Many people who are considering Aliyah are rightfully concerned about their employment prospects in Israel. The truth is, the stronger your Hebrew is, the easier settling into life in Israel will be for you. But many Olim face the challenge of transferring their career to Israel – does your specific career exist in Israel? Is your Hebrew good enough to pursue jobs in your field upon arrival in Israel? These may seem like daunting questions, but you are actually coming with a huge advantage: English.
With limited Hebrew-language skills, it may seem like finding a job in Israel will be impossible, but fluency in English is a huge advantage in the Israeli job market. Making Aliyah may require a mindset shift and a career change, but if you pinpoint your skills in order to transfer to another field, you can certainly “make it” in Israel thanks to your English language abilities.
There are a number of fields in which English is necessary in the Israeli workforce, including (but not limited to):
- Business development
- Sales
- Product development/management
- Marketing
- Social media
- Content writing
- Copy writing
- Teaching
- Tutoring
- Client relations
- Grant writing
- Fundraising
These are all fields in which Olim have found success, whether they are coming to Israel with experience in these areas or starting out new upon Aliyah.
If your prior experience lends itself to freelancing, you may want to consider that as an option. This allows you to carry over your pre-Aliyah professional experience and define your own work environment, with a setting, schedule, and language that make you comfortable.
As one of our Olim who has found success in Israel put it, “One of the great things about Aliyah is that you get to reinvent yourself. It’s an amazing opportunity because no one knows the USA “you,” they only know the Israeli “you!” First you have to figure out who you want the new “you” to be. What skills do you have that will translate into a job? What makes you and your skills unique in Israel? What can you do for an Israeli company that will be of benefit to them? I decided to go back to writing because guess what? If you have a flair for the English language, Israel needs you! Websites and social media need you! Start-ups who are doing business internationally need you! Nonprofits who rely on foreign funding need you! Israeli children and adults who want to improve their English need you!”
Reach out to the Nefesh B’Nefesh employment department who can advise you in this area. Feel free to check out our job board to see what jobs exist in Israel and where English is in high demand.
