OKinUK Blog

Are you looking for a job in the UK but you could do with an advice first? If so, then read on!

To find a job in a foreign country may seem quite daunting. I wouldn´t dare to call it a 'walk in the park' but it can be fun and you may find the experience rewarding in the end.

 If you'd like to start a career you should devote some time to drawing up your ´job-hunting plan´ and ideally possess two crucial abilities. The first one is to speak English at a business level, which may seem obvious but as you´ll read on, you´ll know why I mention it, and the second is to have some work experience in your field of interest which can support your CV with a powerful asset.

The most useful advice I can offer is to try and familiarise yourself with culture, people, city and the British accent before you apply for your ´dream´ job, especially if you´re a graduate coming from a non-UK university as I was myself two and a half years ago.

This may not apply to the lucky ones who can make use of their native language or where most of your colleagues come from abroad in which case you all are on the same boat. For the rest of you out there, to be ready when the right opportunity comes your way, work a few months in a coffee shop or do some admin temping just to get a feel for how things work as it can save you a lot of trouble later on. Let me tell you why.

After I came to London, I was sure of myself and confident my English skills were good enough to start applying for an office job and I didn´t want to hear anything about a non-office work. After all the years of studying English at the university, one year in American high school and regularly chatting to international students while abroad, what could possibly go wrong?

Persistence can help one achieve their ambitions and baring it in mind I managed to get a temping job in the city within a few weeks. The new fast paced corporate environment was, however, very different to the comfortable student life back in my country. Until then, all went according to plan, only if it weren´t for my colleagues with their strange accents and the terminology I´ve never come across before. To my surprise, I could barely catch every other word and it took time to figure out what I was actually asked to do. As you can imagine, stress and sleepless nights took over my life for months, not a couple of weeks and my confidence shrank a great deal. I naturally improved within time but if you want to avoid such beginnings, try to think of ways how you could raise your chances and feel comfortable applying for the job you want.

This is how you can start: do an extensive internet search and send your CV always accompanied by a covering letter directly to companies as well as recruitment agencies. I sent details to more than 30 employment agencies and surprisingly I received 4 or 5 replies to come in for registration. This can take up a few hours and of course there is no guarantee they will find you a job, even if they tell you that ! It is not a good sign when they say, I have nothing for you at the moment, but please do call us every day to see if there is something available. In this particular case you may be wasting your time, and therefore, register with more than one agency, perhaps 3-5. If you make a good impression, the consultant will come up with at least one option in an instant. Do your best, prove yourself and I promise your phone won´t stop ringing !