Apply for a job in Spanish: solicitar or postularse

Apliqué para un trabajo gets understood, especially near the US border, but it's English wearing a Spanish suit.

You said

Apliqué para un trabajo en un banco.

What it means: I applied (like a cream) for a job at a bank. (anglicism)

A local says

Solicité trabajo en un banco.

I applied for a job at a bank.

Why: Aplicar means to apply a cream, a rule or a discount. For jobs, say solicitar trabajo or postularse.

A job interview in Monterrey

Apliqué para este trabajo porque me encanta el diseño.

The interviewer nods and makes a note. "Muy bien. ¿Y qué le llamó la atención del puesto que solicitó?"

Aplicar is a real Spanish verb with its own jobs: you aplicas una crema (put on a cream), aplicas una regla (apply a rule) or aplicas un descuento (apply a discount). Applying for a job, a visa or a scholarship is a different idea, and standard Spanish uses solicitar: solicité el puesto, voy a solicitar la visa. The application itself is una solicitud, and in Mexico the job form is la solicitud de empleo.

An honest note: aplicar a un trabajo is heard more and more, especially in northern Mexico and among Spanish speakers in the US, and most people will understand it. It's still an anglicism, and in an interview or a cover letter it stands out. Safer choices are solicitar, postularse a or postularse para, common across Latin America, or simply mandé mi currículum (I sent my CV).

Job-hunting words that travel well: el puesto (the position), la vacante (the opening), la entrevista (the interview) and el currículum, often just el CV. To say you're looking: estoy buscando trabajo. To ask about pay politely: ¿cuál es el sueldo? And when it works out, the happiest sentence in the process: ¡me contrataron! (they hired me!). Your first day is mi primer día, and colleagues are compañeros de trabajo.

Try your own sentence

Type any Spanish sentence and the Juntos tutor grades it out of 100, names the slip and shows the fix. No account.

Also worth knowing

Spanish	English
Estoy buscando trabajo.	I'm looking for work.
Me postulé para el puesto de diseñador.	I applied for the designer job.
¡Me contrataron!	I got the job!

Think you would catch slips like this one in the moment? Play Spot the slip, a ten-round quiz built from every slip on this site.

Every answer graded, with the fix and why

Grammar, reading, speaking and messaging in one Spanish program, A1 to C1. The tutor catches slips like this one before a person hears them. 7 days free, no card.

Start your free trial

Questions people ask

How do you say apply for a job in Spanish?

Solicitar un trabajo or un puesto, or postularse a or para un puesto. Mandé mi currículum (I sent my CV) is also very natural.

Is aplicar para un trabajo correct?

It is widely understood, especially in northern Mexico and the US, but it is an anglicism. In an interview or in writing, solicitar or postularse sounds more professional.

What does aplicar mean in Spanish?

To apply something: a cream, paint, a rule, a discount or a method. Aplicar una crema means to put on a cream.