A Story about Getting a Job in Barcelona

One day there was this happy, liberal Dutch girl that had just moved to Barcelona. She was full of ideals about how great it would be getting a job in Barcelona. After a lot of nerve-wracking interviews in the Spanish language with recruitment companies and some directly with multinational companies, one of them finally offered her a job. They told her that she had just the work experience they were looking for and the fact that her Spanish wasn’t 100% fluent yet, wouldn’t be a problem. They knew that the Dutch were language miracle-workers and that she would be fluent in no time. She could start in a week’s time.

And there she was, all dressed up for her first day of work. She presented herself at 8:45 AM, though they had told her that she would start at 9 AM but she didn’t want to be late. The receptionist told her to wait a moment in the waiting room, since her boss wasn’t there yet, it was early. At 9:15h, her  boss entered the building. He gave her a hand, welcomed her to the office and showed her a table.  He told her that they still had to order a computer for her, but that that wouldn’t take long. In the meantime, she could get to know her colleagues. Eagerly she stretched out her hand to every one she was introduced to, to be surprised by a hug and a kiss on both cheeks. This was confusing; the boss gave her a hand but the co-workers kissed her, and not three times as she was used in the Netherlands, but only twice.

At 12 o’clock she started to get really hungry, but lunch time was at 2 PM; she would have to get used to that. At two she took her lunch box with some sandwiches out of her bag and headed to the cafeteria. Many employees left to go back home for lunch, but those who stayed had complete, warm, three-course meals with them. She felt a little silly with her sandwiches and her jug of milk. After 30 minutes she went back to work, but to her surprise, most of the others didn’t come back until 4pm. She asked them what they had done all that time and if they didn’t prefer to continue working. They had eaten three warm plates, with a good glass of wine, and had taken a nap afterward to digest. Hardly anybody works during those hours, as they felt it was better to relax and come back good as new for the second part of the day.

For her, the second part was almost over, her office hours in the contract where between 9-14h and between 15-18h. Just before six o’clock her boss walked in with a big smile on his face. “How was your first day? I just received your computer, it will be installed by the IT guys within half an hour. She waited patiently for he computer to come an be installed, though it was long after office hours. To her surprise, she saw that everybody kept on working. She asked a colleague why they hadn’t gone home yet and they answered that they couldn’t go home until their boss left. And besides that, they had still a lot of work to do.

When she was about to leave, her boss came up to her and asked her if she could please come in a skirt or a dress the next day, because working  in a sales job, she should be as attractive as possible to convince her clients to buy from her. She couldn’t believe her ears: was he really saying this? That is sexism, something absolutely prohibited in her country of origin. When her boss left, her colleague told her that in Spain, the boss is the boss and he can oblige you to wear a skirt if he wants to. If you don’t like it, you can leave.

 The weeks after getting a job in Barcelona she got the hang of it. Coming in at nine, a warm lunch around two, a stroll til almost four and working till seven or eight o’clock. She wore skirts and high heels and was really good at bringing in new clients. Sometimes she was still confused because some clients received her shaking a hand and others giving her two kissed, but she started to see it coming and adjusted when necessary.

Working as an expat in Barcelona can be a little different from what you’re used to in your home country, but if you’re flexible, it doesn’t have to be that much of a change. Working part-time is something very unusual in Spain and it normally only occurs in low-level positions (meaning that combining motherhood with a good job can be difficult). Furthermore, you will sometimes have to work with demanding bosses who expect you to do what they say. If you can’t, like this Dutch girl, you’re quickly out on the street and you should start a business of your own...which is exactly what I did!

Not all Spanish work environments are the same. Some are traditional and strict; others are flexible and progressive. My first experience with the work culture in Spain wasn’t the best, but that’s not to say that great jobs in Spain aren’t out there. Find what works for you, be prepared for anything, and enjoy the ride!