Migrating from Croatia to Ireland

tommy85zg

Hello everyone, I am new member here at Boards.ie and I would like to introduce myself. My name is Tommy, I am 29 y.o. and I live in Zagreb, Croatia. Ireland has always been interesting for me. Every year we celebrate St. Patricks Day in Zagreb. I really like Irish culture, people, art, history... The thing is I would like to live and work in Ireland to make new experiances.

If there is anyone who can give me some advice or who can give answers on my questions please feel free to contact me.



Greetings from Zagreb,
Tommy

Gloomtastic!

Hi Tommy,

Do you know anybody already living in Dublin? Could you stay with them while you found a job and saved money for a deposit to rent a room somewhere?

What do you work at presently? What previous work experience have you got?

tommy85zg

Hi Gloomtastic!, I don't know anybody living in Dublin. At the moment I am unemployed. My last job was Canon CBS Brand Manager in Zagreb. I had to take care for importing and exporting inks and toners and I had to create wholesale prices. The thing is I do any kid of job - barman, on the farm, warehouse. How much are cots of room and how mich of the small apartment? I have 3500 € on bank account... Is it enoigh for two months?

tommy85zg

Would some Irish companies hire someone from Croatia? When I come to Dublin I won't have anybody to talk... :-(

The Hill Billy

Hi Tommy. Welcome to boards.
My advice would be to have a job already sorted before you get here.
Dublin is a relatively expensive city & you could find that your savings would be spent very quickly while waiting to secure a job.

tommy85zg

Hi Hill Billy, can you tell me how long could I pay my expenses with 3500 EUR?

adamski8

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Hi Tommy. Welcome to boards.
My advice would be to have a job already sorted before you get here.
Dublin is a relatively expensive city & you could find that your savings would be spent very quickly while waiting to secure a job.

Thats going to be near impossible unless your highly skilled. I know a few croatians that have come here and gotten unskilled jobs pretty quickly.

Just come over and find an apartment to share with someone on daft.ie. Then be proactive and look for some jobs. My wife is croatian and she can send you an email with more details of a croatian perspective in ireland. Send me your email address.

There are loads of croatians who have moved over here in the last year.

tommy85zg

Thank you adamski8!

Marcusm

Look for a job before you move; have you considered customer support for people like Google, Facebook, PayPal, LinkedIn etc? I suspect Serbo-Croat language skills are not easily available in Ireland so you might find an opening.

adamski8

Marcusm wrote: »

Look for a job before you move; have you considered customer support for people like Google, Facebook, PayPal, LinkedIn etc? I suspect Serbo-Croat language skills are not easily available in Ireland so you might find an opening.

There isnt a huge demand for those languages though, they already hire extremely talented people from those countries with perfect english. No way he is getting a job before he comes unless highly skilled/qualified.

Marcusm

adamski8 wrote: »

There isnt a huge demand for those languages though, they already hire extremely talented people from those countries with perfect english. No way he is getting a job before he comes unless highly skilled/qualified.

I take him at face value when he says he worked as a manager at a multinational and had pricing responsibility. Making an effort in advance us worthwhile. There's no point in suggesting a lack if action.

adamski8

Marcusm wrote: »

I take him at face value when he says he worked as a manager at a multinational and had pricing responsibility. Making an effort in advance us worthwhile. There's no point in suggesting a lack if action.

Yeah i guess so, well he might as well try beforehand, no harm but i wouldn't let it put a hold on moving over without a job.

Marcusm

adamski8 wrote: »

Yeah i guess so, well he might as well try beforehand, no harm but i wouldn't let it put a hold on moving over without a job.

I'm not sure I would rush to change countries without having done basic research on the availability of employment. I may be strange in that each time I've moved, I've had a job lined up in advance but I think I'd want more than some assurances on boards.ie. Irish unemployment continue to exceed 11% or 400,000 jobs.

adamski8

Marcusm wrote: »

I'm not sure I would rush to change countries without having done basic research on the availability of employment. I may be strange in that each time I've moved, I've had a job lined up in advance but I think I'd want more than some assurances on boards.ie. Irish unemployment continue to exceed 11% or 400,000 jobs.

Croatia is much worse, sounds like he is unemployed as it is.

tommy85zg

adamski8 wrote: »

Croatia is much worse, sounds like he is unemployed as it is.

