I will move to Barcelona in May 2002. At the moment I work as a receptionist for a big company. I speak English and Dutch, a little French and German and I am working on improving my Spanish after spending 6 months in South America. How big are my chances of finding work in the tourist business(hostals, tours, etc) and where do I start? I already have a (temporary) place to live. Tips are welcome. andreaschuurman@hotmail.com

Hi there!

I'd say your chances of finding a position as a recepcionist in some company are pretty good, that's if you are a member of the EU of course. However, it's virtually impossible to get a job at some hotel/hostel/etc.... reception if you don't have a degree in Tourism Management. Sorry!

I'm also a receptionist, I FINALLY quit my previous job about 10 days ago, went to the unemployement office, so I could receive my unemployement benefits('el paro') in a couple of months while I job-hunted, but through them I started to work at a new place last wednesday already! so the system works sometimes! And I thought I would enjoy a short break in-between jobs! The best part is that my office now is at 5 minutes walking distance from my house!!!, on cl Ventura de la Vega(Santa Ana area), which means there are a lot of chances to go have some after work drinks with the colleagues, specially on Fridays when most everybody leaves at 15:00 hrs. (There are a lot of Swedes in the company and they love that!)

Anyway, I wanted to recommend a great place to start your search:
http://empleo.paginasamarillas.es

Yes, it's the yellow pages!, but for some reason they have a jobsearching on-line service which to me works very well.

¡¡BUENA SUERTE!!

[ 01-27-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

Congratulations on your new job pim! Even if you didn't get those few weeks off, it sounds as if you are really enjoying the new position!