4 replies to this topic

[philbrees]

I have a cousin who studied International Business at a major and well respected American university who REALLY wants to move to Antalya with me now that I will be living there. He has worked in medical sales for a major business corporation the last 14 months and has done fantastic work in that area. He is trying to find any business contacts, jobs, links, or other helpful resources to aid him in securing employment/visa. He is SERIOUS about this move as he has always wanted to work in Turkey for cultural and professional growth, as evident by his college major of study. He thinks he is limited because he does not speak any Turkish but obviously his native tongue is English and he is conversational in Spanish as well. I told him it would be easier for me to setup contacts once I'm over there for my new job and eventually meet people. Is there a need for English speakers in the core area of business/sales? Does anybody have any contacts, references, jobs, websites, or other resources that would be beneficial to his search?

Thanks again for all your help guys!

Ciao

Phil

[lostinparadise]

Just based on 15 years living in Turkey I would be very surprised if your cousin could find this type of work without Turkish language skills.

[Abi]

I think if there was anyone interested it would be large pharmaceutical/medical supplies Turkish companies who sell to English speaking countries. Conversational Spanish I wouldn't have thought would be any use in the medical business world because if a possible buyer went into depth about the product your cousin would be lost and it wouldn't reflect well on either your cousin or the company he works for.

His problems in getting a job would be first, as LiP said he can't speak Turkish and wouldn't be able to converse with the other members of staff also I very much doubt that such companies exist in Antayla and would be based in Istanbul or other large cities in Turkey. The most important problem is he has to find a company that will get him a Work Permit. The process of getting the actual Work Permit is easy, the difficult part is find an employer who is willing to apply for one. Also to bear in mind that should he get a WP it will only be good for that job, if he leaves that company his employer will cancel it and the new employer will have to apply for a new one.

As Turkish law stands foreigners can only get a job here if the vacancy can't be filled by a Turk or the company is very large and is allowed to employ a certain amount of foreigners. Certain jobs are protected for Turks only, which is a good thing in my mind.

It's very doubtful that forum members would be able to tell you which companies your cousin should approach and suggest he does a search on the internet for them. He should also check to see if there are any American pharmaceutical/medical supply companies based in Turkey who would employ him in the US and then send him to Turkey on an in-house transfer.

Whilst I wish your cousin luck, realistically I don't think he will be successful, but it's worth a try. As the saying goes nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[sunny]

Unfortunately I have to agree with LiP and Abi.

[Fabio]

Hi All,

Allow me to contribute to this thread, utilizing the straight and raw answer I give to friends making similar queries from abroad.

"Do not expect to earn money in Turkey; however it is a place where you can / will spend the money you earned in your own country".

I totally agree that language is a barier, but also my personal feeling is that just in very rare cases foreigners will get a job that could be covered in the same way by a Turkish citizen... Turkey there are plenty of Turkish worker looking for a job!

Finally, I would like to share with you that even though I am married to a Turkish Citizen, I have received a resident permit clearly stating that I am NOT allowed to work in Turkey and I do not think that they put this limitation just to me :-)

Regards,

Fabio