Working in Israel attracts many foreigners. This is understandable: the standard of living in this country is increasing every year, employers are willing to pay high-quality specialists good salaries, and the presence of many social benefits for workers makes employment even more tempting. However, getting the desired position in Israel is not easy: competition among immigrants is higher than in other countries.
The methods of finding a job in Israel for Russians, Ukrainians, and Kazakhstanis are approximately the same:
- Most often, immigrants find a new place using employment sites. The leader here is the well-known Headhunter in Russian.
- Local specialized portals are popular:
- jobcrawler.co.il,
- hotjob.co.il,
- alljobs.co.il in Hebrew.
- The sites il.indeed.com, israemploy.net, jobs-israel.com also deserve respect, but to study them you need knowledge of English.
- Many find work on Russian-language forums, for example.
- A common option for Israel is to search for a job using the social network LinkedIN.
- International recruitment agencies are a great way to find work in Israel. It is through them that large transnational corporations recruit personnel.
- Through the non-profit organization Gvahim, which helps immigrants build a career in Israel. In 9 cases out of 10, its programs help employers and job seekers find each other.
- With the assistance of friends, acquaintances, and relatives, immigrants are less likely to find employment. It is generally accepted that the reason for this is the peculiarities of the local mentality.
You can look for work in Israel not only using the Internet
Specialized employment programs for Russians and not only
The Israeli government has developed a whole range of programs under which repatriates and immigrants can get good jobs. To become a participant in one of them, a foreigner must meet certain criteria, namely:
- age from 20 to 55 years;
- good-natured and calm character;
- integrity and responsibility;
- hard work.
Each employment program has its own characteristics. Some (for example, caring for the elderly and sick) involve living at home or in a special medical facility. Others are designed for married couples and guarantee employment for both spouses. Still others are aimed at speeding up and allowing even people who do not know Hebrew but have Jewish roots to participate.
Most often, employment contracts are concluded for a period of 1 year. They can be renewed 7 times, so the maximum contract period is 8 years.
Each repatriate receives free Hebrew courses for the first 6 months, as well as a monthly allowance of $700. By the way, this money is enough to pay for accommodation and food for 1 person, as well as a modest wardrobe update.
List of the most popular professions in 2016
Under the slogan “Urgently needed,” the following vacancies most often appear:
- waiter;
- cook;
- office cleaner;
- salesperson-cashier;
- housemaid;
- handyman;
- social workers.
Interestingly, women's chances of finding a job are often higher than men's, since most vacancies are intended for the fairer sex.
It’s not difficult to leave and get a job as a nurse in Israel: just contact any social institution that cares for sick or elderly people
However, recently tempting offers have appeared on websites. The demand for middle managers in the field of online trading, direct marketing, and online sales has naturally increased. Therefore, there are many vacancies on headhunter sites for logisticians, warehouse workers, merchandise experts, and online accountants.
IT employees were not left unattended either. In the Holy Land, specialists who are well versed in website design, 3D modeling, and animation are traditionally in demand.
Salary in Israel
Today you can find a suitable vacancy without even leaving your country. To get an unskilled job (loader, cleaner, auxiliary worker, watchman), it is enough to go through a simple interview with the prospective employer via Skype. It is clear that wages in this case will be minimal - about 4.5–5 thousand shekels. Service personnel - maids, nurses, housekeepers - receive a little more than 6 thousand shekels per month.
The average salary in the country at the beginning of 2016 was 10.07 thousand shekels per month. By the way, this is approximately what mid-level medical workers receive. The minimum wage changes annually. By law, it cannot be less than 47.5% of the average monthly income of working citizens. So, in January 2016 it was 4.65 thousand shekels, by July 2016 it is planned to increase it to 4.85 thousand shekels, and by January 2017 - to 5 thousand shekels.
The amount of payroll tax depends on the amount of income received. In 2015, if the income did not exceed 63.24 thousand shekels, the mas-akhnasa income tax rate was 10%. Higher incomes were taxed at rates ranging from 14 to 50%.
Video: what kind of salary do they pay in Israel?
Work for repatriates
There are many vacancies for immigrants in Israel. However, getting a decent job depends not only on the level of education, specialty, and work experience. Often everything is decided by the willingness to lower salary expectations and make certain concessions to the employer.
In 2013, the Israeli Ministry of Economy compiled a rating of the demand for specialties, dividing them into 10 groups, taking into account the total number of vacancies and salary levels. Over the past 3 years, this rating has remained virtually unchanged:
- The most in-demand and highly paid specialists are still programmers, computer engineers and electronics engineers. Today they are paid about 20 thousand shekels a month.
- The next most popular are humanities specialists: university professors, teachers, educators. Their salary is 10–12 thousand shekels per month.
- The TOP-3 are completed by construction specialists: masons, painters, plasterers, concrete workers, and special equipment drivers.
In addition, migrants can count on work in agriculture, the industrial sector, tourism, marketing and sales.
To find a job faster, you can seek help from the special agency Sokhnut, which helps repatriates adapt to their historical homeland. Dozens of vacancies are posted daily on the agency’s website, and you can use its services for free.
