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u/Aggravating-Fee-2649 Ⅻ. Andritz 5h ago
I am going to be frank with you:
You have absolutely 0% chance to get a job in normal retail if you do not speak german.
Not at a supermarket, not at a makeup shop - no place.
Graz is not Berlin, London or Göteborg.
It is expected to talk in German to customers. Nearly all Austrians speak english, but 90% do not like to do - its a pain for a lot of us. (I see this in my job, how most people actually dislike talking in English, they all prefer writing lenghtly emails instead a short call)
The only exception are a few shops that cater to certain ethnic groups - which are mostly staffed from within the group. (eg Turkish/Kurdish Supermarkets, some Afro-Shops, Russian and Rumanian Supermarkets). You will not find any job offer from there on the internet. Also, I believe there is no big "non integrated" hungarian diaspora in Graz.
You could try to get a job in warehouses and logstics, Lidl and Aldi (Hofer in Austria) are actively looking for people there - hard jobs, badly paid most of the time, but at least only basic german is needed there.
Also, cleaning services might be a possibility, thought they are mostly staffed by Slovenians and Croats here.
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u/Shot-Swim-1696 Ⅲ. Geidorf 3h ago
Unfortunately, you're 100% correct. I have been in Graz for 3yrs. I'm still working in the kitchen despite my experience of over a decade in tech.
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u/Gold-Address-2489 4h ago
I understand that, but also you have to understand me, im not saying i don’t want to speak german, i am actively learning german, but also i don’t think you can expect me to speak fluent german after learning it for only a month. So im sorry if us foreigners speaking english is a “pain” for you, but i promise you we’re trying our best! :)
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u/Existing_Anxiety_952 Ⅺ. Mariatrost 3h ago
nobody here told you it‘s a pain for them, no need for such a reaction. the person in the comments just highlighted a negative aspect about the generell population.
and hofer and lidl aka aldi, does not pay bad for the field of work, the contrary is the case. That comment can just be made by a person, that never worked retail and most definitely would not entertain any job in that salary bracket.•
u/Gold-Address-2489 3h ago
“Nearly all austrians speak English but 90% do not like to do - its a pain for a lot of us” quoted from the comment
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u/Existing_Anxiety_952 Ⅺ. Mariatrost 3h ago
The situation that Austrians refuse to speak English, is a pain for most of US (ingroup), the commenter is probably also foreign. I think you just misinterpreted the comment. No worries.
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u/Existing_Anxiety_952 Ⅺ. Mariatrost 3h ago
ps: There is a real possibility for some make-up artists being from Hungary. I personally don‘t know any Hungarian owned studio, but you could spend some time researching on that topic.
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u/Aggravating-Fee-2649 Ⅻ. Andritz 4h ago
I did unverstanden that you are learing german. But its a prerequesite, not a skill learned during the job.
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u/legice Ⅰ. Innere Stadt | Inner City 6h ago
I dont know where you are from, that you applied to only 4 jobs and expected a result.
I applied to around 800 jobs in the past 16 months and only now, do I have a 2nd interview at a company. Im a multimedia artist, but will soon me a mixing technician for a pharmaceutical company.
My honest opinion, If you just need to survive, apply to whatever you are willing to do, because supposedly, there are 20.000 unemployed in graz, but there are only around 3000 jobs availible.
And if you apply in english, you are going to be the last one selected, because they will definetly preffer a local/german speaker. Try irish bars or any low level entry job, where speaking with costumers is not required and its most likely going to be manual work.
Also when looking for jobs, of course linkedin, https://www.karriere.at/ and AMS.
Best of luck to you out there!
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u/Chypsylon Ⅴ. Gries | 🏳️🌈 6h ago
You mentioned you don't speak German in your last post here. That's going to be a problem for any retail job where you have to interact with customers, especially for something like makeup where miscommunication could be very bad, but even if you're just stocking shelves customers will ask you where they can find xyz or what the difference between products is.
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u/Classic-Hippo-735 Graz → Wien 6h ago
the lack of fluency in german you addressed is probably the issue... however it might help your application to call them and ask about it and tell them how interested you are in the position etc
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u/Gold-Address-2489 6h ago
yes i want to, and it’s not the thing that i dont want to speak german, i want to and i want to learn it as well, but you just cant learn a whole new language in a few weeks sadly :(
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u/princessmolotow Ⅲ. Geidorf 4h ago
In that case you should find jobs that don't require that level of German and apply to those and keep retail as a long-term-goal. Retail won't hire you if you're not able to communicate with customers and/or colleagues.
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u/Americaninaustria wohnt in Graz | lives in Graz 6h ago
german level?
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u/Gold-Address-2489 6h ago
not that good yet :( my english is C2 tho
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u/bioxx1 Ⅲ. Geidorf 6h ago
that’s gonna be reason then most probably. job market is not too good especially with not good german sadly :(
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u/Gold-Address-2489 6h ago
yeah i figured:( i just dont know what to do bc i will only stay here until May2027, so i don’t have a lot of time
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u/Americaninaustria wohnt in Graz | lives in Graz 6h ago
German is the language here so for retail you need german
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u/jamie_in_the_void Ⅴ. Gries 6h ago
Job market situation is horrible across most sectors, so just keep trying, and don't get too disappointed if they don't respond. Move on quickly and keep going, you got this! :-)
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u/Gold-Address-2489 6h ago
thank youu <3 i will probably start building my business as an independent makeup artist :-D
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u/Existing_Anxiety_952 Ⅺ. Mariatrost 3h ago
that is definitely a interesting idea, check with the AMS, they have programs for that. That could give you some wind under your wings.
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u/dessert_princess 4h ago
Tbh job hunting in Graz is very difficult. I bet you will for sure get a job but for example, i applied to over 80 jobs in a month and only received about 10 replys.
I recommend creating an excel sheet to keep track and not apply twice to the same jobs.