Aliyah Insights: Working without Hebrew
How to Find Work if You Don't Speak Hebrew
The language barrier prevents many ‘olim’ (immigrants) from continuing with their previous career, at least within the first year or two.
Finding a job which does not require Hebrew is no easy task. You will need to consider what you have to offer alongside the opportunities that are available.
What Do You Have to Offer?
First off you need to have a change of mindset; consider your experience not as individual jobs but more in terms of the transferable skills you have, eg. organizational skills, IT skills, English touch typing, maths ability, telephone skills, sales techniques etc.
What Is Available?
Once you have identified your skills mix, you need to identify suitable work that is available.
At this point it is worth looking around you to see what type of work others in the same position are doing. You are not the first and certainly will not be the last to arrive in Israel needing to find work before you have mastered the language.
Below is a list of employment sectors which are most popular with ‘Hebrew-challenged’ immigrants in Israel. Sometimes these jobs are used as a ‘stop gap’ whilst they improve their Hebrew, settle in, build up their contacts and find other work. Others work in these areas long term, building up their skills, experience, networks and long term employability in these fields.
List of Job Areas for the Hebrew-challenged:
- Technical Writing – You need to take a short course to learn the basics. This position involves writing technical manuals and instructions for products. The pay is satisfactory and rises with experience. Some posts are temporary and it can take a while to find permanent work.
- Teaching English – to be employed by the school sector you need to have a recognized teaching qualification from your own country or from Israel. There are a few colleges that deliver teaching certificates in English. If you are not qualified it is still possible to find work, either teaching privately or ‘Dovrei Anglit’ – the English language school program for the children of Anglos. This work is rewarding but discipline can be a problem in Israeli schools. In addition, you need to be prepared to teach multi-level classes with children who have just made aliyah sitting alongside those who speak English at home but were born here and need a lot of help with their reading and writing.
- Childcare/Elderly Care - Many Anglo families prefer English speaking care workers. To find work you can apply through an agency, the small ads or ask around community centers etc. As in many other countries, the pay is low, but this type of work is available and will provide a steady income.
- Customer Care/Telesales –These posts employ English speakers to work in a central office or from home. There are lots of adverts for this type of work and many are located in larger cities. The pay is average and the hours tend to be ‘U.S. hours’ so expect to work into the night. Many olim take these jobs as an initial ‘starter job’ until they can gain a better level of Hebrew and find something that better suits their skills.
- Freelance Writing – This work can be picked up on the Internet, mainly for U.S. based companies. Work may include copy, article, blog, web or technical writing assignments. Jobs are paid in dollars and come at a variety of pay levels. You need to bid in to apply for vacant jobs or submit copy and see if you are selected. The work can be undertaken flexibly and at home; a real bonus for many. It takes time to establish yourself in this field and there is a fair amount of international competition, but it is definitely worth pursuing if you have good written English skills.
- Marcom - Short for marketing communications, Marcom includes advertising, public relations, web design and development, packaging, direct mail - anything that promotes brand and marketing messages. Local recruitment agencies tend to handle these types of vacancies.
- Admin, Data Entry and Transcription – These jobs can be found through small adds, agencies or, sometimes via freelance writing websites. The work can be carried out at home and usually involves working to a deadline. Most jobs are for U.S. based organizations. Fast, accurate typing is a must, as is your own computer with internet access.
Finding work which does not require Hebrew can prove hard but, if you look in the right direction, there are vacant posts available.
For more articles on emigrating and aliyah see relevant articles.
