Finding a European IT job

February 4, 2005 12:59 AM

How can I find an IT job in Europe? I have dual-citizenship, one for the US and another for Greece, but I've only been to the motherland a handful of times. What are some first steps just to get job listings? Does the fact that Greece is an EU member state give me advantages in applying for jobs in other EU member states? Should I expect a hard time because I'm also a US citizen?
posted by skallas to work & money (12 comments total)

The answer to how to find an IT job will depend a lot on which country you are looking to work in. Because of the language, I suspect that the UK and Ireland will be the easiest places for you to work in. There are _a lot_ of websites (start with monster.co.uk or reed.co.uk for example) and of course local papers etc. when you arrive.

Since you are a Greek citizen, you are able to look for work in any EU member state and employers must treat you equally with local candidates (although, of course, things like languages can pose a problem).

I can't see why being also a US citizen would be a problem - even if for some strange reason it could be you wouldn't usually need tell anybody that you also hold a passport other than Greek. Feel free to email if you need more specific help.
posted by keijo at 1:15 AM on February 4, 2005

Being an EU passport holder is a huge advantage (no visas when you arrive in another EU country etc.) - you'll be, theoretically at least, treated like a local at the airport.

Employment also, you won't need work permits etc. to work in another EU country.

Don't know about job listings, certainly not in Greece anyway. For London I'd suggest the Evening Standard as a starting place.

Personally I don't think individual Americans are unpopular here (UK). No matter what people think about the US Govt policies.

On preview keijo wrote it better.
posted by selton at 1:20 AM on February 4, 2005

What was said above. Perhaps the greatest benefit of the EU, for individual citizens of EU countries, is the freedom to live and work any where within the EU, pretty much beaurocracy-free. Any problems you may encounter, depending on where you intend to live and work, will only be lingustic and cultural. As for job listings, especially in IT, I'm too long out of the euro-loop, but it's not really any different to the US, in terms of process. Get thee to Google, for starters. The Guardian had good UK IT job listings online at one time, probably still do.
posted by normy at 1:35 AM on February 4, 2005

What the others said.

Also, I found my last job via Jobserve. It has a lot of jobs in England as well as some in other European countries for English speakers.
posted by sebas at 1:46 AM on February 4, 2005

I'm in a similar position and yes, you can live and work freely in any EU country. The only consideration is that if you only speak English then you're unlikely to find anything outside of the UK.

If that's an option for you, there are a few quirks of the UK employment market that you should know about. Reply here and I'll put some details up.
posted by quiet at 1:47 AM on February 4, 2005

You should bear in mind that if you do find a job, although your EU citizenship allows you to work in any EU Member State most will still require to register your residency if you are there for any extended period. You should check how this applies on a country-by-country basis. This does not imply any problem with your citizenship, it's just a legal requirement.
Can I also suggest that you check out national tax rates properly when considering what jobs pay. Some European countries hit high rates very quickly, Denmark for example, gets to 59% income tax (IIRC) quite rapidly, though of course you have to take into account what you will be getting back in terms of health system, social benefits, etc. Note that you will have had to work for a legally specified minimum period before you are entitled to unemployment benefit in most places.
posted by biffa at 2:41 AM on February 4, 2005

Do you want to work for a US company with an office in Greece or a Greek company?

Also, where do you want to sign the employment papers, US or Greece?
posted by Dagobert at 3:13 AM on February 4, 2005

If you only speak English, then you don't have to limit yourself to the UK - the Netherlands and the Scandinavian/Nordic countries would be perfectly possible as well as there are so many very good English speakers and English-speaking offices there (possibly not (yet) in Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia, but you never know). France and Germany, less so - don't know about others.
posted by altolinguistic at 5:25 AM on February 4, 2005

What biffa said -- I've known Americans who've had to give up European jobs because they were quoted a gross salary which seemed fine, but they couldn't live on the net.

However, it's not at all uncommon for Benelux and Scandanavian employers to quote salaries as net take home. Be sure to ask!

You'll also need carefully to enquire about healthcare. Although I don't understand the system at all, I know that there are some very complicated rules about intra-European coverage of workers abroad. There may be coverages which a Greek domiciliary working in Germany would have for which you, as a non-Greek domiciliary who holds a Greek passport, would not be eligible. (And, of course, your employer would not have made the arrangements for health coverage which they make when jumping through the hoops necessary to employ a holder of a non-EU passport.)
posted by MattD at 7:00 AM on February 4, 2005

altolinguistic: It's certainly the case that the Dutch and the Nordic people speak good English, but you will still face a ceiling in your career unless you speak the local language or have a special skill that justifies your foreign status. You may get a job, but in many of these places you have no hope of getting promoted unless you can converse in the local language.

MattD: The rules for intra-European health care are complex and different with each country - and we don't know where skallas is planning to relocate. If you are registered with one of the public health services in one EU country, you are entitled to _emergency_ health care in another EU country by producing the E111 form. The procedure for obtaining the form depends on each country as well, but the main point is that you will need to have been ordinarily resident in a member state for up to six months in order to have access to these benefits. Citizenship doesn't always matter, although certainly some European hospitals/surgeries/pharmacies are not as tight about it as the American ones would be.

My advice would be to obtain comprehensive travellers' insurance from the U.S. and, whilst in the European country of choice, explore the possibilities of joining the public health care system. And perhaps (especially in the UK) if you get employed by a big firm, they will provide you with private health care.
posted by keijo at 8:55 AM on February 4, 2005

I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but my question is almost the same as the original, only it's for people without dual citizenship. Anyone have any experience finding IT jobs in Europe (again, english speaking countries preferred) without the requisite citizenship?

I want out of my job. I'm hoping that if an opportunity becomes available in Europe (I've wanted to move there for some time now), then I'll be more inclined to ditch this employ.

If it's far too off-topic for the thread, I apologize to the original poster. I was just curious.
posted by purephase at 12:16 PM on February 4, 2005

purephase: It will be difficult. Just like it would be for me to work in the U.S. Basically, the employer will have to show that there is nobody within the EU that can do the same job so they have to hire you. Most Americans in the UK/Eire are employed by an American employer that's sent them abroad.
posted by keijo at 2:02 AM on February 5, 2005