Working in Tenerife
This article on jobs in Tenerife is in response to the hundreds of e-mails and forum posts that we receive from people wanting to work in Tenerife or perhaps I should say they want to live in Tenerife and realise that to support themselves they’ll need a job in Tenerife. Many people seem to think that companies here are so desperate for unskilled workers that they’ll pay ‘big bucks’ and give accommodation and help to relocate into the bargain. This is the exact opposite of the true picture, as with everything in life, if you want something you have to pay for it. The climate in Tenerife is one of the best in the world and there is a large British community here so that Brits with no language skills can still manage to get by although the chances of decent work in Tenerife increases for every language that one speaks. It’s not unusual to find people here that can speak four or five languages, mostly European mainlanders!
Most of our requests come from youngsters who’ve just had a holiday here or have heard about the night life from friends and their main thought is how to live in Tenerife so that they can party every night instead of just Saturday nights. The most common request from unskilled young people is for bar work, there’re probably 100 applicants for every job and the opportunity is not available for long.
We get many posts and e-mails from people wanting to get a job before giving up their life in the UK, very commendable but unless you have some very high qualifications no one is going to offer work in Tenerife to someone who’s ‘’thinking of coming soon’’. As for jobs in hotels that’s almost impossible unless you have the language skills, local companies want to hire local people or exceptional foreigners, why have a foreign youngster who wants to party every night when they can employ local people who they see as being more reliable.
The simplest method of trying to find work in Tenerife is to book an inexpensive package holiday for a couple of weeks so that you have a base to work from and then get busy trying to find that elusive Tenerife work. If you’re serious about finding work in Tenerife get going as soon as you arrive, treat the two weeks as work not a holiday. Remember this, most jobs in Tenerife are never advertised because there’s always someone doing the rounds asking for work so as soon as a vacancy arises the boss mentions it to his staff and friends and if you happen to be calling to see if there’s work then you stand a chance of getting it.
Wages are much lower in Tenerife (minimum weekly is about 155 Euros roughly £105) and for those wanting to live in the holiday areas (close to work and play) the rent for a small apartment is high. In Playa de las Americas or Los Cristianos, the two main holiday areas, you’ll pay around 480 to 500 Euros per month for a studio, 550 to 600 for a 1 bed apartment and 700 to 750 for a 2 bed. These usually include electricity and water, as you’ll see there’s very little left over after paying the rent which is why so many youngsters share apartments, often poorer quality to keep the price low and it’s not unusual for 4 people to share a 1 bed apartment. This will only be allowed by landlords in the scruffier places who tend to take anyone providing the rent is paid, often these apartments are poorly furnished as the cheaper renters tend not to clean or take care of other’s property. The other main problem with sharing is that some people take the word sharing too literally and you could find your favourite dress or t shirt being ‘shared’ without your permission. One final comment on renting is that you’ll be expected to pay 1 month deposit as well as your rent monthly in advance or you could try living in a hostel which will cost about 25Euros per night for a couple.
I’ve painted a very black picture to many of you wanting to work in Tenerife but I believe that forewarned is forearmed, it was far more difficult when I first came here because Tenerife wasn’t in the EEC then and we all needed work permits or a Canarian partner if we wanted our own business. Life here can be very good, the cost of living is less than the UK, particularly for eating out, drinking and smoking and of course there is the climate. Good luck in your search for work in Tenerife and remember for those of you who manage to land a job, your boss is paying you so that you can earn him some money so please give him some decent work during working hours and enjoy your playtime.
Check our forum for job vacances in Tenerife
