The Language
The EU now encompasses a dozen different languages. If you move to an English speaking country like England or Ireland, your adjustment will the easiest. A native English speaker must nonetheless adjust to things like different tax systems and social norms. Non-EU nationals may obtain the right to work in an EU country. The ease of doing so depends on nationality and status and is determined by different agreements and other EU rules.

Background – Are you in IT or Some Sort of Academic Research?
The IT field is in demand and one can find work fairly easily, even without the native language. Many tech positions in Germany and Switzerland require only English.
If one speaks English and has the required competencies, one will have a good chance of finding work in Europe.

If you’re from an academic research background, this also helps. English is usually the international work language for research in academic situations and you can adjust fairly well.

Background – Business an Advantage
More and more companies have English as their company language. If you have a background in business or a related degree, you will have a greater chance of finding employment. However, most often, in Germany, in Switzerland, in France, in Italy, even in Austria or Scandinavia, you will be expected to eventually learn the language. Even if English is the official company language, people do speak the local language and you will need to fit in as well as succeed in the long term in your job. This is likely to be a major challenge, if not the major challenge: learning a language takes time, commitment and discipline.

High Competition
If you are not from an IT, Scientific / Academic, or Business background, and do not have a specialized education, you will encounter very high competition for jobs, even with a mastery of the language.
Europe has many immigrants, and they are competing for the same jobs.

The ‘English Teacher’ Fallback
Many native English speakers think they can rely on being an English teacher as a fallback. This is not really an option, unless you are prepared to live like a student.
Finding decently remunerated work as an English teacher will usually require your having important credentials in this area.

All citizens of the EU, plus Switzerland, have the right to move all around and work anywhere in the European Community that they want. (It’s not too clear what Switzerland had to gain in this arrangement since it has the highest standard of living, so the only Swiss considering leaving Switzerland to seek jobs in the EU are the ones on unemployment.)

However, when an American, Canadian or a New Zealander come to Europe to find work, he has to find an employer that will sponsor his work permit. The first few months while he’s going through that job hunting process, he may have to work “black,” meaning he may have difficulty getting paid because his work and residency in the country have not yet been approved.

Getting a work permit is a constant topic of conversion among the expatriate crowds in Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Zurich, Geneva, Paris, and Barcelona. The exchange of visa horror stories and grand schemes of getting away with overstaying – everyone has a nightmare story of being escorted to the border by the immigration authorities. Some contemplate proposing marriage to the random attractive native they met at a bar the week before, others gave up and return to their home country, and still others persevere and deal with the process and the paperwork.

Acquiring a work permit in Europe is a challenge but a good skill set, perseverance and some personality will help you do the trick.

In 2008 while the lucrative holiday period drew near, luxury watch production had slowed, brought to heel by the global financial crisis. Since mid-2008, exports declined and unemployment rose, with notices of staff reductions being announced by large multinationals each month.

In Neuchatel where a large number of luxury brands are located, the manufacturer Ulysee Nardin had to fire 12% of its 25o man work force and produced at a slower rate.

But since September, according to the management, the ateliers are running at 100% with orders rising and the company has ended its practice of partial unemployment.

Ulysse Nardin has inaugurated a new boutique in Beijing and the Neuchatel-based luxury watch maker seems braced for renewed good times. The director of the company, Rolf Schnyder, recently stated recently that the company would end the year in the black, albeit with less profit than last year. 2008 had started off very well for the Ulysse Nardin but finished off badly. 2009 started off badly and has apparently finished well.

The Director’s prognostic is that the recession has ended and that growth has returned, with November sales 30% higher than those for November 2008.

Nonetheless, Mr. Schnyder believes that the United States will take much more time to recover, and their market is important for the luxury watch maker; that said, the importance of the US market has declined from 30% historically to currently 18%.

An unstated reason for the return to health is that the company is operating with a smaller workforce, which, for the moment, the company does not seem in a rush to rehire.

Additionally, with the rise in orders, their production capacities cannot keep up. The various subcontractors upon which the luxury brands depend – for watch casings, dials and other parts– let go substantial numbers of staff over the past year and do not have the resources to produce at the old capacity levels. They probably are also wary about too rapidly hiring back staff.

Also, despite the return of strong sales, the distribution of sales has nonetheless changed, with a marked decline in sales of super expensive pieces and a concomitant rise in sales of moderately priced pieces.

The phenomenon is identical in China and in the United States. Ulysse Nardin’s director believes that the worst is also passed in the United States and the economy is recovering, though it will be a longer road to elsewhere. Besides the US and China, Russia is also an important market for the luxury brands, as well as the middle east, though with the financial crisis in Dubai, sales have dropped by 70%. A large part of the luxury watch maker’s sales figures this year in Spain, Italy, Turkey or Florida has come from Russian tourists.