Recent economic ascent in Poland has caused an increase in need for additional workers, including those from other countries. Medicine, IT, teaching, agriculture, logistics, construction, tourism are the main fields where the need for specialists is particularly high.
You are planning to move to Poland in order to work there? Or you already live here and want to find your dream job? Finding a job in Poland can be a challenge, especially for a foreigner. Not only the Polish language hinders those in search for a suitable job. Difficulties may occur just because you don’t know how to approach this issue and where to look for jobs that are foreigners-friendly. In our article we gathered 6 most helpful tips that may ease and speed up a job search process for you!
#1 There is a huge amount of websites that list the vacancies which are posted by the employers. Everybody knows about Praca.pl, Pracuj.pl, Olx.pl or Gumtree pages, where you just type a job position you are looking for, add localization and other details – and voila! The service shows you all the vacancies suitable for you. In fact, there are hundreds of such websites and most of them are free for those in search for a job, because it’s an employer who pays for posting an advertisement. Some of them are dedicated to a specific field, others are mostly for office work or vice versa, for those who are looking for a physical labour with a poor knowledge of Polish. Other most popular job search engines where you can find job offers and further information are:
- GoWork.pl
- Gazeta Praca
- Adecco
- Randstad
- Careers in Poland
- Career Jet
- Jooble
- Jobs.pl
- Gratka
- Infopraca.pl
You can also give a try to psz.praca.gov.pl, which is a job search site run by the government.
Most of this websites are available only in Polish, but several of them has an option to switch a language to English as well. Do not really expect a 100% response rate from the employers using those services, but it’s still worth trying them because you never know what connections you can make from a simple e-mail or application.
#2 Don’t neglect social media! Hundreds of vacancies are being advertised on Facebook in the groups dedicated to foreigners or people with the knowledge of foreign languages. You can try to search for a job on Language job, praca z językami obcymi (polska) / foreign language jobs (poland), Language jobs Poland, Language jobs in Kraków, Language jobs in Wrocław or even local groups for expatriates such as Krakow expats or Expats in Warsaw. Last but not least, try to use LinkedIn to find your potential employer. This huge professional social network is a resource for building contacts in the field and location of your interest. Employers are often using internet searches to vet potential employees. Spend some time making sure your profile is complete, and accurately showcases your skills and experience. Ask your connections to endorse you and to give you personal and professional recommendations.
#3 If you don’t want to spend your time on the Internet desperately looking for a job, you can try to use services of the recruitment agencies. They cooperate with different companies which are looking for workers and will provide you with a list of jobs currently available and, who knows, maybe one of them will meet all your requirements. Agency services sometimes are free for candidates, but some may charge a fee. You normally have to fill in a form (in many cases you can now do this online) or send in your CV with an up-to-date picture. The most popular agencies in Poland are:
- Randstad
- Flagma
- OTTOworkforce
- Ewl.com.pl
- Interkadra.pl
- POLAND WORKFORCE
- Work Service
Official agencies are registered in the State Register and should not charge for services. Using their help can definitely save you a great deal of time!
#4 You can also make use of the Polish national employment service (Urząd Pracy). You can find it online at www.praca.gov.pl. Unfortunately, the information on their website is not available in other languages than Polish. Also, you should bear in mind that the national employment service only has limited job offers, so you might find it difficult to find information about vacancies suitable for you there.
#5 Just pay a visit or call specific companies you want to work at. If searching online does not bring any results, then try to contact the company that suits your profile directly. This can be done by phone or in person visiting the employer. Even if at that time they would not be looking for a worker, they still may take a CV from you and turn back to it when needed. The employer will give greater preference to such an initiative employee.
#6 There are often job fairs organised in big cities at which companies present themselves and look for worthy candidates. It makes sense to attend such an event in order to get a better idea of the employer, find a high-paid job, and understand the current state of the labour market.
IF YOU ARE STILL IN THE COUNTRY OF YOUR ORIGIN
Looking for a job in Poland being on the territory of your country is also possible, though quite more complicated. It is necessary to prepare the ground for the future relocation to Poland even at home. There are job search engines in Poland for foreigners, where you can register, make calls or sign up for a Skype interview. Select several suitable employer options at once to increase your chances of getting a job upon arrival in Poland for an interview. You can also find work on the local websites, some of them have an option to add jobs abroad.
There are pros and cons of finding a job with the help of agencies if you have not arrived to Poland yet. On the one hand, they act faster, know the laws and regulations and don’t have any problems with the Polish language. It is also possible to entrust such agency to make a CV for you. On the other hand, however, you have to prepare quite a tidy sum for their services.
One thing is sure – try to learn Polish as well as possible before coming to Poland as it may greatly facilitate you the process of adaptation in a new country and, respectively, help you find a suitable job more quickly. Of course, if you are applying for a low-skilled work, where communication with local residents is limited to the basic everyday life level, you can start to look for a job even without the knowledge of Polish and English. For doctors, teachers, layers and other professionals, this is not an option as at least these two languages are required by most of the employers.
The most important tip to remember while looking for a job – just do not give up. Try to more investigation, enhance your CV, send it to different companies, don’t afraid to be active and communicative. It’s okay to take a break, but don’t quit. And when you’re ready to keep trying, make big changes and use the tips above to get better results from your job applications and interviews. We hope that our article was useful for you and don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected] in case you have any further questions, we’d be happy to answer all of them.