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SURVEY: Half of all Italians say salaries are too low

After Italy's government said unemployment benefits were putting Italians off working, survey respondents said low wages and high taxes were a bigger problem.

Published: 2 May 2023 15:25 CEST
A protestor shouts slogans during a demonstration on May Day (Labour Day), to mark the international day of the workers, in Turin on May 1, 2023.
A protestor shouts slogans at a march in Turin on Labour Day, 2023. Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP.

Fifty percent of Italians think their country’s average wages are too low, according to a new survey conducted by research institute Quorum/YouTrend.

The poll, commissioned by Sky TG24, asked respondents for their thoughts on why employers struggle to recruit in Italy, following the Italian government’s announcement on Monday that it will cut the reddito di cittadinanza unemployment benefit.

READ ALSO: Italy cuts anti-poverty benefits in Labour Day ‘provocation’

Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right government said the move was needed as the benefit was too costly and was discouraging able-bodied people from looking for jobs – a sentiment that 19 percent of respondents appeared to share, saying they thought people would rather access benefits than work.

However half of all respondents said instead that low salaries were the biggest barrier to employment.

Meanwhile, 16 percent said they thought people lacked the professional qualifications needed for the roles advertised, and 12 percent thought that young people didn’t want to do certain kinds of work.

Italy’s unemployment rate stood at eight percent as of February 2023, according to the latest data from Italian national statistics office Istat, against an EU average of just over six percent.

However youth unemployment in Italy is several times higher, at 22.4 percent.

READ ALSO: No minimum wage for Italy as EU reaches living standards deal

One quarter of those surveyed by YouTrend thought that cutting taxes paid on salaries would boost employment, while 22 percent supported offering tax incentives to companies that hire new employees.

The government’s cut to unemployment benefits divided respondents, with 52 percent saying they supported the move, 42 percent against, and six percent undecided.

When asked about their own employment situation, 59 percent – almost two thirds – of respondents said they believed their salary was too low. 28 percent thought they earned a fair wage, and seven percent that their income was higher than it should be.

Overall, 87 percent said they would accept 1,200 euros net as a starting salary.

Workplace safety was another key concern among those surveyed, with 86 percent agreeing with the statement, “workplace safety is a serious problem in Italy”.

According to data from Italian workplace accident insurers INAIL, there were 697,773 workplace accidents in Italy in 2022, and 1,090 work-related deaths, amounting to almost three per day.

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WORKING IN ITALY

EXPLAINED: How to write the perfect CV for a job in Italy

If you’re job-hunting in Italy, following Italian CV etiquette will increase your chances of impressing recruiters and give you a head start over other applicants.

Published: 16 July 2024 15:21 CEST
Updated: 21 July 2024 05:22 CEST
EXPLAINED: How to write the perfect CV for a job in Italy

Whether it’s your first time looking for work in Italy or are simply planning on polishing up your old CV to test the job market, there are a few specific quirks and features you should know about before writing your Italian curriculum.

From personal details and photos to references and privacy clauses, knowing the ins and outs of Italian CV etiquette will give you better chances of standing out from the crowd and impressing recruiters.

Italian CV basics

Your Italian CV shouldn’t be longer than two pages and should be clear and simple to read, making all of your relevant professional experience and qualifications readily available.

Creative resumes may look amazing, but recruiters in Italy tend to prefer a standard chronological CV using fonts such as Arial, Helvetica, or Times New Roman to facilitate quick reading and scanning.

English or Italian? 

If you’re applying for an English-speaking position, either option will work in most cases.

But if you’re not very confident in your Italian skills, or don’t know any native speaker who may be able to proofread the text for you, it may be best to stick to English: well-written English will always give a better impression than mistake- or typo-filled Italian.

READ ALSO: How many foreigners are overqualified for their jobs in Italy?

If, however, the job advert is in Italian, and/or there’s an explicit request for applications to be sent in Italian, then you should definitely go for a CV in Italian. 

In this case, it’s strongly advisable to get the help of a native speaker or even a professional translator to make sure your CV is faultless.

Personal details

Applicants are advised to include their personal information and contact details at the very top, ideally organising them into a header.

