I started my journey to move from the US to Europe over a year ago, and I started out a pretty high point. I found that through my family’s heritage I could actually obtain Hungarian citizenship, and through months of paperwork and waiting managed to successfully do so.
So that’s pretty much it. I thought to myself. Because the biggest hurdle companies face is whether it’s worth it to sponsor a visa of someone when they could just find a local candidate. I thought that the moment I could proudly say I was citizen of an EU country that would allow me to work in (most) countries, things would get easier.
But I have never been more wrong in my life. I’m a fresh out of college IT worker that has 4 years of work experience and 3 certifications under my belt, and I have managed to get exactly 2 interviews and maybe 20-30 real human responses in about 5 months despite hundreds of applications. And it’s not like I am thinking high and mighty of myself and looking at jobs that I want. I’ve applied to the lowest paying helpdesk roles up to the ones that I barely have any overlapping skills. I have revised my resume 2-3 times, had professionals look at it during a resume workshop at college… I just get nothing. Some seem to think that I am asking for sponsorship or relocation benefits despite the fact that it is boldly written at the top of my resume, and I always make sure to include it in my cover letter.
Am I doing something wrong? Is there something I should be doing besides trolling LinkedIn and other job sites for roles? I don’t know if this is a rant post or advice post. I am just so sick of getting ghosted or looking for that dreaded “unfortunately” email in my inbox every morning.
Your situation seems a bit (unnecessarily) complicated. If I understand correctly, you have dual US/Hungarian citizenship and currently live in the US and you are looking for a job in Western European countries.
You should know that most IT jobs have been outsorced to Central and Eastern Europe. Finding a job in Germany, for example, is much more difficult than in Hungary, Czech Republic or Poland. Especially when you’re not German.
If you like Hungary, I can advise you to look for a job there. The earnings will be nominally lower than in Western Europe or the USA, but compared to the cost of living you will be satisfied. In IT you should earn 2x or 3x the national average, which gives you a very comfortable standard of living. You will be able to rent an apartment, everyday expenses will not be a problem and you will be able to save. Of course, when you come back to the US, everything will seem expensive.
I guess I am more interested in looking for jobs in western European countries because those are the countries that I want to live in. Don’t get me wrong, I think that Hungary, Poland, all those countries are lovely places to live, but I just feel like I the western countries have more things I am looking for.
That being said, I suppose I could always look for jobs in those countries and hop jobs at a later date when I am more settled.
It’s understandable. In such a case Hungarian citizenship won’t help you much at the recruitment stage. It will play its role when signing a contract, but on a CV it unnecessarily complicates your situation.