That's right. My last job, as I have mentioned before, was Canon CBS Product Manager in a small private company. I got fired without any good reason. Two weeks afre I got fired, my colleague told me that owners cousin needed a job...
I have a lot of experience in IT in general. I used to work for HGspot (Croatian biggest IT retail chain), ASBIS Croatia (there is also ASBIS branch office in Ireland asbis.ie), I know a lot about computer (hardware and software) sales (wholesale, export, import, retail), I also know a lot about system administration (since I studied Systems Engineering at private college in Zagreb). also, I am into networking, computer support, webdesign (HTML, CSS, PHP and WordPress) and I am failiar with Joomla basics.

Unfortunately, I lost my job and I can't afford paying scholarship and now (by the end of September) I will pause for one year.

Luckily, I am very resourceful, skilled for IT support (I am like MacGyver - give me matches and I will make you a weapon), I learn quickly and fast. If I don't know something I will take a book, read it and I will be ready to apply the knowledge.

Couple a years ago I was working at cafe bar as waiter, I also used to work at McDonald's, on a construction site and I am really great at painting the walls. Even today on saturdays and sundays, If I find something to paint, I do that.

I graduated in high school for agricultural sciences and I used to study Agriculture at University of Zagreb. But my younger sister got tumor and I had to quit my study and go to work to afford her medicament's...

The bottom line is - I am not inexperienced. I really know a lot of things.

CatLou

Ah, funny coincidence I'm going to Croatia this saturday
I'll offer you my opinion, which is the perspective of a (± recent) immigrant in Dublin. I moved here after visiting the city because I really liked it, and while it has its charms - and possibly more job opportunities than other european economies - not everything is perfect and rosy.

Now is a terrible time to try moving to Dublin, IMO, the main reason is that finding a house to rent is a nightmare and will possibly eat a considerable part of your earnings, even for a tiny and crappy place. You can always consider other parts of Ireland, but Dublin being the main city is where most of the jobs are.
There are jobs available but there are also loads of other unskilled workers and many unemployed educated people already here; besides, many of these jobs are for areas with specific requirements, like Finances or IT.

You also mention a lot of areas in which you have some sort of experience, but it is not a very good idea to say that you know x or y unless you really do. I find it hard to believe that you're very skilled at programming AND sales AND agriculture. With some luck you'll be good at at least one of them, and that's what you should focus on.

Moving to another country will mean you lose your support network, you'll have to spend some time going through bureaucracy and figuring your way around the place. It's not impossible, but it's a lot easier to move with a job or someone waiting for you on the other side. If you have a degree you can contact a recruiter here in Ireland and he may help you find a position in some IT-related field.

Isn't there a Croatian emigrant network? Maybe you could find some help there from other croats already established in Ireland.

I hope you don't take this the wrong way and I'm not coming across as too harsh, it just pains me to think that you'll be moving with your few savings only to spend them and have a stressful time.
So my advice would be: if you're really intent on living in Ireland, research your options better and try to secure a job before coming, or at least line up a few good job openings that you can apply for when you arrive (look at jobs.ie or monster.ie).

Sincerely, best of luck

MartyMcFly84

It is certainly difficult to move to a new country with few or no contacts. But its certainly do-able.

I would suggest maybe doing a house share or renting a room with others when you first arrive. This way you will get to meet people, save the cost of paying for place just for yourself. Generally you will meet other foreigners doing a house share and they will let you know how they got set up in Ireland to work etc.

Every country I have moved too I have done so without a secure job lined up. This is an ideal scenario situation. However if you really want to move just move. If you wait for the ideal scenario you will just waste time waiting for it to come up, and it might never happen. Be adventurous, if you really need to find a job you will get one, as long as you are not too specific or picky about your initial role.

Once you have an income and a place to stay you can then start looking at better jobs and later a different apartment or place to stay.

This is blueprint I have used, and it always worked for me.

Best of luck anyway.

tommy85zg

CatLou wrote: »

Ah, funny coincidence I'm going to Croatia this saturday
I'll offer you my opinion, which is the perspective of a (± recent) immigrant in Dublin. I moved here after visiting the city because I really liked it, and while it has its charms - and possibly more job opportunities than other european economies - not everything is perfect and rosy.

