Moving to La Linea to find work in Gibraltar

Hi Maria
First I recommend you come over for a short holiday and take a look around.

Unfortunately your basic asset is being bilingual Spanish-English which is an asset most Gibraltarians also possess and to be honest most office jobs go to Gibraltarians.
However you must emphasise your PA skills and experience which should give you a slight margin.

Regards

Grumpy

Sorry I can't offer specific advice, other to assure you that you do, in fact, possess skills by virtue of your PA and marketing background in those two industries.

They may be more general skills rather than 'special' in your opinion, and it seems it's really competitive to get a job in Gib but don't put yourself down.

Do you have savings that can sustain you for a period of time in La Linea or a deadline in mind where you think 'If I don't get a job in x period, I'll go back to London?'.

To GrumpyOldBloke - do the local born get the office jobs through bias/nepotism which means that newcomers, who may be better qualified and experienced will lose out through prejudice so are automatically sifted out when they apply or is it more innocent than that? For instance, that jobs tend to go through word of mouth and newcomers just lack that kind of network?

-Jowo- wrote:

do the local born get the office jobs through bias/nepotism which means that newcomers, who may be better qualified and experienced will lose out through prejudice so are automatically sifted out when they apply or is it more innocent than that? For instance, that jobs tend to go through word of mouth and newcomers just lack that kind of network?

I would say a combination of the above, however one way of excluding "outsiders" is to advertise that the applicants must be fluent in both English and Spanish but fluent is a very flexible situation.

From Maria's post I assume she is fluent in both.

Grumpy

Hi both and thank you so much for your reply

My plan would be to stay with friends in Estepona and look for a room in La Linea. I have enough savings to keep me going for a while.

I know I would have to build a social network in order to succeed, I am a friendly person and hopefully that would not be too difficult.

I could also try to register for a summer course as soon as I arrive so that I am doing something productive in the meantime. My idea is to start a new life; I do not wish to look back but at least I have London as a plan b.

I would be willing to start from the basics in a new type of role. I have additional experience working in hospitality as a waitress, bar person, reservations desk and as a head receptionist in a corporate hotel. I also worked in Greece in a karaoke place and in a nightclub for the summer.

I guess my biggest fear is to be rejected. The feeling is similar to the one I had when I booked a one way ticket to Greece and I managed to make it at the end.

I am indeed fluent in both English & Spanish.