saving ink

As I’ve mentioned before, one of my few paid writing gigs is for Airgate Magazine, a high-brow arts publication travel rag published by the Krakow Airport. Occasionally I write quasi-interesting helpful articles for them, the newest of which you will find below.

While the summer is a time of travel and enjoying the weather (when it isn’t perpetually cold and rainy like this summer, anyway), now that autumn approaches it’s time to get back to work. But what kind of job can an expat expect in a country where he or she might not know the language, or be lacking a residency card? This month we’ll explore the available options as we look at the expat job market in Kraków.

Be the cliché

I admit that it would be pretty impossible to write an article about expat trades without starting with the most popular (or at least visible): English teacher. Contrary to popular belief, having knowledge of the language is not enough, at least in a competitive market like Kraków. Most schools today require a certificate showing your competence not only in British or US English, but also in communicating effectively to students. This is commonly met with a CELTA (Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults), TEFL Certificate (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), or TESOL Certificate (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) or similar. A Bachelor degree helps, but is not always necessary depending on the school, and proof of experience can often substitute a specific degree.

If you’re an aspiring language teacher, there are two places to earn teaching certificates in Kraków: the British Council or the Tischner European University. The average salary for English teachers tends to hover around PLN 3000 per month, though hours tend to be shorter and more flexible than traditional office work (which might be the greatest appeal of the teaching profession), allowing for extra income to be earned from private lessons. As an added bonus, while the recession has hurt many other lines of work, it has also shown the importance of language skills in an increasingly competitive job market, thus paradoxically increasing the demand for language schools and teachers.

Selling out

If you’d like to work for a multinational company with offices in Kraków – perhaps one based in your home country – the good news is there’s plenty of choice, and the pay tends to be well above the average. Examples of international companies with offices/headquarters in Kraków include IBM, Indesit, Bayer, Motorola, Lufthansa, International Paper, BP, Orlen, Shell, UBS, Google, ABB, ComArch, Sabre, Linde Industrial Gases, Mittal Steel Company, and, if your soul is also on the market, Philip Morris has a Polish branch located in Kraków as well.

The bad news is, anecdotal evidence suggests that securing a position in these companies is more often than not based on the same system at work in most hiring decisions in Poland – connections. Though that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t send in a CV when you spot a job you’re clearly qualified for, an easier way might be to be hired in the national branch of the company in your home country and then request a transfer.

In recent years, Kraków has also become a business process outsourcing (BPO) and shared service centre (SSC) hot spot. These jobs usually pay less but are more abundant, and include positions in human resources, finance and accounting, and call centres for companies based in other countries. Examples of these types of firms include Capgemini, AFS, Ahold, Communication Factory, and others.

Going it alone

If the thought of spending eight or more hours in an office each day defeats the purpose of living in a beautiful city like Kraków for you, you’re not alone. Another way to find work in Kraków is to simply create it, by starting a business. There are two ways to do this, and your personality, skill set and interests will determine what kind of business you start. I won’t go into the specifics of actually registering a company in Poland as that’s been covered by our financial guru Tej Panesar in a previous issue of Airgate.

If your skills generally require you to sit in front of a computer to make money (i.e. programming, graphic design, writing, translating, photo editing, etc.), freelancing is a good option. There are plenty of expats in Kraków and around Poland supporting themselves this way by running a one-person company (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza), yours truly included. Start-up costs are low, and generally include the cost of registration of the company, including accounting help if necessary (and if you don’t speak Polish, that’s definitely a necessity), website design, and marketing in order to secure clients. The downside: as with freelancing anywhere in the world, there are alternating times of feast and famine, and you may have to rely on one of the two previously mentioned sources of employment in downtimes. Note that non-EU citizens can establish a sole proprietorship only if they have a permit of settlement or asylum.

The second option is opening a brick and mortar shop or business. The start-up costs here are much higher and generally require investors as well as extensive accounting and legal help, but the rewards can be much higher as well. Here, residency issues can get quite tricky, and it’s not uncommon for non-Poles to have Polish business partners, as their native knowledge is often invaluable to the success of the company. If you’re interested in starting a business in Kraków, a helpful resource is the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency website.

Anything else?

While the above-mentioned livelihoods are certainly the most common, there are some other options. If you’re highly skilled in a technical field that’s in demand (such as electronics, engineering, some programming or AutoCAD), you may be able to work for a Polish company regardless of your Polish language skills. There’s also the possibility of working for film companies as an English-speaking actor or doing voice-overs – a long shot, sure, but it pays well and is probably more fun than most other options.

Most importantly, don’t be discouraged if you can’t land your dream job the second you arrive in Kraków. If you’re determined to make this city your home, all you need is the perseverance to build your network of contacts, improve and diversify your skills and language abilities and eventually you’ll find the right career for you.