How to present your professional experience when looking for work in Spain
Ubuntu Canarias · 7 min read · Published 25 October 2026
A guide from Ubuntu Canarias to help you recognise your skills, explain your background and find ways forward in your job search.
Arriving in Spain and looking for work can mean explaining again and again who you are professionally. Sometimes you have to do it in front of people who don't know the job market in your country, don't know the companies you have worked for, or can't make sense of your experience because your qualifications are still waiting to be recognised.
It may also be that you haven't worked for a while, that you have had to take jobs outside your profession, or that you know how to do many things but find it hard to explain them in Spanish.
When this happens, it is easy to end up thinking that your experience has lost its value. Yet there is a difference between having knowledge and getting someone else to recognise it. Learning to present your background can help you close that gap.
Before you talk about yourself, think about what you have done
Sometimes, when we ask someone what they can do, they answer with the name of their last job. But a profession involves much more than the job title on a contract.
Someone who has worked in a restaurant may know about food preparation, organising a kitchen, stock control or customer service. Someone who has cared for relatives may have gained experience in day-to-day care and support, even though those tasks are not automatically equivalent to a professional qualification. Someone who has been self-employed may know how to manage orders, deal with suppliers and organise their time.
To recognise your skills, try to remember the specific tasks you did. What were you asked to do? What problems could you solve? What were you responsible for? What did you learn through practice?
Write it down. You don't need to write a CV yet. First you need to identify your experience and tell apart the knowledge you can certify, the knowledge you gained on the job and the knowledge you would like to develop.
This exercise is especially useful if you have been out of work for some time or had to change sector when you arrived in Spain.
How to explain who you are in a professional conversation
Imagine you go to a guidance organisation, meet someone who works at a company, or get the chance to talk to someone who can tell you about a vacancy. They may ask you: “What experience do you have?” or “What kind of work are you looking for?”
You don't need to tell your whole story. Try to explain three things: what you have worked in, which tasks you know and what opportunity you are looking for now.
For example: “I have worked in hotel cleaning. I have experience preparing rooms and keeping common areas clean. I'm now looking for a cleaning job and I'm available to hear about vacancies.”
If you have no work experience, you can talk about the training you are doing, the tasks you have learned or the sector you want to start in.
What matters is that the other person understands what you are looking for. A short introduction does not guarantee that a job will come up, but it can make it easier for people to point you towards a resource, a course or a position that suits you.
Don't memorise a speech that doesn't sound like you. Practise a few sentences, look for the words you need and get used to talking about your experience without playing it down or claiming knowledge you don't have yet.
Experience that doesn't show up in a qualification
Some people arrive in Spain with years of work behind them and find that their studies need to go through a recognition or equivalence process. Others learned a trade by working, without a formal qualification.
These are different situations and it helps to treat them as such.
If you studied abroad, find out what recognition you need for the profession you want to practise. Requirements vary depending on the type of studies and the professional activity. For some professions, recognition or meeting specific requirements may be compulsory.
In the meantime, you can find out about roles related to your experience, the skills employers are looking for and courses that could improve your options. This does not mean that years of practice can replace a required qualification, but you can explore other paths into work when they are compatible with the requirements of the job.
If you learned a trade by working, explain where and how you learned it. Describe the tasks you did and, whenever possible, provide references, certificates or other proof of your experience.
Not all skills are recognised in the same way. That is why it helps to get guidance before deciding what training you need or which jobs you can apply for.
When language becomes a barrier
Maybe you know how to do the job but find it hard to answer quickly in an interview. You understand the question, but need a few seconds to find the words. Or you worry that your accent or grammar mistakes will make the other person doubt your abilities.
If so, prepare for the situations you are likely to face. If you are looking for work in hospitality, practise explaining your experience in cooking, cleaning, customer service or the specific tasks of the job. If you are interested in warehouse work, prepare the vocabulary for goods, orders and organisation.
You can rehearse with someone else, record yourself speaking, or write your answers first and then practise them out loud.
During the interview, ask for a question to be repeated if you don't understand it. If you need to think, take your time. And if you don't yet know how to do a task, say so clearly and explain whether you are willing to learn it.
Improving your Spanish will widen your options, but mistakes when speaking do not, on their own, describe your ability to work. Employers should assess the knowledge and skills the job requires, and the level of language that is actually needed to do it.
If your administrative situation worries you
For some migrants, looking for work comes with another concern: knowing what they are legally allowed to do while their administrative situation is being resolved.
When there are doubts about a residence or work permit, a regularisation procedure or the requirements for taking a job, it is best to look for information specific to each case. Conditions can vary, and an answer that is right for one person may not apply to another.
You can start preparing your CV, identifying your skills and exploring training and guidance resources. To find out what work you can do and under what conditions, check official sources or seek specialised advice.
Be wary of anyone who promises contracts, permits or guaranteed solutions in exchange for money. Before handing over documents or making a payment, check who is offering the service and what procedure is being carried out.
If you don't know where to start, ask for help identifying the body or organisation that can guide you. You don't need to know every procedure in advance to take that first step.
An interview is not an exam about your life
Some questions help an employer understand your experience, while others may lead you to talk about personal circumstances that have nothing to do with the job. You decide which parts of your story you want to share.
You don't have to explain all the reasons why you migrated, justify a period without work or describe painful personal experiences to prove that you are a responsible person.
If you are asked about a period when you were not working, you can answer briefly and bring the conversation back to your professional goals. If you are asked about a past difficulty at work, you can explain how you dealt with it and what you learned, as long as you feel comfortable doing so.
You also have the right to ask questions. Find out about the duties, the working hours, the type of contract and the conditions of the job. A job opportunity should be judged by what it offers and whether it fits your circumstances.
And if you are not selected, don't automatically turn that answer into a verdict on your ability. There can be many reasons behind a hiring decision. Reviewing how you present yourself, adapting your CV or practising for interviews can help you do better next time, even if it doesn't guarantee a result.
Where you can ask for guidance
If you need help identifying your skills, preparing your CV or finding out about available resources, you can go to the public employment services, check the training options in your municipality and look for social organisations that offer employment guidance.
At Ubuntu Canarias we support migrants and their families through reception, integration and employment guidance. Within our scope, we can help you identify resources and explore options related to your goals. Support depends on the services and possibilities available; we do not guarantee employment and we do not replace specialised legal advice.
Looking for work in another country can take time, information and several attempts. Sometimes the obstacle is language; at other times it is the lack of recognition of your studies, the absence of professional contacts or administrative conditions. Identifying which difficulty you are facing makes it possible to look for a more suitable response, instead of putting every problem down to a supposed lack of personal preparation.
Your experience will not always be recognised straight away. That doesn't mean you should give it up, or that you have to sort everything out on your own. You can start by putting a name to what you know how to do, finding out about the requirements of the jobs that interest you and asking for guidance when you need it.