There are loads of great jobs available to Internationals in Israel – in companies with awesome products, good management teams, and strong career development prospects.

Here are some of the areas which employ the most people:

Hi-Tech – if you didn’t know already, Israel is the Startup Nation. There are over 1,000 hi-tech companies based in Israel, ranging from the one-man startup to established publicly traded companies (such as Wix and LivePerson). Most jobs are in Sales, Customer Support, Marketing (full-on marketing, community manager, content writer, event organiser), Product Management, and back office roles such as billing.

Industry – Israeli manufacturing companies are always looking for English (or foreign-speaking) sales and customer support guys. This could be a good stepping stone into well-established companies.

Professions – while it can be laborious to convert your international accreditation to Israeli certification, it is definitely possible with a bit of work and perseverance. Check out Gvahim – this amazing organisation helps Olim Chadashim with qualifications from abroad network in their industry in Israel.

Waiter, Barman, Shop Assistant, Receptionist etc – there are loads of jobs available in this area. Speaking Hebrew is advantageous but not always a requirement.


Here is a guide to the best hi-tech jobs in Israel

Sales

It’s time to get over that stigma you have about sales! Seriously! It’s not making 500 calls every day to people who aren’t interested in your product. In the good hi-tech companies, it is more of a Consulting role – I know, I’ve done it for two years at LivePerson and it was the most I ever learnt.

So what is Sales in a good hi-tech company?

There are loads of great hi-tech companies in Israel (see our separate list here). Most of these companies do B2B sales – that means their customers are other businesses, not the consumer. In a lot of cases, Sales guys are working with inbound leads – people who have been to your website and left their contact details so you can follow up. These are the best leads – the lead is already warm.

Once you get the lead, your job is to build a relationship, understand what the potential customer does and what problems they are having, and find a solution for them. In many companies you will maintain the relationship with the lead after making the sale. For a great guide on how to sell, check out Neil Rackham’s book Spin Selling.

Most of the time you are working with American and European clients. This means most of your sales are via phone, email, and online presentations. It also means that you may have to work American hours – but approach the conversation maturely, American hours doesn’t need to mean working till 1am Monday to Friday. I used to work late two nights a week (never till 1am) and early on one day to get the Australian market.

Your salary will typically be made up of a base and commission. In a good company you can expect a base of 8-15k depending on experience. Commissions can double this, but make sure you believe in the product or you aren’t going to be making any sales!


Sales Development

Sales Development is a good stepping stone into Sales. Typically a role for more junior sales guys, Sales Development involves sourcing warm leads for the senior Sales guys. This will most likely involve cold-calling and scheduling meetings. But this can be a great way of getting into a good company, learning the ropes from more experienced sales guys, and developing an appetite for sales.


Customer Support

Let’s kill the misconception pretty early on again. A good customer support role does not involve sitting on the phone helping people reset their password.

A good Customer Support guy – we used to call them Success Managers at LivePerson – will build a relationship with the customer, understand what they are trying to do, and help them implement the solution they have been sold. Ideally they will then continue to build the relationship, refining the solution over time, and hopefully selling them some more of the great product.

Ideal experience will include a good degree from a good university, maybe some good work experience, and the right temperament – caring about your customers, patient, organised. A lot of companies will ask you to have some programming experience – don’t get scared, it’s much easier than you think – check out W3Schools and Code Academy for basic tutorials on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Like Sales, most of the time you are working with American and European clients. However it is much easier to schedule calls in advance to fit in with your calendar – the West Coast wakes up at 7pm (9am PT), you can schedule all your meetings to be finished by 9pm.

Your salary will typically be made up of a base, maybe with some performance bonuses. In a good company expect to get between 8-14k.


Customer Support – Shift Work 

All the big companies have got customer support/ tech support shift work. This is great work for students – fit it in with your studies, earn a bit of extra beer money, get some great experience for your resume, and potentially get a full-time job afterwards.

Expect shifts during the night (with higher pay) and stupid questions like how do I reset my password – but also take the opportunity to make the most of it – learn the product, learn the common problems people are having, build relationships with customers, and work with awesome people.


Product Manger

One of the top jobs in a hi-tech company, the Product Manager is responsible for managing everything to do with a certain product – designing the product, co-ordinating with the developers, providing internal and external training and marketing material, and ultimately responsible for the success of the product. In most cases, some technical knowledge is an advantage.


Community Manager

More and more companies are turning to social media to advertise their products, and one of the cheapest and most effective ways of doing this is through building strong Facebook and Twitter followings. A Community Manager is a great entry role into Marketing in hi-tech in Israel .


Digital Marketing Manager

If you are creative, competitive, and chase every little percent, Digital Marketing could be a great role for you. The Digital Marketing Managers are responsible for companies’ online advertising campaigns, and with the results trackable almost immediately you have to be quick and smart to get the most from your buck.


Some Hi-Tech Jargon

  • B2B – business to business – your customers are other businesses
  • B2C – business to consumer – your customers are consumers
  • Inbound Sales – leads leave their contact details and want to be followed up
  • Outbound Sales – usually cold calling people who might not be interested in the product
  • SaaS – Software as a solution – month by month subscription for online software