Home > International Jobs in Barcelona and Madrid

Nothing encompasses the best parts of Europe and the Mediterranean than Spain. The food, the music, the people and the sunshine – not to mention the culture, make Spain and its inhabitant’s one of the best loved countries in the world, certainly in Europe.

Living in Spain encompasses two very different options. Coastal living would mean earning a living usually via the tourism and hospitality industries, however inland, in the large cities of Madrid & Barcelona, we witness a more corporate, urban lifestyle. Madrid & Barcelona are far from ‘corporately dull’ though. Barcelona in particular is renowned for the unique Gothic architecture and the city by the sea benefits that it affords, historically also having inspired Ernest Hemingway and Picasso

Fluency in Spanish would be a major help in your job search. It isn’t essential as many large international corporations comprise of a multitude of nationalities, many of whom would use English as a common ground.

Geography
Madrid; The capital and largest city in Spain. Madrid is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London. The city is located on the river Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid (which comprises the city of Madrid, its conurbation and extended suburbs and villages); this community is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political centre of Spain. Despite the population of 5 million people, the community of Madrid still retains some remarkably unspoilt and diverse habitats and landscapes. Madrid is home to mountain peaks rising above 2,000m, holm oak dehesas and low lying plains. The slopes of Guadarrama are cloaked in dense forests of Scot`s pine and Pyrenean oak. Much of this is currently under threat as the Spanish capital continues to sprawl every outwards and upwards into the Sierra, fuelled by speculation.

Barcelona; The second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 counted in 2008. It is the 11th most populous municipality in the European Union and sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, Rhine-Ruhr Area, Madrid and Milan with the population 4,185,000. 4.9 million people live in Barcelona metropolitan area. It is located on the Mediterranean coast (between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs and is bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola ridge (512 m/1,680 ft). Collserola, part of the coastal mountain range, shelters the city to the north-west. Barcelona is peppered with small hills, most of them urbanized and that gave their name to the neighbourhoods built upon them, such as Carmel, Putxet and Rovira (261 m). The escarpment of Montjuïc situated to the southeast, overlooks the harbour and is topped by Montjuïc castle, a fortress built in the 17–18th centuries to control the city as a replacement for the Ciutadella. Today, the fortress is a museum and Montjuïc is home to several sporting and cultural venues, as well as Barcelona's biggest park and gardens.

Climate
Madrid; The region of Madrid has a Continental Mediterranean climate (Köppen Dsa) with cooler winters, due to altitude, including sporadic snowfalls and minimum temperatures usually below 0 °C (32 °F). Summer tends to be hot with temperatures that consistently surpass 30 °C (86 °F) in July and that can rarely reach 40 °C (104 °F). Due to Madrid's altitude and dry climate, nightly temperatures tend to be cooler, leading to a lower average in the summer months. Precipitation levels are low, but precipitation can be observed throughout the year. Summer and winter are the driest seasons, with most rainfall occurring in the autumn and spring.

Barcelona; Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers. Atlantic west winds often arrive in Barcelona with low humidity, producing no rain. Lows can easily affect the area of Barcelona (and Catalonia), causing storms, particularly in August. Some years, the beginning of June is still cool and rainy, like April and May. Together with August, September, October and November these months are the wettest of the year. The driest are February, March, June and July. As in many parts of Catalonia, the annual weather pattern varies greatly from year to year.

The Western Mediterranean Climate is one of the most irregular climates in the world. Barcelona and London have the same annual rainfall, but London's climate is not as irregular and torrential as Barcelona's.

Living in Barcelona & Madrid
If you come from an EU country, living and working in Spain will not prove to be much of a hassle. If you are from any other country, please contact the relevant government entities for current Visa information for living and working in the EU. In Barcelona it is very easy to get by without Spanish fluency, as mentioned, due to the multi cultural nature of the demographic. There are lots of excellent language schools throughout Spain.

Barcelona is an expensive city compared to the rest of Spain. Its reputation as the New York of Europe means a constant influx of tourists and therefore tourist prices are the norm. In general, the cost of living in Spain is acceptable and there is universal, free access to essential social services such as health and education. In recent years, the cost of housing has increased significantly, which has meant that housing costs are the most significant household expenditure, amounting to figures in excess of 30%of the total household budget. Public transport costs are reasonable fro 1 EUR for a one way bus or metro ticket rising to 40 EUR for a monthly pass. Unleaded petrol costs 1.2 EUR per litre.

