Anyone know of companies in Mexico who are hiring Engineers?

Question

i am a Manufacturing Engineer in the automotive industry with many years of experience in Quality Assurance as well. My wife is currently living and working in Mexico. I am in the process of moving to Mexico to be with her there and am in need of employment. I am currently studying Spanish and have been using Monster.com and other job search sites. I've also listed my resume' with companies that I am familiar with that have facilities in Mexico. Any help with contacts or suggestions for companies would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Answer 1

It would help to know where you are headed in Mexico.  I'm assuming your wife will want to stay at her current job and you will want to live in that location?  If so, that certainly narrows your search!

Unfortunately, you will be competing against many very well-qualified Mexican citizens with excellent bilingual skills who are willing to work for Mexican wages.  Most non-Mexican citizens who work in industry here (at least in Torreon, the city with which I am most familiar) are expats sent down for very specific jobs for very specific times and many have ten or twenty or even more years with the company BEFORE they are sent to Mexico.

Your best bet is to offer to work at the same wage rate as the Mexican citizens with the company to which you are applying and to stress some very specific job skills that you have that are lacking at that particular company.  Hopefully you have at least 50% fluency in Spanish and also are familiar with the culture and history of Mexico (one of the biggest challenges for many foreign managers here is understanding the cultural differences and how that impacts everything from work attendance to meeting protocal).

Another great help would be to use any relationships that your wife may have established with her company to help you get employment either at her firm or at a firm related to that which employs her.  Personal recommendations can make a huge difference in getting that door to crack open a bit wider for you.

I won't kid you.... this is not going to be easy and you will need to be persistent and realistic.  But, if you are committed to moving, then you need to just keep doing the work, sending the resumes, making the phone calls, and.... most importantly... once you are in Mexico itself, making the face-to-face contacts that may help you get that job.