English speaking jobs.

If you look around, there's a few jobs where you can get away with only having English language.

What you've got to understand is English isn't one of the national languages for Belgium.

Most job vacancies advertised here tend to be aimed at those who are bilingual or trilingual. (Dutch/French/German)

Yep, there are English speaking jobs out there but you'll be limited in what you can do.
What is your background/experience?
If you have a degree in a certain industry it'll help but without experience you'll be looking at bar work and trying to learn at least Dutch or French (possibly both if living in Brussels) then changing to a different career to suit your skills.

balesy1974 wrote:

If you look around, there's a few jobs where you can get away with only having English language.

What you've got to understand is English isn't one of the national languages for Belgium.

Most job vacancies advertised here tend to be aimed at those who are bilingual or trilingual. (Dutch/French/German)

Yup, I know I definitely have to work at learning the languages, was just hoping I might find something to do while I brush up my french.

Jemmy12 wrote:

Yep, there are English speaking jobs out there but you'll be limited in what you can do.
What is your background/experience?
If you have a degree in a certain industry it'll help but without experience you'll be looking at bar work and trying to learn at least Dutch or French (possibly both if living in Brussels) then changing to a different career to suit your skills.

Jemmy, I'm trained in the Legal profession, though not European Law, I know if I had to work legal, I'd have to do qualifying exams here first, and that might take years, so I'm not even trying my luck with the legal area for now, some kind of Admin/Secretarial work would do, or just anything which isn't illegal, even stacking shelves:) There's dignity in any labor, right?.

Get down to the 'tempo' agencies and register with all of them.
You might be lucky and find even an entry level position in your field with a multinational. But in any 'professional' job I think having the local language will be important.

Check for call centre jobs, data entry etc.

Best of luck and happy hunting

Send a CV to Stonemanor, you never know, they may need staff.

http://www.stonemanor.uk.com/

Yeah i sent cv off to them however sadly even there site says they speak all 3 lang

Thanks all for all the info. Been useful.

Sorry to dig up this thread and hijack it. But I have a similar issue too.. I am working for an MNC here in Brussels and I would be getting married soon.. My fiancee is practicing Law in Singapore. She graduated from UK university. Obviously she doesn't speak French or Dutch yet. But yeah, we were wondering of what were the chances of her being able to find a job here for a couple of years...

Hello Everyone,

I am new to the forum and the context of this discussion describes also my situation. I currently moved in Brussels searching for jobs/internships mainly in English. I have an academic background in European and International Studies, I also hold a MSc diploma in Public Policy and Human Development with a specialization in Sustainable Development. If anyone is familiar with these topics and has an idea about organizations or consultancies focused on these topics I would highly appreciated it to be informed (I am aware of sites such as eurobrussels.com, jobseuractiv, jobs in Brussels etc). I also have a basic knowledge in French and i am about to start french courses to refresh my language skills so I can have access to French speaking jobs soon.

Everyone knows that the online application process is time-consuming, so in the mean time I would like to find any kind of job such as work in a cafe, bar or sth, but I am open to any sort of suggestions. So, if anyone has anything in mind please let me know.

Thanks a lot and look forward to hearing from you!

Hi everybody
i am living out of Belgium but i have been there 4times before ,now i want to come back and work in there but i have not permit to work.could you pls help me how can find the some employers who invite me to job and try to get permit to work also?
i know only English language.
do you know any site about it?
many thanks in advance

@shahnam- you are off topic. Please start a new thread on the Belgium forum. Thank you.

Hello everyone. 

You can find jobs here if you speak only English but it is a tough market here also.  What I can advise you though is if you see a post for New Europe media agency (newspaper) do not go there and work because they treat their staff very bad and the company is the worst managed company.  It is owned by a Greek and they will not give you a contract as an employee and if that is what you are  seeking, then it is not the place for you.  So, if you see any jobs from them, do not apply.  Trust me.

Apart from that, just keep searching and there are jobs for you, but in this market, you will have to take a hit in your pay if you are not specially qualified. 

Good luck.

Jobs with English (and without French/Flemish) are usually available in international lawyers' offices, European lobby groups, English-speaking countries embassies and English libraries (Waterstones)

Occasionally you'll see jobs where you can get away with just English alone but they are few and far between.

If you want to progress anywhere in Belgium with your career, then you have to learn at least one of the offical languages.

http://www.jobs-brussels.com/

Hello all!


