The 3 Hardest things about Finding a Job in Israel

The 3 Hardest things about Finding a Job in Israel

1. Finding a Job in Israel That Pays Well

– Cost of living is high, and salaries are fairly low. Depending on your talents, and the value you bring into the Israeli marketplace, many job tends not to pay high salaries.

That being said, it can be quite hard to find a job that pays you what you think you are worth. Be prepared to take a lot of time looking into the Israeli market for a job that pays well – especially if you are an English speaker.

– If you have children, schooling costs a lot of money. The there are additional costs involved when sending your child to “free” public school + after school programs can cost 900+ shekels per, child per month.

If you follow the news, you may have seen / heard about the frequent strikes that parents have about these cost of schooling and the burden it weighs on the quality of life – especially in Tel Aviv.

2. The Job Market Is Crowded

– Depending on the field, you might be in competition with hundreds of other people for the same job position. This is because Israel is not a large country and there are only X amount of jobs.

– When you go on LinkedIn, you see that many others have applied for the same jobs. You are probably using LinkedIn and Facebook to find jobs… almost everyone else is too.

– If you don’t speak Hebrew, you have a limited selection of fields to choose from. So, many foreigners that live in Israel are working in international sales positions, and international customer support offices.

3. Most Jobs Require the Ability to Read and Write Fluent Hebrew

– Many, many people in Israel are immigrants. Every year, more and more Jewish people immigrate to Israel from around the world.

– You probably speak Hebrew, but you don’t read or write at a professional level. If you are an immigrant looking for a job in your native tongue, it is possible to find a job using it… you just need to know where and how to look for a job.

– If you are an immigrant, you probably cant spend 2-3 years in ulpan because you need to earn money. Ulpan is a great way to learn Hebrew but it takes time, while time might not be on your side.

You see, I still remember the day I arrived in Israel… I had NO JOB, NO FRIENDS, and NO MONEY.

And it took me several years of living in Israel before I found a decent-paying job at a tech company.

I was working for this company, and was promoted to a leadership position when I had a powerful self-realization:

The purpose of my life, is helping other people get what they want from life.

I looked back into my past and understood that I was always asked to be a leader + trainer + teacher… and I absolutely loved doing it!

Therefore, with my 15+ years of experience in the field of sales and customer service I decided to open a sales training company.

I never thought that I would open my own business in Israel… but I did!

I decided to name my sales training company Sales Development Israel.

Then, I began to use all of my spare time before work and after work creating training materials, and trying to acquire clients.

In addition, I was sending emails and cold calling companies in Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Ramat Gan, Jerusalem, Bat Yam, and Holon.

Basically, I was reaching out across the whole country of Israel in my efforts.

Great news – I was able to find my first few clients!

Something I immediately noticed was at the conclusion of my sales training workshops, two things would happen consistently happen:

Firstly, I would receive feedback that my sales training workshops were providing massive value for the sales team.

Secondly, one or two of the students in the courses would privately approach me.

These students would speak with me about their struggles not only in sales, but also in their lives.

Then one time, a female student offered to pay me for a one-on-one session outside of the office.

She asked me to help her learn how to communicate more effectively, and to help her figure out a better career path.

Another student, approached me and offered to pay me for my time to help prepare him for a job interview.

Similarly, another student from another workshop, at another company, asked me to help them build their self-confidence.

And this would happen again and again and again…

Each of these wonderful people I began to work one-on-one with, had their own unique challenge, and asked me for help.

Each time we developed a plan, strategized, and executed.

These first clients would call me their “Life Coach” or “Career Counselor“, and I am proud to say that I was able to help them.

At the conclusion of our one-on-one sessions, they each had taken took massive steps forward towards the results they wanted!

Eventually, enough people called me their Career Counselor or Life Coach that I began to call myself a “Career Counselor” and ”Life Coach”.

Most people set out to become a trained and certified life coach (קואצ’ר , אימון אישי) or career counselor before ever having a client… that is not my story.

I never once said to myself that I wanted to be a life coach (אימון אישי לחיים) or a career counselor.

This interesting and fulfilling profession came to me… literally.

So that is the short story of how I began life coaching (תל אביב קואצ’ינג לחיים) and career counseling in Tel Aviv Israel.