Looking for job opportunities

fauzjay New member

5POSTS

5 years ago

Hello, I'm new here, I am planning to move and work in Colombia, hoping by the end of the year or early next year. Any advices or what I should expect? I think my biggest fact will be getting a job in Colombia. I am open for contacts or DMs. Please, your kind advice would help me alot.

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OsageArcher Colombia Expert

1657POSTS

5 years ago

A foreigner planning to live and work in Colombia will have to jump many hurdles, compared to many other countries.聽 For one thing any available jobs will first go to Colombians by policy.聽 For another, fluent Spanish would generally be required for any job.

If you have some skill that is in high demand and short supply you may find that getting in the door is easier.

Here are some websites that can help with getting a job in Colombia:

Here are some websites explaining the basics of what visa and paperwork a foreigner needs to live and work in Colombia:

Laker4115 Serial expat

217POSTS

5 years ago

Impossible to give any advice without more information about yourself.

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

5 years ago

Colombia's unemployment rate has been hovering at about
20 percent in the past four months of the covid era.聽 It was
ten percent or less around this time last year, pre-covid.

Source... tradingeconomics.com

The OP's intro page shows he is in Singapore and was considering
a move to Dubai before changing his focus to Colombia.

Dubai and other Gulf States have been laying off massive numbers
of folks from their previously huge workforce of foreign labor.

I knew a Brit who taught English to Dubai airforce personnel in the
2000s.聽 He put up with the stifling climate because he was paid well
and received several months of vacation time each year with
government-paid airfare.聽 He usually visited Chiang Mai, Thailand,
on his vacations .. which is where I met him at a hotel we both stayed at.

Anyway, those jobs with cushy perks have largely disappeared during covid.

However, due to the factors Brother Archer discussed .. and the
20 percent unemployment rate in Colombia, La Rep煤blica is also not
a reliable location for Expats who need to find work ..
even though Colombia's weather is more tolerable than Dubai
at favorable elevations.

cccmedia

fauzjay New member

5POSTS

5 years ago

Thank you for all your replies. Really appreciate it. Is it a good idea to open up a business? I mean that is another option that I have in mind.

Well a little background about me, I majored in Audio and Visual Engineering, and I have about 3 years of Customer Relations experience. I am really hoping if I could secure a job in Colombia, preferrably Cucuta, Medellin or Bogota.

I have other options to move in Australia or Dubai too. But lets talk about Colombia here.

Laker4115 Serial expat

217POSTS

5 years ago

I love Colombia, but unless you are totally fluent in Spanish, the job prospects would be much better in the places you mention.

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

5 years ago

Laker4115 wrote:
I love Colombia, but unless you are totally fluent in Spanish, the job prospects would be much better in the places you mention.

Dear Fauzjay,

You may wish to visit Wikipedia's page showing the many countries and territories where English is spoken.聽 I agree with the consensus among our members that job seekers in Colombia who are not fluent in espa帽ol are at a severe disadvantage these days.

Google... wiki countries territories English spoken

聽 -- cccmedia

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

5 years ago

fauzjay wrote:
Is it a good idea to open up a business? I mean that is another option that I have in mind....

I am really hoping if I could secure a job in Colombia, preferably Cucuta, Medellin or Bogota.

...lets talk about Colombia here.

If you are talking about a storefront business, that is probably a bad idea
for a new Expat arrival.

Challenges could include language barriers, lack of knowledge about the market, lack of knowledge about likely competitors, and the covid-era business environment.

----

I would avoid starting a business in C煤cuta because it is on the Venezuela border and subject to problems related to the refugee population.聽 Bogot谩, the principal hot spot of coronavirus in Colombia, has 33 percent of the covid cases in the country.聽

cccmedia

fauzjay New member

5POSTS

5 years ago

Thanks for the advice. And another thing that I would like to mention is that, if i were to move to Cucuta, I will be living with someone and most likely, only most likely, to settle down in Colombia. But that will be a later factor. The primary reason I'm moving to Colombia.

But now I am concentrating myself more on securing a job for my expenses such as house, food, support and etc. I think language can be picked up at any time. Plus I'm at least quite moderate with written Spanish.

With that being said, I also need to have a backup plan if everything else fail. I was thinking of food business because I'm able to bring Asia's cuisine to a place where we share almost the same culture which is RICE! Lol. Well, it's just an idea.

)

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

5 years ago

#10

fauzjay wrote:
I was thinking of food business because I'm able to bring Asia's cuisine to a place where we share almost the same culture which is RICE!

Based on your posts so far and conditions I discussed above, Fauzjay, you may have your best shot seeking a chef position in Medell铆n.

The population in the Paisa capital is much larger than C煤cuta's, meaning a much larger market of restaurant-goers to support chefs and other restaurant workers.

The nature of a chef's job calls for fewer language skills than other jobs.聽 For instance, chefs rarely interact directly with diners and phone customers.

Are your culinary skills up to it?

cccmedia

Laker4115 Serial expat

217POSTS

5 years ago

#11

The one thing that you could do to pay expenses would be to teach English.

fauzjay New member

5POSTS

5 years ago

#12

I dont really have a professional culinary skillset, but I might be willing to explore out more on that line.

Well I think my first step first is to engage in companies that is hiring, afterall I really have to secure my career or I'll be doomed! That would be my priority obstacle.

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

5 years ago

#13

fauzjay wrote:
I majored in Audio and Visual Engineering, and I have about 3 years of Customer Relations experience....

I have other options to move in Australia or Dubai too.

I don't get it, Fauzjay.聽

Why would you move halfway around the world from your home in Singapore to seek employment in a Spanish-speaking country where you have no prospects .. instead of English-speaking Australia where you have an 'option' and which is at least in the same hemisphere?

Are you aware that in the past two weeks .. Australia has had a total of 856 new cases of covid reported .. whereas Colombia has had about 100,000 new cases in those 14 days and is sixth-most worldwide in total cases....

Australia is not only a better choice for you in staying healthy.聽 It also has a better employment outlook for English-speaking newcomers.

cccmedia

Laker4115 Serial expat

217POSTS

5 years ago

#14

If you are a master chef from France or Spain and fluent in Spanish you might have a chance for a restaurant job perhaps in Bogota.聽 If you have special skills with computers or in medicine and again fluent in Spanish you might be able to find work.聽 Other than that the only real salable skill you have is the ability to speak English.