It's a very familiar situation for as too: I will start working as officer for EU in a month and we are currently searching for a job for my boyfriend. He is Structural engineer with 8 years of experience, speaking fluently in English, but he is unfortunately not able communicating in French either Dutch. Do you think it might be possible to find something (I mean a qualified work)? We have already started to send the CV directly to structural companies located in Brussels, we'll see…

Hey all,

My boyfriend and me are in the same situation at the moment.

He is from Denmark and he wants to move to Belgium to come live with me as soon as I have my own place BUT the problem is that he can't contribute financially. Yes he can get unemployment benefits for 3 months (he can bring them from Denmark to Belgium -found that out recently) but after that it's a black hole tbh.  Where can he find work? I don't live in Brussels, I live in Limburg (for those that know where that is) and there aren't many English jobs around here.  Yes there is fruit picking companies that might need people, they hire everyone (foreigners) that they can, but the problem is that it's
1. minimum wage
2. long workingdays and hours
3. hard work
4. you don't get any holidays for it
5. it's only for 65 days

Are there Danes here that have found work in Belgium?

And for other people that moved here; did you learn the Dutch language?

sadly no very little about limburg

Just an update, I've been hunting pretty seriously for 2 months, and I've got 2 interviews with agencies and no jobs.
Ghent is almost non-existent.  Even the agencies won't help you because there's no market for it.  Try the Irish Pubs, or English Focused Stores (which are limited)

Brussels there are CS and call centre jobs for English Speakers, but they're not easy to get....check Monster for postings.

Antwerp, specialty shops with North American/UK focus are your best bet!

I am giving myself 2 more weeks before I leave, and go to the UK, just to build up some money before trying again.  I have an interview today tho with a store, so I'll keep you posted.

MonkeyinEurope wrote:

Just an update, I've been hunting pretty seriously for 2 months, and I've got 2 interviews with agencies and no jobs.
Ghent is almost non-existent.  Even the agencies won't help you because there's no market for it.  Try the Irish Pubs, or English Focused Stores (which are limited)

Brussels there are CS and call centre jobs for English Speakers, but they're not easy to get....check Monster for postings.

Antwerp, specialty shops with North American/UK focus are your best bet!

I am giving myself 2 more weeks before I leave, and go to the UK, just to build up some money before trying again.  I have an interview today tho with a store, so I'll keep you posted.

I really do hope that your jobhunt gives you a better turnout and that the interview today went well. It sure as hell isn't easy finding a job here with only English as your language. My boyfriend knows Danish & English at the moment and I also told him that he really must learn Dutch. Without dutch it's kinda impossible to find a good job here.  As mentioned above, we do have some fruit picking companies here that hire people but the problem there is is that it's seasonlabor and that it's only for 65 days. Oh well. We will have to find a way too...Just not easy when you have nobody to rely on.  Do you have a girlfriend living here Monkey, or did you decide to do it all on your own?

Wish you the best of luck.

Dont bother with gents irish bars the bussiness it bad and they arnt taking anyone and have massive waiting lists of ppl

i heard of a call team that you can work for speaking only English, but I did not take the job because 1 im in Leuven and 2 it was only a temp job. lasts only a few months. Try looking at some of the inter offices. Manpower, Unique, etc

Amanda

I am still looking for something for my boyfriend since his knowledge at the moment is only Danish & English. S*cks because I just heard that he won't be able to bring his financial support with him to Belgium at all. So the problem rises.... He needs to find a job here first, or find work in Denmark again and live there for a few years before we can live together. Kinda s*cks knowing that now   But am still looking at jobsections for him, who knows there might be something out there that he can apply for...

The agencies are good, but they don't specialize in English speakers.  So you're best bet is to contact companies directly.

Pubs are swamped, BUT, the best people always get the jobs, right?  Sometimes, it's about timing, and personality.  Tho I do know most of the Pubs bring their friends from home to work, when they need people.  Knew a girl here this summer like that.

I can proudly say, I managed to get an interview, and I managed to get a day's trial work.  No idea on pay yet, but fill time in a swank store in Antwerp.  I'll keep you posted if I get the role, and tell you the pay and stuff.  No secrets here.

Don't get discouraged, but be realistic...it's not easy.

Hi... My first offering here in Expats though I've been a member for 3 yrs now.

A possible way to work provided there is a dutch/french speaking partner in the team (boyfriend/girlfriend) where the resident one can speak the local languages is to do Mystery Shopping work, it pays reasonably well is self employement status and a lot of the work can be done with little Dutch/French language skills.  The proviso is that the partner can speak either language fluently because at the end of the work day forms must be sent back to the agency detailing the work done and this is often/mostly required in French/Dutch.