Important features for successful and legal employment
Which cities do you prefer?
Many people think that they should move to large populated areas. There are more vacancies here, and the work pays better. At the same time, you should choose a place of residence based on the specialization and level of development of the territory:
- It is better to move to Jerusalem for those who expect to find work in the field of tourism and medicine.
- Haifa is attractive for people with engineering and technical education. The presence of a large port here creates a demand for laborers, mechanics and boatmasters.
- There are many Russian-speaking citizens in Ashdod, so people who do not speak Hebrew perfectly can get a job there.
- Tel Aviv is perfect for managers, financiers, businessmen, and civil servants.
How long is the working day and working week in Israel?
People in the country love and know how to work. The work week begins on Sunday and ends either on Thursday or Friday afternoon. The working day lasts a full 9 hours, and annual leave is only 10 days.
Compliance with labor discipline is monitored very strictly. However, these difficulties are compensated by decent social benefits and good health insurance.
Is it possible to get a job without knowing the language?
The chances of immigrants to fill an open vacancy directly depend on their knowledge of Hebrew: employers make more interesting offers to those who are on friendly terms with it. If you do not speak the official language of Israel, at first you will have to be content with low-paid positions. According to recent data, knowing Hebrew increases your chances of finding a job by about 60%, and speaking English increases your salary by at least 25%.
Is it possible to obtain Israeli citizenship without having Jewish roots? We talk about this in the article:
The nuances of obtaining a work visa in Israel
Not all employers can invite foreigners to work. Only companies that have received a special license from the Ministry of Industry, Labor and Trade of the country have this right. The company that invited a foreign specialist independently issues a work permit for him. This document is valid only during the period of work in this company. If an employee plans to change his place of work, the new employer will have to obtain another permit for him.
Documents required for obtaining a work visa
- Form-1 and visa application form.
- Photos 5*5 cm - 2 pieces.
- General civil.
- Birth certificates (for children), marriage certificates, divorce certificates (if available).
- Confirmation of no criminal record.
- Medical certificate.
- Employment contract with the employer.
Visa extension rules
The procedure for issuing visas states that they are initially issued for a period of 1 month. After moving during this period, you need to contact the authorities of the State of Israel with a request to extend your B-1 work visa for another year.
All information about applying for and obtaining different types of visas to Israel is in this article:
Diploma nostrification
In order for a repatriate to continue his studies in Israel, he needs to carry out the procedure for legalizing his diploma received in Russia or any other CIS country. The procedure includes translation of the diploma and its annexes into Hebrew, as well as notarization of documents. After this, the so-called nostrification of the diploma is carried out. It consists of comparing the training course of the university that issued the diploma and the training course of the corresponding specialty according to Israeli requirements.
Punishment for trying to get a job illegally
In mid-March 2016, the Knesset (Israeli parliament) adopted a new law that seriously tightened penalties for providing housing and work to illegal immigrants (in particular, refugees from Palestine). Now an employer who hires illegal migrants may be fined $500 thousand. Interestingly, according to the new rules, not only the employer himself is punished, but also the contracting company that pays for his services.
Fines for providing housing to illegal immigrants will also increase significantly. Their size ranges from 40 to 75 thousand shekels for companies and from 5 to 10 thousand shekels for individuals. A repeated violation may result in a fine of up to 226 thousand shekels or imprisonment of the perpetrators for up to 4 years. In addition, police can restrict the use of a place where illegal immigrants spend the night for 30 days. The court has the right to extend this restriction for another 60 days.
Table: advantages and disadvantages of working in Israel
Get an internship in Israel
A visit to the Holy Land to acquire new knowledge is necessary for both students and professionals. The country has a number of educational programs, for example, IsraelWay, which promotes career growth in almost any specialty. Judging by the abundance of educational programs for foreigners, finding a suitable internship is not difficult. Courses are especially common for engineers, doctors and representatives of creative professions: designers, artists, editors, actors.
Internship in Israel is very popular among Russian-speaking youth
Educational programs for young people are extremely popular. One of the most popular courses today is the “Start” course from the Tlalim company, designed to introduce young men and women to the culture and way of life of the Israelis, give them the opportunity to get used to an unusual language environment and provide a chance for employment. The program lasts 10 months, during which participants live in private apartments in Jerusalem. They intensively study Hebrew, attend all kinds of trainings and seminars, and go on excursions around the country. The cost of the course includes health insurance, as well as a stipend for food and free travel around the city. You can learn about the rules of participation in the program by watching an interesting video.
Video: MASA-Tlalim “Start” program for students
Business immigration as a way to move to Israel
The concept of “business immigration” does not exist in the Holy Land. Even if you open a new company, register a branch or representative office of a foreign company, or purchase commercial real estate, you will not be issued a residence permit for these reasons.
However, Israelis respect those who decide to do business and do not put any obstacles in their way. Registration of a company in Israel will cost approximately 2.6 thousand shekels, and about 2 thousand shekels will be spent on the services of a local lawyer. The registration procedure will generally take from 1 to 3 months.