Accommodation
If you intend to rent a flat during your stay in Spain, you should look in the classified adverts for accommodation found in all newspapers. You can also use estate agents, which charge an extra month's payment in advance and a commission for the agency itself, which will normally be the equivalent of one month's rent. Estate agents can be found in the yellow pages.

A lease must be drawn up with the owner. Any form of lease, including an oral one, is valid, legal and lawful, though the written form is recommended. An impreso de contrato oficial (standard form) on stamped paper can be bought from State tobacconists' for this purpose.
The tenant must provide a sum equivalent to one month's rent as a cash deposit. In almost all apartment blocks the communal costs and services are shared (caretaker, cleaning, gardening, swimming pool, etc.); you should check whether these costs are included in your lease. Tourist Offices may be able to help while you are seeking accommodation by providing a list of temporary accommodation.

Some Autonomous Communities, in conjunction with the Instituto de la Juventud (Youth Institute), have a Bolsa de Vivienda Joven en Alquiler (Young People’s Rental Accommodation Exchange) at lower than market prices for young people aged 18 to 35.

This accommodation may be newly-built or renovated accommodation located in the old part of cities.

Transport
All population centres in Spain can be reached by the state road network, however tiny the village or difficult the route. The road network is organised in a very hierarchical way. The fastest roads are the highways and motorways, which allow the highest speeds (maximum 120 km/h) and link the main Spanish cities. Motorways impose tolls and the highways that do not impose tolls are known as autovías in Spain.

Barcelona and Madrid have very efficient underground transport networks (metros) that normally operate from 06:00 to 01:30 the next morning. The price of a single ticket is more or less €1 and it is better value to buy one of the multi-trip special offers available. For example, a 10 trip combined Metro-bus ticket costs around €6. Any town or city of a certain size also offers a good city bus service. The taxi service is the most comfortable means of transport, but also the most costly. Apart from inter-urban buses, another means of transport widely used in Spain is the train, which offers various services and covers the entire country. In addition to the local commuter train network, regional trains offer a great variety of destinations and there is also a high speed line (AVE)

Working in Madrid & Barcelona
To obtain a professional or technical position, you may have to show accreditations, qualifications or other certificates attesting to your skills. This can be complicated, because not all documents, diplomas or citations, even from other parts of the EU, will be recognised. Also, you may need official stamps or sign-off by a notary public to make your documents legal internationally. 

Salaries in Barcelona and Madrid are notoriously lower than other EU countries, despite their major hub status. The draw for expatriates is usually the work life balance and general ‘quality of life’ which is high. Working hours do tend to go beyond 17.00, but usually simply to accommodate the traditional 2 hour lunch break!

There is a demand for English teachers from pre-school to university level. The jobs are advertised in the Spanish newspapers and you can also place online job wanted advertisements. A TEFL qualification is an advantage but not always required.

If you plan on working in Madrid or Barcelona as an Au pair, you can enrol at one of the language schools to learn Spanish. Many of these schools will also be able to guide you to available jobs. Most of the au pair jobs are in Madrid. A student visa is required, together with proof of your enrolment at a school and an offer of employment.

The fields of construction, public works and general business and consultancy are particularly buoyant. There’s a continuing need for people with technical qualifications too, such as architects and engineers, and business admin and management experience. 

Finding work in Barcelona and Madrid can be frustrating. Language barriers, mis matched qualifications and more can lead to bureaucracy getting in the way of your career plans.

Throughout Barcelona and Madrid there are job opportunities available in the insurance, tourism, teaching, media and technology industries. The fields of construction, public works and general business and consultancy are particularly buoyant. There’s a continuing need for people with technical qualifications too, such as architects and engineers, and business admin and management experience. 

You can, of course, apply speculatively to any firms and organisations or you can apply for vacancies published in the general or specialised Spanish press - a good way of discovering which industries and firms are hiring people. However, alongside the temporary employment agencies, recruitment centres and vocational guidance centres, there are also the employment services: these are specialist intermediaries that can help you in your search for work.

EU and EEA citizens are exempt from requirements concerning visas, passports and medical checks when entering another EU Member State. An identity card allows the holder to enter freely and to move around for three months, which is useful if you find temporary work or are seeking employment. EU and EEA citizens do not need a work permit. They may exercise the occupational activity of their choice. However, as soon as they have found work and no later than three months after arriving, they must apply for a "residence permit for a national of an EU Member State". It is valid for five years and automatically renewable. 

