Planning to relocate to Scotland

Hi Henning and welcome to the Forum.

At the top of the page is our Handy Tools link; if you select that it will take you to our Expat Guides which may contain information that will help you plan your journey.  In addition to this, the Scottish Government have a website "Moving to Scotland" which contains a lot of specific Scottish information (things are slightly different up there); this link will take you to it.

From your post, I guess that the when and where part of your move is already pretty much decided, but suffice to say, the majority of people in Scotland live in a belt that stretches from Edinburgh to Glasgow; it follows that this is where most of the work is.

If by "native German speaker" you mean you don't speak English, then you will struggle to get work; but if your post is an example of your English, then it's probably better than many and I don't think you'll have any problems.  Having said that, I just did a quick Google search for "German speaking jobs in Scotland" and came up with a couple; this link will take you there.

Once you've read our links, if you have any further specific questions, please come back to us.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi Cynic and thanks for warm welcome,

Yes, you have got the right impression, everything is already decided more or less. Since the beginning of this year I am studying everything I can find in the net (also the great content provided by Expat.com, thanks for that:)), collecting information, looking & applying for jobs, etc.

And yes, my English is probably good enough to survive in Scotland somehow;) But when it comes to working as a (Finance) Manager then I have my doubts if it is also good enough to communicate as precise as it is expected in such jobs, e.g. for analysing, presenting, giving clear orders, etc.

Hence I was wondering how other qualified emigrants from non-English-speaking countries were mastering this challenge.
One of my ideas was to start in a relatively "easy" job (such as "Native ... Speaker for Customer Service"), get settled & connected, learn the language better... and then, after 6-12 months to go for manager position. Is it a good approach in your opinion or is it rather contra-productive?

How is it with Scottish culture in general, are they really much more flexible and "easy" than e.g. Germans? Do they "forgive" such a let us call it a step back in CV? Do they tend to give (foreigners) just a try and see?

Until now I did not receive any response on any of my job applications since beginning of this year. Is there no sense to apply from abroad, better apply with Scottish address?

Very curious to learn from your experience, thanks a lot:)

Hi again,

My opinion - I've posted this elsewhere on the Forum; to get a well-paid job anywhere in the world, you really need 4 things:

Relevant qualifications
Relevant experience
Speak the local language
Luck

The more of those you can tick off, the more chance you have of getting that job; luck is always fickle.

So, go for the job that you tick boxes for; a job that will put some bread on the table and help keep your sanity, who knows where you may end up in that organisation.  While doing it, start looking for the job you aspire to.  My only comment regarding finance work is that the experience I had in my previous job was that finance people all had some kind of qualification; assuming you have the same German equivalent, it may be prudent to start looking at getting your qualifications recognised in the UK.

As to comparing Scots with Germans; I lived in Germany for 15 years; my experience is that in general terms, the Scots are much more laid back and relaxed than Germans.  However, you do run the risk of being seen as being overqualified, having seen this from both sides, that's life I'm afraid.

Our experience on the Forums is that unless you have some specialist key-skill that people are looking for, sending speculative CV's, or applying for jobs advertised on the Internet while you live in another country that is not commutable, are not very productive.  Mainly because you're not in the country and they are looking for people that can start tomorrow (if not sooner).  It's also true to say that with many adverts, by the time you've read it, that job has already gone; they are really looking for people to add to their bank of skilled personnel.  I think you're pretty much wasting your time applying for jobs in Scotland while still living in Poland.

In my wife's case (she's Dutch); although she was already a qualified nurse in Holland, she went for the low-level job in the UK, until she could decide for herself what particular branch of nursing she would go for here in the UK.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Yes, it helps me a lot, thank you so much Cynic
especially for sharing the experience made by your wife
it kind of confirms my own approach, maybe it is common sense even...

How about the others... what was your strategy to somehow get on with your career while emigrating to Scotland/UK?

And one more question... In Perth where my partner's family is living the biggest employer is the Counsil. Are there any restrictions for foreigners to work there?

Career strategy - too many people believe they know it all and don't need to perhaps pay attention to how their profession is developing and changing around them; maybe leading to career decisions.  My advice is if you're not working, to make sure that you keep you Career Professional Development up to date; if you've not heard of it, it appears to be a big thing amongst finance professionals in the UK; I've just done a quick Google search about it; this link will take you there.

