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In the past few years, Spain has gone through an economic recession that has impeded the development of professional opportunities for young graduates. Consequently, there is an increasing migration of young graduates across borders to work abroad. The aim of this qualitative research carried out through a case study, is to examine the experiences of Spanish graduates in developing a professional career abroad, specifically in Germany. Ten interviews were analyzed through inductive content analysis. Our results indicate that the migration of young Spaniards to work abroad is the result of economic and/or professional need rather than choice. Furthermore, language proficiency was found to be a key to achieving consistent training, an employment indicator linked to their personal training. Some of the main barriers in the host country are related to language knowledge, bureaucratic issues, friendly relations with native people, climatology, and cultural distance, as well as the existence of German-Spanish and Spanish-German stereotypes that make everyday situations difficult. Finally, it was observed that previous mobility, fluency in the language, mastery of technological resources, knowledge about the country, flexibility/openness, and having friendships/contacts in the host country are considered key elements in successful integration.
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