In my years of activity in various markets, in European countries, I have frequently encountered the mistaken belief of candidates coming from countries considered niche from the perspective of employers, in Western European countries, that by getting into the job market as freelancers they will increase their chances of working on interesting and innovative projects for well-known international IT companies.
Many candidates try, even on their own initiative, after sometimes quite complicated online research, to contact a company offering an interesting position, hoping for direct employment at so-called European rates.
Nearshoring is a strategy, not an immediate need
Nearshoring in large multinational companies is often, like outsourcing, a matter of strategy rather than an immediate need to hire a specialist for a particular position. While outsourcing can be successfully implemented within a single country without having to consider inconveniences such as language or localization issues, nearshoring brings many benefits as well as organizational challenges for a company that decides to engage in this form of cooperation. The lack of a strategic basis for such activities often means no decision to hire candidates from Poland. Candidates who do not speak the language of the target country, such as German or French, are thus eliminated.
Foreign languages are still important!
From a candidate’s point of view, language is not a problem; after all, English is the language of IT, and a recent weekend trip to Berlin confirmed that there is no problem communicating in English. In such situations, I have always said that a country’s capital does not represent its other regions. Citing an anecdote from a conversation with our potential partner, a multinational company based in southern Germany. I heard that everyone there is bilingual, speaking German and Swabian.
Something that is not considered a problem from a candidate’s point of view can be an organizational challenge for a large company to decide to completely switch to English in the workplace. Most multinational companies have already chosen this path, but many teams are opposed to the organization’s official policy. After all, with a skills gap, what to do with those who, for various reasons, resist working in English? Get rid of valuable resources with a deep understanding of processes, specialized knowledge, and years of experience?
The issue of language and location is usually problematic when it comes to employment contracts for candidates outside the employer’s home country. This is obvious because of the still widely differing labor law, tax law, and social security law. Even the pandemic has failed to standardize these issues enough to make hiring a person from another EU country intuitive and hassle-free. On the side of the organization itself, there may also be challenges that will effectively discourage the hiring of specialists from outside the home market. For the candidate himself, it can also prove to be a difficult and question-bearing process. Let’s assume, however, that a company from Germany has managed to get through all the formalities and hire a specialist from Poland, but what next?
Next, of course, is the day-to-day work of the team, which until now has used its native language at work, in all meetings, and beyond. Here, English alone may not be enough, take as an example, for example, technical documentation, which will be incomprehensible to the programmer due to gaps in its translation.
100% remotely, but not from Poland
It is also worth mentioning projects that are mostly commissioned by public administration and partially allow remote work, but only from the territory of the commissioning country. The obvious reason for this is the security requirements that we cannot ignore.
As you can see, despite the wide opening of European markets to well-qualified candidates from Poland, when planning a career in IT on international markets, you should be aware of certain limitations and pay attention to appropriate qualifications, including language, and choose potential employers carefully and prudently, also in your home country. market.
If you want to learn more about international career opportunities at Polarys, schedule a short conversation with our recruiter.
