U.S citizen looking for work in Bulgaria

If you have any experience in early education I know that the Montessori kindergarten was hiring a bit back (and may still be looking). I believe it was casa bambino or something along those lines (Look up montessori in sofia and there are only two). From what I understand they pay well and one of their points is that they encourage english speaking, so they may be willing/wanting to hire an American.

The adoption agencies that work with American families would also be an option (again, just search for American adoption in Bulgaria and you will get 2-3 options). However, the pay with either adoption agencies or social services is really low for living in Sofia.

Finally, check out the America for Bulgaria foundation- they work with local communities around Bulgaria to do grants for various projects and occasionally hire Americans. You would have to be willing to travel for about 60% of your work, because they need you to go to different towns and villages to help the execution of grants.

If I hear of anything specific that is hiring, I will let you know.

Kojidae,

Thank you so much for your suggestions, I will check them out. I really appreciate your help!

Hello Olivia,

If you did like Bulgaria in winter then you will find it even more beautiful in spring. Summer gets a bit too hot however.

As for finding a job - there are actually two sides of this question - first the job itself, which is not so difficult to arrange, so you can either contact directly companies that hire nativespeakers, or apply via agencies. You can also search online in jobs.bg or jobtiger.bg.

As far as I know, presently Cargill is hiring everything that moves on two legs and speaks English, also HP, same applies for Adecco, C3i, and many others. Stay away from call centers or you will soon be searching for another job.

The other side of the question is payment. As you probably know salaries in Bulgaria are not high, especially if you are not working for the IT industry. Psychology is not the best qualification too, though it will probably be appreciated in some HR service realted jobs. So best solution will be working for a company that outsources its business processes here, or that exports goods/services. This means that you have to search for a foreign company.

A temprary solution is working as a support specialist for gaming company, but that is often quite close to call center.

TEFL is also an option ... a temporary one, but later for that.

And last /but not least/ you can start your own business ... especially if focused on american clients ).

Kristiann,

Wow, thank you for all your help! You were very informative! I will look into all these possibilities. You also caught my attention when you mentioned that applying to call centers is not recommended, as I would soon be looking for other jobs, what do you mean by that?

Once again, thank you for your advice! (:

Hi Olivia, it may well be the "call center" environment, working hours, working conditions, stuck at the desk or at the end of a phone, bit mind numbing and not an ideal/popular career choice? (but that said if it is a stop gap job until you find your feet, then it all helps, plus you'll gain more life experience?) That said call center work here in the UK can be quite a decent job, plenty of overtime, job prospects etc... so I'm not having a go at call center jobs.
I have seen various large office blocks in Sofia not sure whether they are call centers or corporate banks/business centers when I stayed over last month, I know IT, and gaming advisory job's are offered quite often here in the UK for Sofia, and again on line betting/gambling centers are quite popular and advertise.
Best wishes and good luck.
Steve.

I think it also depends on what kind of call center you work at. A technical, customer support setting can be less emotionally taxing than sales or collections. Also, what level you are... my sister-in-law worked in the upper level of customer support for a company in sofia that handles HP support and she seemed quite happy in her job (although she did eventually leave to move back to Varna). But she said that most of the silly/annoying calls were weeded out by people in the first level of customer support.

informative ? ... yes, ...... "Bulgaria Expat Advisor" by coincidence too 

Apply for a one year Fulbright award to teach English in the country, that can place you in the country for a year without competing with Bulgarian citizens for scarce jobs

Hi elainestruthers,

Thank you for your help:)

BR,

-Olivia

Fulbright is awesome you should go for it!!

Yeah--- if I was eligible I would totally apply for a Fulbright- it is always nice to have such a big organization backing you while you get set up in a foreign country... and it will give you the time to make contacts for a permanent job as well.

Like the idea. If you do it I will arrange an ELT position for you.