INTRODUCTION

The following chapters will lead you through the procedure of job searching in the Czech Republic and will become a useful tool in this process. Only introduction of the manual is available in three languages ​​(CZ, RU, EN). Here you will find the information on the following issues: who does not need a work permit in the Czech Republic and what prevents foreigners from participation in the Czech labor market. Further, you will get a basic idea of ​​the things that affect the job searching and for how long it may last.

The main part of the manual is only in Czech, because while looking for a job one needs to have the basic knowledge of the language. If the content is too difficult for understanding, use Google Translate.

1.       Who does not need a work permit to work in the Czech Republic

2.       Knowledge of the Czech language at work in the Czech Republic

3.       Social ties, broad family, acquaintances during job searching

4.       How long does it take to find a job?

Who does not need a work permit in the Czech Republic?

·        A citizen of the European Union or family member of EU/Czech citizen, who is a citizen of a country outside EU (“third-country nationals“) – (for the purposes of employment of foreign employees, these people are not considered foreigners)

·         Family members of an EU citizen, who are not EU citizens, can enter the labour market without a work permit, Employee Card or Blue Card if they have obtained a temporary residence permit in a form of a residence card for family members of an EU citizen, or if they can prove that an application for temporary residence permit for family members of an EU citizen on the territory of the Czech Republic has been submitted. See: http://portal.mpsv.cz/sz/zahr_zam/zz_zamest_eu/zz_eu_trh_prace

·         A foreigner with permanent residence permit

·         A foreigner with international protection (asylum and subsidiary protection)

·         A foreigner with long-term residence for the purpose of family reunion

·         A foreigner of another EU Member State with a long-term permit for the purpose of employment, if the permit for this stay was issued no sooner than after 12 months.

·         Foreigners who are systematically preparing for their future career in the form of full-time studies at secondary schools in the Czech Republic, conservatories, colleges and language schools authorized to organize state language examinations, and during full-time studies at universities

·         A foreigner, who has gained secondary or higher professional education at the conservatory in accord with an Education Act; or university education in accord with Higher education Act at public university or university accredited by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic http://www.msmt.cz/vzdelavani/vysoke-skolstvi/prehled-vysokych-skol

-          Further cases which do not require a work permit, Employee Card, Blue Card or work permit regardless the situation on the labour market (e.g. clergymen, educational stay shorter than 1 year, student exchange programmes) http://portal.mpsv.cz/sz/zahr_zam/zz_zamest_cizincu/zz_zvlastni

Regulated by Employment Act No. 435/2004 Coll., article 3, 85 and 98

Knowledge of the Czech language while applying for a job

Knowledge of the Czech language is the most important competence while applying for a job in the Czech Republic.

Thus, the main obstacle in the process of integration in the new country is the ability to learn the official language, for job searching it is even more important. In the Czech Republic is the demand for jobs that explicitly require a perfect knowledge of some other languages is more and more often and Czech language could be not that important in these cases. These jobs, however, are not ordinary ones and often require some other specialized qualification. On the contrary, while searching for a low-skilled work such as cleaner, warehouse worker, shop assistant in the supermarkets or construction worker, the level of Czech knowledge may be very important. The employer wants to be sure that his employees properly understand the working tasks because repetitive explanation is a waste of time for him. If the job is connected with administration, an excellent knowledge of written Czech is required as well.

Czech language courses at the Center for Integration of foreigners     E-learning  Czech for work

Social ties, family, friends and acquaintances while searching for a job

It is claimed that up to 75% of all job offers are occupied by acquaintances and therefore do not appear among the advertisements on the Internet.

In addition to language barriers faced by a foreigner after coming to a new country, he/she has also to accept that he/she has left his/her family, or a part of it and left the community, where he/she had all the social ties from the early childhood.  Overcoming of this barrier and creation of new relations could last for quite a long time, especially when language handicap limits you in integration into Czech society. It’s a fact that support from acquaintances and friends is the most probable way how to find a job. Searching for a job with friend´s help has several advantages comparing to other methods - your professional profile is passed further and mainly it is already with some references. A network of your friends is also important even when you have no work but need a kind of support, not only in the form of funds for a living.

How long does it take to find a job?

According to statistics, 80% of job seekers find work within nine months.

According to the OECD[1], every unemployed immigrant in Europe is searching for a job for over a year.

The process of looking for work is influenced by many factors. Because of the macroeconomic situation (economic crisis) and related to a current situation in labor market, level of unemployment, fields and areas one is looking for, quality of one‘s contacts and orientation in the ways how to find a job. One‘s personal characteristics also matter - level of qualification, age, gender, skin color, language skills, willingness to commute to work, the minimum acceptable wage, but also the strength and endurance of one‘s personality and the ability of correct self-presentation (CV, telephone contact, job interview). Generally, lower position jobs (saleswoman, blue-collar worker, and business positions) are filled faster than management and specialized positions – there is less highly skilled workers and their selection is more challenging.