Now is a terrible time to try moving to Dublin, IMO, the main reason is that finding a house to rent is a nightmare and will possibly eat a considerable part of your earnings, even for a tiny and crappy place. You can always consider other parts of Ireland, but Dublin being the main city is where most of the jobs are.
There are jobs available but there are also loads of other unskilled workers and many unemployed educated people already here; besides, many of these jobs are for areas with specific requirements, like Finances or IT.

You also mention a lot of areas in which you have some sort of experience, but it is not a very good idea to say that you know x or y unless you really do. I find it hard to believe that you're very skilled at programming AND sales AND agriculture. With some luck you'll be good at at least one of them, and that's what you should focus on.

Moving to another country will mean you lose your support network, you'll have to spend some time going through bureaucracy and figuring your way around the place. It's not impossible, but it's a lot easier to move with a job or someone waiting for you on the other side. If you have a degree you can contact a recruiter here in Ireland and he may help you find a position in some IT-related field.

Isn't there a Croatian emigrant network? Maybe you could find some help there from other croats already established in Ireland.

I hope you don't take this the wrong way and I'm not coming across as too harsh, it just pains me to think that you'll be moving with your few savings only to spend them and have a stressful time.
So my advice would be: if you're really intent on living in Ireland, research your options better and try to secure a job before coming, or at least line up a few good job openings that you can apply for when you arrive (look at jobs.ie or monster.ie).

Sincerely, best of luck

Thank you for your reply. I think we have misunderstanding here... Most of my skills and experience are from IT. Don't get me wrong, but I can sell you any piece of hardware. When I was working for HGspot I started in the warehouse, then I was promoted in salesman, the in marketing assistant and my last promotion was in purchase department. After HGspot I started working for Asbis - IT hardware and software distributor (wholesale) and my last job was Canon CBS Product Manager. Other jobs I mentioned are also my skills. Why couldn't I work at warehouse or as a waiter? For example in 2008 I used to work in McDonald's. McDonald's is a company which has same protocols all over the world. Big Mac is same wherever you go.

The bottom line is that I don't expect to be rich. I expect just living average, normal life and to have new friends. That's all.

carlmango11

Came across this yesterday. Thought you might be interested.

Coming from Croatia to FINEOS for Ireland’s IT job prospects

ShadowHuntress

Hello! I'm in a similar boat as Tommy... I am a Croatian who is interested in moving to Ireland.

Here is my own situation...

My qualification are:
I have a BA in communications and a MA in cinema studies/film (both received in the USA) and experience in the following:
* 2 internships w/office type duties... one in a children's entertainment company one in a museum (each for some 3 months)
* 1 year of customer service type work in Walt Disney World (granted their entertainment department)
* 3 years of babysitting and tutoring experience
* 4 years of acting experience but mostly uni plays and unheard of student films, save for 4 IMDb credits

Basically, work in the fields of childcare/office/entertainment I'd have a better chance at. Although I'm alright with working anywhere that'll pay the bills (I'm thinking of getting a 400-450ish Euro a month flatshare for starters as I'm single and in my 20s... I can't drive and don't mind living anywhere around Dublin that's safe enough and I spend less than 2 hours total in my daily commute, that's reasonable right?) until I find something better. Given I love acting and there is stuff filmed in Ireland, a job that's somewhat flexible so I can pursue that too would be lovely if not well, I guess I have vacation days.

My situation is bizarre as I was raised abroad in Dubai and spent 7 years in America for my BA and MA but moved back in with my parents. I'm not a big fan of Dubai and as for Croatia... the job market is absolutely dismal here and the pay is very poor. Plus my Croatian isn't the best but my English is fantastic given all my education has been taught in it.

Any advice would be fantastic. I'd prefer to have a job lined up before I move as well but I do not know what the odds are.

Piriz

hi,

please visit jobseeker.fas.ie for jobs...this is the best website to use i think..

best of luck, Dublin is a great city with loads of young foreigners living here who have done what you are hoping to do..

hfallada

Piriz wrote: »

hi,

please visit jobseeker.fas.ie for jobs...this is the best website to use i think..

best of luck, Dublin is a great city with loads of young foreigners living here who have done what you are hoping to do..

I have yet to see a job on fas.ie, that needs qualifications more than a fetac or the leaving cert. The best site is indeed.com, as its like google. It searches the whole internet for jobs available and puts it in one place. You will find jobs on it from all websites, from other recruitment sites to even companies own sites.

ShadowHuntress

Thanks Priz and hfallada.
Here's to hoping this crazy plan of mine flies!