Looking for a job in a foreign country can seem daunting for some of us, especially when we don’t speak the local language. Sybil Guillem, DataForce Community Engagement Manager, interviewed Svojmir Sazavsky for Barcelona Expat Life about his experience.
Barcelona did seem appealing due to the weather and the city’s location, facing the Mediterranean sea. It was one of the deciding factors. I had been to Barcelona before when I was very young. I, therefore, thought that I knew what to expect, however, it turned out to be kind of different from my expectations.
For me, it was my first time living abroad; I had never lived outside the Czech Republic. I was not fluent in Spanish, and I was only able to communicate at a basic level. The first few weeks were kind of intimidating. People were also speaking Catalan and my partner was working all the time, so it was harder than I expected. However, Barcelona is very expat-friendly, so even if you don’t speak Spanish or Catalan, you can communicate in English. Speaking Spanish and English was very tiring. However, little by little, things improved. I even found my way around doing all the paperwork; I was very proud of this accomplishment.
I began working in April, just four months after I had moved. The biggest struggle was getting the NIE number, because of how difficult it is to get an appointment. Fortunately, I received my NIE number straight after the appointment. I searched for jobs on the most popular job portals like InfoJobs and LinkedIn. It wasn’t very difficult to find various opportunities. Being able to speak Spanish was not a requirement, but English was. I got my first job after two months of sending out applications.
I joined DataForce in October of 2020, during the pandemic. DataForce was looking for someone to manage the European recruitment sector. I became the first recruiter for DataForce on European soil. Prior to this all of the recruiting was being done from the United States. The recruitment sector was growing quickly. After a few months, I was promoted to team lead, which is the role that I have currently.
As a team lead, my main role is to develop relevant and adaptable strategies to coordinate, lead and monitor the projects’ recruitment team. I need to be able to understand the interdependencies between technology, operations, and business needs. Furthermore, it is expected of me to be able to promptly resolve issues. As well as be able to work across teams. Our team specificity is that we work with high volumes and fast-paced requests in multiple countries.
Working in the AI area, we have to adapt quickly when adjusting the requirements; we have to be fast but also be able to keep in mind the long-term objective. It’s kind of a marathon but with a lot of sprints.
There are DataForce teams all around the globe, servicing clients in need of AI solutions. A multicultural background presents us with the opportunity of broadening our perspectives in terms of creative problem-solving.
Sybill: Thank you so much for your time, Svojmir!
Svojmir: My pleasure, Sybil. Happy to be part of our DataForce team and contribute to the growth of our company. I would like to know your Barcelona story as a French expat as well. Maybe in the next coffee break?
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