Hello you, here I want to share How I found job in Barcelona in 2021 during Covid pandemic.
All the steps I followed to finally get a job in Barcelona. At the end of the post I left few useful links.
Let’s begin.
Market Overview
To find a job is not easy at all, in fact it took me several months to find.
Unfortunately because of the pandemic the job market is quite static.
A lot of jobs disappeared because of travel ban, and general lockdown: tourism, hospitalities, events, leisure are the most affected sectors hit by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Fewer jobs available, and on the other hand whoever has one prefers to keep it.
Few reason to justify this:
- the future seems soooo uncertain.
- working from home doesn’t matter if there is a new lockdown.
- It’s pretty hard to do anything rather than work.
Unfortunately, this pandemic fucked up everyone’s short term project and we need to adapt to this situation, grow our skill on something that we never thought we are gonna do.
Now is the time.
On Fabrizio’s side…
Personally, it wasn’t easy to find a job because most of my skills were hardly applicable to this new tech / online / no touching / no gathering world.
So I really had to pick up my old CV and fresh up a little.
First I was very thirsty and I sent Cvs everywhere, no matter what skills required.
I prepared 3-4 CVs for each sector I wanted to apply.
I sent it to everyone, without regrets (#noRegrets), and maybe I was a little too shallow.
Daily routine, sending at least 3-5 CVs a day. Easily.
But nada, nothing.
Step two: effort.
I decided to re-write my CV and I put more effort, hoping then “Now that I’m really applying myself”, I will receive some answers.
“I’m perfectly fit for this job, they are gonna contact me for sure.“ I thought…
Two days later: “How come they don’t call meeee!!!”
And of course frustration kicks in….Check it out
Most of the companies don’t even answer, but some will send you an email like this:
“Dear Candidate 45234: We appreciate your interest in BAMBINO COMPANY and the time you’ve invested in applying for the FRUIT SELLER opening. We ended up moving forward with another candidate, but we’d like to thank you for talking to our team and giving us the opportunity to learn about your skills and accomplishments.”
Wake Up! I received a dozen of these emails, but I wondered how come they all look alike?
I realized, after a little bit of research and chatting with friends, that quite often recruitment uses software to pre-select candidates to interview.
Fair enough, they should have received millions of applications.
So how can I let them pick my CV ?
I just need to pick up the rights words.
It doesn’t matter that in my previous job I was responsible for the life of 50 humans traveling around Europe, but if you don’t type:
- Multitasking and organization.
- Proactive communication skills.
- Problem-solving
- Personnel management.
- Leadership
The software is not gonna even pick you, it’s like you never worked as Tour Manager.
Here comes JobHero.
This website gives you CV’s layout, a Cover letter example, and a section with skills for each job.
A Dynamic CV
Now that the CV is enriched, it is time to make it dynamic.
Next to your experience, that more or less you can’t really change, I created a section called Key Skills.
Key Skills is the bait for the recruitment software. In fact, depending on the job description and my experience, I select a few words that I can type on that section.
Don’t lie, adapt to the situation.
Finally some results.
Eventually, I started to receive interview invitations. And even if I was not sure 100% of the job I always accept interviews, I believe it’s good performance training.
Some of them were good, some of them were bad… at the end of the day who cares? As long as you learn something from each of them, and strive to get better any time.
But still I must be doing something wrong…
Weeks pass by, depression kicks in, more lockdown, less money…I feel I don’t fit in this “New World”.
A colourful CV
After unlocking the second level ( 1.software recruitment, 2.interviews), I need to get the attention of the recruiter.
How?
Playing a wild card… making a bold CV:
- Professional
- Sharp
- Short and Sweet
- But mostly: Colorful
I want to hit them in the face when they read it, instead of a bland black and white CV get creative, try to get their attention, and scream CALL ME!!!!
To get creative I will suggest you this website: canva.
There is a section just for CVs and Cover letters: go wild!
Here an example of my Monkey called Joe Pesci, who was looking for a job. Take a look to her cv.
Useful links
- Glassdoor.es (Job research)
- Indeed.es (Job Research)
- InfoJobs.net (Job Research
- Canva.com ( to create a colorful CV and Cover letter)
- JobHero.com ( to enrich your cv and layout example)
- Strangely LinkedIn didn’t work for me. Either when in the UK and Spain
Tips on CV
- Find an easy and simple layout.
- Select two maximum of three colors to add to your CV: the main one, and another just for enlightened details that you want to bring up.
- Add a nice picture of yourself ( I know you don’t need it on a CV, but I believe it gives a good first impression).
- Keep it dynamic, especially the key skill section.
- One page is enough.
Tips for Cover Letter
- Is not your life’s story.
- Is what you achieved, not what you did.
- Short and Sweet
- Do research on the company, and select a couple of keywords in the cover letter.
Tips for Interview
- Google Top 10 questions asked in the interview: answer it, write it down and practice it out loud. ( You need to hear that you are the best at selling fruits ).
- On YouTube I found this professional answering some of the most common questions. Get inspired… HERE
- Take as many interviews as you can, practice to make it perfect.
To wrap up
The job hunt has to become your nonpaying job. Without effort, you don’t go anywhere.
These are all the steps that I followed to finally get a job. I always worked in hospitality, tourism, and sales: now I’m an expert on tech products… 2020 where did you take me?
Don’t get frustrated to hear others working or they just find a job. Often depends on people, some of them with zero or a little effort find a job right away for others it takes time.
It took me time and effort to finally get a job, and still, now I’m not safe forever because I’m on a contract that lasts for the length of the project. So as long as the project got money, I got work…
Nothing is forever but most important is that now I’m meeting new people and learning new things.
And of course I’m working, and I missed it.
Waking up in the morning, having a quick breakfast, putting clothes on, and going to work.
Put my headphones on, get to the Metro, check-in into the office, say hi to colleagues, having a meeting first in the morning, and then start working. For some reason, it feels so good and strangely old school. Life sounds better now, check out this post.
Never in my life, I was expecting to become an expert on Computers, Monitors, and Printers… Never trust me.
Btw, here is my true inspiration, you might need google translator.
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