Hope this is a help.

Also to be self employed here unless ur making a lot you will be taxed to death I had a friend who had to pay out 800 euros a quarter in tax hopefully she will get this back but it left her with 50euros a month. Hence I have now been advised my small business idea as I would be taxed more than i would make

Belgium is a funny place, they have this internal discrimination about recruiting. I know a friend of mine who is a EU citizen, and been 2 years in Belgium and could not get a job because she does not speak Dutch. I was the same way, the jobs requiring French and English, they still decline for some weird reason even if your CV corresponds with the requirement.

English speaking jobs are rare around this area. Especially around Limburg.   My Danish boyfriend is also still looking for a job, but is currently taking flemish classes.... But it isn't all that easy.
He can't really find a job yet because he doesn't have the rijksregisternummer (the ID number belgians have) that is needed to register at our VDAB service or interim offices. So it kinda sucks!  He has to register himself here in the townhall, and then he will obtain a number like that and THEN we can go register him at at the interim offices everywhere... We do have one job where we have our eyes on, but don't know if that will work out well... Sure hope it will...

Hi everyone,

I'm new to Expat.com but I have similar issues going on like a few of you here in this topic I've recently moved to Brussels as my boyfriend accepted a job here at a financial organization. He's been living here for half a year now and a few days ago I followed him. I'm currently finishing my master's degree in international economy and business, and I have a bachelor's degree in EU studies. I possess four years of experience in European fundind consultancy, I was working for a Dutch owned organization in Budapest. But.. I don't speak any French or Dutch, only English (fluent), German (intermediate level) and Spanish (close to intermediate level ) I've been checking websites like EuroBrussels and BrusselsJobs for weeks now to find suitable opportunities (I would be more than happy with an internship - paid of course) and I have already allpied for some jobs. But the recruitment process is very long everywhere, and so far nothing has happened. While waiting and trying to get a proper job I would like to earn some money so that I can contribute to our spendings. Any ideas? I'm interested in anything, bars, pubs, stores, au-pairing..
Thanks in advance!
Nora

@ norafarkas: you may as well try to post an advert in the section Jobs in Brussels > Hotels, Catering, Bar...

Francesca

Thanks Francesca, I think I'm gonna give it a try..

Hi norafarkas,

Hope you succed in the job hunting. Good luck.

Zuhainan Mohamad

I'm amazed this message thread is still active!

My opinion and advice on this hasn't changed.

If you want to progress anywhere in Belgium with your career and life in general, then you'll have to learn at least one of the offical languages.

Fair enough you can live here and possibly scrape by on English alone but it's not an ideal scenerio to be in.

balesy1974 wrote:

I'm amazed this message thread is still active!

My opinion and advice on this hasn't changed.

If you want to progress anywhere in Belgium with your career and life in general, then you'll have to learn at least one of the offical languages.

Fair enough you can live here and possibly scrape by on English alone but it's not an ideal scenerio to be in.

I'm in a 'kind of' unique position in Belgium,
Because I run an Irish pub most of my day to day conversations are in English.
But even I believe that to live for any length of time in any country you should make an effort to learn the lingo.
Thankfully I've picked up Dutch to a reasonably decent level just by living in Limburg for a few years, and I believe without it the likes of the admin work I need to do would be nigh on impossible.
Should I decide to relocate to Brussels or Wallonia at any stage I will, for want of a better phrase 'be forced' to learn some French. But the fact that I'd choose to live there also means that I'd choose to integrate.


I've found that Irish and English people especially are more unwilling to integrate and thus many ex-pats end up living in a little 'bubble' based around their own language etc.
I know people living here 10/15 years who couldn't string a sentence together in either Dutch or French if their lives depended on it but who will still complain and whinge ad nauseum that nobody speaks English when they go to a restaurant/shop/bar

Yeah Jemmy12, I know any amount of expats unwilling to integrate and living within their "own little bubble" as you put it.

Thankfully, I don't fully fit into that catagory!

Lol well done i just wist i could learn dutch faster somtimes gets me down

Hello
I m looking for a teaching partner to give english animations to kids (from 6 to 10, zero level
the location is around binche (b-7140).
the courses are usually given on saturday morning,

it is a little job, bu it is funny..

Sofia

Hello Sofia.

Please post your job advert in the Teaching jobs in Brussels. It may be helpful.

Thanks

Karen