Finding a job as a foreigner?
Hi everyone. I moved to Brussels about a few months ago to be with my husband (Belgian resident, so I have the right to work) and I have been job searching for over 5 months now. I've applied to over 100 roles and I'm getting no responses. I had one interview but I think it was a scam. I'm starting to feel like I made a huge mistake, and that I'm losing any career momentum I had out of school.
I have experience in events, communications, and project management in the non-profit and cultural sector. I've planned major fundraisers, developed exhibitions, and handled digital marketing. I'm trying to apply this experience to the non profit space in Brussels, but have expanded outside that as well due to how little luck I've had.
I'm targeting junior roles and traineeships in events, comms, and project management. I've tried LinkedIn, BrusselsJobs, agencies, and traineeship boards. None of it is working. I keep hitting walls. I've tried networking, but its really hard to get my foot in the door here.
The language thing is the obvious issue, I know. I'm a native English speaker and I'm actively studying French, but I'm nowhere near B1. However, everyone I have met in Brussels has told me they work entirely in English and non of them speak the local languages.
What I'm struggling to understand is whether this is a language barrier problem, a sector problem (is the cultural/non-profit scene just tiny here?), a CV format problem, or something else I'm missing entirely. Any advice is appreciated. I would even be open to meet for a coffee chat in person!
Thanks 😄