No problem with foreigners working for the local government; in fact, it's illegal to discriminate against anybody based on race, ethnicity and religion.  Wouldn't be my first choice, but if there is work available and it suits you, then, by all means, go for it.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi Cynic,
US-american with dutch wife who lived in two more countries at least... sounds like a very interesting story to tell. Did you already? And yes, where can I find it amongst all your posts here?
Best, Henning

berlin_cracow_perth wrote:

Hi Cynic,
US-american with dutch wife who lived in two more countries at least... sounds like a very interesting story to tell. Did you already? And yes, where can I find it amongst all your posts here?
Best, Henning

LOL - I've lived and worked all over the world; my story is boring in comparison to what the Forum members are facing in trying to achieve a better life for themselves and their families.

Thanks for the link... I do like the direction it seems going to, for me communication and business partnering was always at least the same important than pure numbers, reports, accounts etc

Career is in my opinion a difficult and pretty individual topic. For a long time I was following my good old (german?) straight career path. Have been coming to Poland to live with my woman I left this path a bit already. And since we commenced considering Scotland as our common next destination she slowly shifted my focus... more and more from career to better life.
What does it mean? Cracow may be still attractive for tourists but it is definitely not a good place to live... it is loud and hectical, the air is extremely poluted, where is a little space they cut the trees and build new houses... and the people are very much stressed (by that?) and unfriendly.
After all we have seen in Scotland, all the personal experience made by family and friends we have the hope that life there might look like the complete opposite... and that we could get much more happy even with much lower income because of somehow starting from beginning

Indeed, I see that... but for those it might be even too "exciting", too hard, to share with others

I explained previously that most of Scotland (circa 70%) live in what's known as the "Central Belt" - basically a region between Edinburgh and Glasgow; there are plenty of places that seem a bit like Cracow.  But, for the rest of it, Scotland is an amazing place; the countryside is awesome and if you can manage to live up near Inverness and can put up with being occasionally cut off by the extreme weather, is well worth considering.

Hi Cynic,
hope you had a great Easter weekend
could you elaborate a bit more on that one please?
"...working for the local government ...Wouldn't be my first choice, but if there is work available and it suits you, then, by all means, go for it."
Are there certain reasons not to work for the government?

just found this ad today
https://applications.work-for-scotland. … ;Number=25

Hi Henning.

Easter was manic (house full of visitors and dogs).

Working for the Government - I did it for over 20 years and left when I qualified for my pension.  My opinion is that they tend to be those jobs where if it isn't in the book/procedure, then it doesn't get done.  Even though I was successful, got promoted etc, I was bored, there was no challenge.  Nowadays, if it isn't on the computer screen in front of them, then it isn't done; I now work on the other side of the fence and it's very frustrating trying to deal with them.  Not all Government jobs are like that; for example, the Social Services is by necessity a very responsive organisation, but I couldn't envisage myself ever going back.

The job - to be honest, I have no idea what a "Policy and Operational Delivery Officer" is; it does say "Show the ability to solve problems and work creatively within the policy, regulations and the Law"; so would seem to require some kind of formal qualifications; I'm a Regulator and have formal qualifications to do what I do.

The salary is OK - if it appeals to you, I'd apply for it and see how you get on; as they say in Dutch, you have no, you may get yes.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

maniac Easter... hehe;)) ours was polish, a more or less well-balanced combination of prayers and holy water;)

working for the government... seems to have similar image all over the world. but as always there is another side of the coin...as in prussia we used to very much appreciate loyalty the german state is still offering pretty attractive conditions to all those who want to serve their country but also prefer to plan their whole life through and to be safer after retirement... if you do not kill anybody then they can not fire you, and your pension will be significantly higher than this one of somebody who was employed by private company.

Hi Cynic,
may I ask you one more question?
I remember that once in Scotland somebody told us that there is a special date at the beginning of April which has certain influence on the job market.
Do you have any idea what is it about? Hard to do research in Gxxxxx with such limited information...
Thanks & Have a great weekend:)
Henning