Economic activity in Madrid has experienced relentless growth over recent years but, in line with forecasts and as is indeed happening with all other developed economies worldwide, it has now begun to shrink in the wake of the international economic crisis, largely led by the financial sector, but also due to the recession of the property sector.
The economy is characterised by its strong emphasis on services, particularly those geared towards companies, transport and communication services, property services and financial services. Tourism, which requires contributions from all the productive branches of the economy, also plays an important role in the city's economy.

The city is also a key player in the fields of innovation and technology. It is in fact Spain's heaviest investor in research and development, and exceeds both the national and European averages in terms of percentage invested of total GDP. It also plays home to a number of leading public and private universities and institutes, including prominent technology and research centres.

Barcelona has long been recognised as an industrial city par excellence. Endless fields of manufacturing and service were established in the city during the past centuries. Today the factories have moved to the periphery, allowing the old industrial areas to gradually be converted into new residential areas and services. The most representative sectors of the economy in Barcelona are the textile, chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive, electronics and printing services.

The port of Barcelona has become, in recent years, one of the major ports of the Mediterranean in freight tonnage and number of containers. It is also the first port for the Mediterranean cruise ships that stop at the city. The airport, which in 2006 had a turnover of 30 million passengers, is the 2nd highest trafficked of Spanish airports.

The city is also now linked to Madrid by a high-speed railway line. The high speed line will be extended to the French border, where it will continue to connect with the current French high-speed network, which will also establish a rapid rail link between Barcelona and Paris.

The growth of Barcelona and the other large Spanish cities has been marked in the past 30 years by transfers of capital to finance the rest of the Spanish provinces. This transfer process has allowed some development of the poorest areas; however, it has also permitted some public services to deteriorate as the financial transfer system is not always governed by clear and measurable benchmarks.

Companies such as Braun, Phillips and Samsung have major operations in the area.
Foreign investment and other company locations keep Barcelona an industrial capital for Spain generating 25% of Spain’s exports.

In recent years, thanks mainly to the dynamism of the service sector, tourism and construction, the region of Barcelona has climbed to nearly 100% employment and resurged in the manufacturing sector due to strong immigration from Latin America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Barcelona’s economy in 2006 grew by 3.5%, the highest percentage of the last five years, according to the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce.

Healthcare
The Spanish health-care system is very good. Most hospitals are modern and well-equipped and the doctors and paediatricians are excellent. There are a few differences in policy between the British and Spanish health systems, but overall they are very similar. The biggest difference is the level of nursing care available in Spain. While Spanish nurses are well-trained and efficient, they simply do not perform many of the duties carried out by British nurses, and many tasks (particularly personal care and feeding) are carried out by the patient's family instead. All hospitals allow one companion to be with the patient 24 hours a day. Visiting times vary for other visitors.

If you are planning to live in Spain then do remember that many medical staff do not speak English, even in resort areas. In some tourist towns a voluntary translation service is available for doctor's appointments, but that will not be available at all times. It is a good idea to find out whether or not such a service exists in your local medical centre when you first arrive in Spain, and if so, at what times it operates.

Entertainment
Social life in Spain is very important. Family and friends are vitally important to most Spaniards. Spaniards normally act and speak in an informal and spontaneous manner during social interactions and physical contact is frequent with greeting, kisses and embraces that may take those who are visiting Spain for the first time by surprise. Similarly, the Spanish habit of interrupting one another is not considered bad manners in Spain, but part of spontaneous communication.

The normal time for lunch is 13:30 to 15:30 and the normal time for dinner is 21:00 to 23:00, quite a lot later than is normal in the rest of Europe. It is common to go out to dinner with friends, especially at weekends.

Spanish nightlife is legendary and one of Spain’s greatest attractions. Bars and nightclubs stay open throughout the night. The hospitality sector is one of the most vibrant sectors of the Spanish economy. Although great changes have taken place in recent years, the family is still at the heart of personal relations and is very important. Maintaining ties of friendship is also very important. There is a great variety of popular festivals, some of international renown, which are normally related to religious traditions. Shopping is another very popular activity. The shop opening hours are usually from 10:00 in the morning to 20:00 in the evening. The opening hours are usually longer in shopping centres.