Besides the usual details (full name, email address, telephone number including country code), Italian employers will expect you to include a little more personal information than you may be used to.

Personal details should include your date of birth, nationality, and address (city and street name are usually sufficient).

Foreign nationals are often advised to seek the help of a native speaker or professional translator when crafting their Italian CV

Foreign nationals are often advised to seek the help of a native speaker or professional translator when crafting their Italian CV. Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash

If relevant, you can also include links to your social media accounts or personal professional websites in this section.

Photo or no photo?

Unlike in countries like the US and UK, many recruiters in Italy will expect you to attach a picture to your CV.

The photo should be a passport-sized headshot with a neutral background, and should look professional (meaning no blurry or grainy pictures taken at social events for instance).

‘Personal profile’

Some applicants like to start out their CV with a summary (usually under the headline of profilo professionale, or ‘professional profile’) giving a clear description of who they are, what they’re looking for, and their key skills.

READ ALSO: Why English teachers say working at Italy’s language schools is an ‘uphill battle’

This is optional, but if you do go for it, keep it to a maximum of two to three lines and make sure to grab the reader’s attention quickly.

Work experience and education

As with CVs in other countries, you’re expected to present your experience in reverse chronological order, working back from your most recent job to your earliest relevant position.

You don’t need to include every single job you’ve ever had, but only the positions that are relevant to the job.

For each position, list your job title, company, and location (city and country), as well as the relevant dates. Bullet points outlining key tasks, responsibilities and skills are not an essential step in Italian CVs, but are a popular choice among applicants.

As for the education section, you should include all the relevant qualifications in reverse chronological order. 

For foreign qualifications, it’s advisable to indicate their equivalent in the Italian system if possible. While you may be asked to produce official translations at a later application stage, this is usually not necessary at this time.

If you are listing any degree, it’s a good idea to indicate the exact grade you achieved. This is common practice in Italy as it’s often assumed that candidates not stating their exact grade didn’t perform well.

Additional skills and languages

Italian CVs generally feature a separate section for other relevant professional skills, including any IT systems or software you may be able to use, as well as any known languages.

When it comes to describing your ability in each language, you can use madrelingua to describe your native language. For additional languages, you can either use the European Language Framework or stick to general descriptors such as basic (elementare), good (buono), intermediate (intermedio), advanced (avanzato), fluent (fluente). 

If you have certificates testifying to your language skills, make sure to list them. 

Most Italian employers will not expect you to list interests and/or hobbies, which is why it’s generally advisable to keep this section extremely brief or forgo it altogether.

References

Employers in Italy are not as demanding as recruiters in other countries when it comes to references, but including a couple of referenze (ideally, past employers) and their contact details can work to your advantage.

Italian CVs often feature a clause allowing recruiters to process their personal data

Italian CVs often feature a clause allowing recruiters to process candidates’ personal data. Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash

Privacy clause

Though it is not a legal requirement, job applicants in Italy are advised to include the following clause at the bottom of their CVs:

Autorizzo il trattamento dei miei dati personali ai sensi del D.L. 196/2003 e dell’art. 13 del GDPR (“I agree to the processing of my personal details according to law 196/2003 and article 13 of the General Data Protection Regulation”)

READ ALSO: Nine of the best websites to search for jobs in Italy

This allows hiring managers to lawfully use your personal data under Italian and European privacy regulation in order to move your application forward or save your profile for future vacancies.

Not including the clause may delay your application, according to Italian work advisors.

Online submission

Pdf is considered the best format for electronic CV submissions. 

As a rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to ensure that the size of your file doesn’t exceed five megabytes to avoid upload or download issues.

Do I need a cover letter?

While employers in many English-speaking countries may not even consider a candidate unless they attach a cover letter, in Italy this is often optional.

Italian recruitment experts advise applicants to attach a cover letter only “if you want to underline a specific point – such as why you want to apply to a particular firm”.

If you do decide to attach a cover letter to your CV, it’s advisable to keep it concise and sharply focused, highlighting why you’re the right fit for the position at hand expanding on experiences and skills already outlined in your CV.

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