Finding work in Madrid: practical setup for your first 90 days

The reality of the Madrid job market

Finding a job in Madrid depends entirely on your industry and your Spanish level. The tech, engineering, and international sales sectors are booming and often hire English speakers. However, traditional sectors like law, administration, and local marketing strictly require fluent Spanish and often suffer from lower salaries compared to Northern Europe.

Salaries: In Spain, salaries are always negotiated as Gross Annual Salary (Salario Bruto Anual), typically divided into 12 or 14 payments (pagas). If it is 14 payments, you get double paychecks in July and December.

Step 1: Legal eligibility

Your job strategy only works if your permit situation matches the roles you apply for.

• EU Citizens: You can work immediately. You just need a NIE and a Social Security Number.
• Non-EU Citizens: You cannot just "find a job and get a visa." A company must be willing to sponsor a highly qualified work permit, which is an expensive and slow process. Alternatively, if you hold a Student Visa, you can legally work up to 30 hours a week as long as it doesn't interfere with your studies. Check our guide on Visas for more details.

Step 2: Where to search

Do not rely on walking into businesses with a printed CV. The market is highly digital.

1. LinkedIn: The primary tool for corporate, tech, and multinational jobs in Madrid. Make sure your location is set to Madrid and your profile is in English (or Spanish if targeting local roles).
2. InfoJobs: The largest domestic job board in Spain. It is heavily used for hospitality, retail, admin, and entry-level corporate roles.
3. Domestika / Manfred: Excellent niche boards for creative/design roles (Domestika) and tech/developer roles (Manfred).
4. Multilingual Job Boards: Sites like Europe Language Jobs or Top Language Jobs specifically recruit expats for customer support and sales roles that require native English, German, or French.

(Note: While you can register as a job seeker with the public employment office (SEPE), this is primarily used by locals to claim unemployment benefits, not to find high-skilled corporate jobs).

Step 3: The Spanish CV format

If applying to traditional Spanish companies, your CV should include:

• A professional headshot.
• Your date of birth.
• Your NIE number (if you have it).
• A very clear description of your language levels (do not exaggerate your Spanish).

If applying to international tech companies or startups in Madrid, use a standard Anglo-Saxon CV (no photo, no age).

Step 4: Protect yourself at the offer stage

When you receive a contract (contrato de trabajo), review the following:

• Contract type: Indefinido (permanent) is the gold standard. Temporal (temporary) contracts are now strictly regulated and only allowed for specific production spikes.
• Probation period (Periodo de prueba): Typically 2 to 6 months depending on your qualification level. During this time, either party can terminate the contract with zero notice and zero severance.
• Convenio Colectivo: Your contract is governed by an industry-wide union agreement (convenio). This dictates your minimum salary, holidays (usually 22-23 working days minimum), and sick leave rules.

90-day cadence