos. Dawson had a blast looking at the ships between bites of chicken and I watched in compete awe as my 6month old cousin learned to hold her own bottle up. I have, officially been in the land of over-babied babies for too long (that’s Spain btw). We scooted home for nap time and Kristen introduced me to new American trashy tv: Alaskan Bush People and Million Dollar Listing. Can’t. Stop. Watching. I meandered down the street to a coffee shop to get my fix of espresso, reminded that coffee shops in the states are now “stumptown cool” and everyone is plugged in at a table. My macchiato set me back $3.50, ouch. On a side note I am having a hard time not spending way too much money here, I am fortunate to make over 1k a month in Spain while my friends/cousins are raking in triple here for similar stuff. Miguel comes to visit in a few weeks (weeehooo!) and my mom has graciously offered house painting work so we can pay for Disneyland tickets. Thank you mom, I will accept your offer.

I’m on my way south to Virginia to celebrate 4th of July with my sister in barbecue territory and then fly west to home sweet home. I can’t wait. I’m so excited. Miguel was asking me yesterday if he would have any need for a button down shirt or tie…let me remind you, dear readers, that I am from the city of roses, the place where young people go to retire, socks and sandals casual, grungy, legal weed, the land of unicycles and brunch obsession. If you look like you’re ready to climb a mountain then you look like a Portlander. If Miguel can do that in a shirt and tie then more power to him but something tells me he has NO idea what he’s in for! Nirvana, that’s what.

Will post barbecue pictures, check back soon. If you can’t wait for more follow me on Instagram @eli_saurusRex 🇪🇸😍🇺🇸