How professional networking works in Spain

Terms used

• Oposiciones — Oposiciones are the public exams used to fill public-sector jobs in Spain.
• Intercambios — Intercambios are language exchange meetings where people practise each other's languages.
• Tú — Tú is the informal way to say 'you' in Spanish, now normal in most workplaces.
• Usted — Usted is the formal way to say 'you' in Spanish, used with older, senior or official people.

Key rules

• Warm introductions: Ask someone you know to introduce you before approaching a new contact.
• Pace: Expect trust to build slowly through repeated, face-to-face contact.
• Reciprocity: Return favours and introductions, because it is expected.
• Public-sector jobs: These are filled by open exams, so contacts do not replace the exam.
• Formality: Default to a polite, neutral tone, and match the other person's tú or usted.

The short version

Networking in Spain is relational. People do business with people they know or who come recommended. Start with a warm introduction, build trust over time, and match the formality of the person in front of you. Do not start with a cold pitch.

Why recommendations matter

A recommendation from someone trusted carries real weight. You may hear it called a "contacto" or, more bluntly, an "enchufe". Many hires, and most clients for freelancers and small businesses, come through word of mouth rather than public adverts. Estimates range from around a third to a half of hires, and they vary by survey.

How much this matters depends on where you work:

• Small and medium firms, family businesses, hospitality, construction, trades and local professions: contacts count for a lot.
• Large companies, multinationals, tech and consulting: formal channels such as job portals, LinkedIn and recruiters are common.
• Public-sector jobs: these are filled by open exams (oposiciones), not by contacts.

How the relationship builds

Expect a slower pace than in Anglo-Saxon or northern European settings. Business usually starts with rapport.

• Meet in person. A coffee, a long lunch or after-work drinks is where introductions and deals often move forward.
• Open with small talk. Ask about the person before you talk business. The tone is warm and direct.
• Give back. Favours and introductions are expected to be returned.
• Keep showing up. Trust comes from repeated contact, so follow up and stay visible.
• Mind the clock. Social punctuality is looser than in northern Europe. Lunch is around 14:00–15:00 and dinner after 21:00, so plan meetings to fit.

A cold message with no personal link usually works poorly. If you have no link yet, get one first, as the next section shows.

Where to start with no contacts

Work through these in roughly this order:

1. Join expat and international groups for quick introductions and local tips.
2. Use a coworking space for a daily community and events.
3. Go to language exchanges (intercambios). You practise Spanish and meet locals.
4. Join professional associations, sector groups and your home country's chamber of commerce.
5. Use alumni networks from your university or business school.
6. Volunteer with an NGO or local association to build local ties.
7. Add LinkedIn outreach, then meet in person.

Regular attendance counts for more than the number of events. Pick a few and keep going back. The checklist below sums up the habits, and the 90-day plan below turns them into a schedule.

Tú or usted

Tú is now the norm in most professional settings. That includes colleagues, startups, tech, creative and media work, and emails and LinkedIn messages. Usted is kept for much older people, formal sectors such as law, banking and public administration, and senior figures in traditional firms. It is also more common in southern Spain.

For a first contact, be polite and neutral. Use tú with peers or in younger industries. Use usted with clearly senior, older or official people. Switch to tú if they do, or if they say "tutéame". The decision below helps you choose.

Choosing between options

Should you use tú or usted in a first professional contact in Spain?

• Use tú: You write to peers, or work in startups, tech, creative, marketing or media, or you write by email or LinkedIn.

• Use usted: The person is clearly senior, older or official, or works in law, banking, public administration or a traditional firm, or they address you that way first.

If you are unsure, keep a polite, neutral tone and follow the other person.

Check the usual style in your sector and region before a first contact.

A first 90 days networking plan in Spain

How the 90 days run

Start with the easy, low-pressure contacts, then move to events and follow-ups. Where you land in the calendar matters as much as the order. Business in Spain slows in August and restarts in September, so shift the plan to fit.

Weeks 1 to 4: set up and meet people

• Sort your admin first: residence paperwork, town hall registration and a bank account. Most professional contacts will ask for none of it, but it stops the admin from eating your time later.
• Update your LinkedIn profile and add a Spanish-language version.
• Try a coworking space if you work alone. It gives you a daily community and regular events.
• Go to a language exchange (intercambio) every week. It builds your Spanish and puts you among locals.

Weeks 3 to 8: widen your circle

• Go to sector events and to meetings of your professional association, your home country's bilateral chamber of commerce, or the local Cámara de Comercio.
• Reach out to alumni of your university or business school, in Spain and at home.
• Ask each warm contact for a coffee, then ask for one introduction. Meet in person after the first LinkedIn message.
• Start volunteering with an NGO or local association. It builds ties that last.

Weeks 8 to 12: follow up and commit

• Follow up with everyone you met. Offer something useful in return, such as an article, an introduction or your skills.
• Join one recurring group or course. Regular attendance counts for more than the number of events you go to.
• Start targeted job applications or business proposals, now that people know your name.

Fit the plan to the calendar

Business events peak from late September to early December and from late January to June. They thin out in July, and especially in August and around Christmas.

August. Many small and mid-sized businesses close for two to four weeks, and others run on reduced staff, especially in the second half of the month. Replies are slow, decision-makers are away, and public offices work slowly. Do not plan outreach for this month. Use it for Spanish practice, your profile, neighbourhood activities and casual meetups, which carry on. July often has shorter afternoon hours (jornada intensiva), so book meetings in the morning.

September. Activity restarts gradually in the first days of the month. By mid to late September business is fully back, and new-season planning begins. Send your follow-ups and meeting requests then.

Christmas. Treat the Christmas weeks like August and hold outreach until January.

In practice:

• You arrive in spring: do weeks 1 to 8 before July. Keep your contacts warm with light messages in July, rest in August, then run weeks 8 to 12 from mid-September.
• You arrive in summer: spend the first weeks on admin, Spanish and online groups. Save the event-heavy weeks for September.
• You arrive in autumn: you land in the busiest stretch. Follow the plan as written, and finish your follow-ups before the Christmas weeks.

Big fairs and events

Large recurring events include Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (late February or early March), South Summit in Madrid (June), Fitur in Madrid (January) and Smart City Expo in Barcelona (November). Dates change each year, so confirm them with the organisers before booking travel.

Checklist

• Ask someone you know for a warm introduction before you approach a new contact.

• Suggest meeting face to face over a coffee or a meal instead of pitching cold.

• Open with small talk and personal rapport before you talk business.

• Offer a favour or an introduction in return for any help you receive.

• Stay in touch with your contacts and keep visible, because trust builds through repeated contact.

• Join an expat group, a coworking space or a language exchange (intercambio) to meet your first contacts.

• Message people on LinkedIn, then arrange to meet in person.

• Go to the same groups regularly instead of many one-off events.

Frequently asked questions

Do public-sector jobs in Spain depend on personal contacts?

No, public-sector posts are filled by open public exams called oposiciones, not by contacts. Contacts can still help you learn about openings and prepare. Large companies and multinationals also lean more on formal channels such as job portals and recruiters.

What if I use tú and the other person expected usted?

Using tú is rarely a problem today, because it is the norm in most workplaces. Use usted with clearly senior, older or official contacts, and in law, banking or public administration.

How many events should I go to when I know nobody?

Regular attendance matters more than the number of events you go to. Pick a few groups, such as a coworking space or a language exchange, and keep turning up.

Can I send a cold pitch to someone I have no link with?

A cold pitch with no personal link usually works poorly in Spain. Look for a shared contact, group or event first, and ask for an introduction. Then meet face to face when you can.