Finding work

There are different strategies depending on your experience and what you are looking for. If you are relatively young just looking for work to get you started then it can be relatively easy to find work. I would suggest a combination of applying on online job boards boards like indeed.co.uk, reed.co.uk, totaljobs.com etc. and my favourite is walking into companies (retail shops, warehouses, bars etc) and introducing myself and asking if they have work. That still works for most local companies, often they will call the recruiting manager and then you can sell yourself. I was also able to get work in the past through social networks. A friend would let me know that their company was recruiting and in most cases I would get to speak to the recruiting manager well after they had heard good things about me. 

What if you have working experience already and higher education from another country. What I learnt was that friends and family who had formal qualifications and experience from abroad (especially from non-english speaking countries) had to first change their CVs for them not to explicitly say they did not have working experience in the UK. Just highlighting their Degrees and Professional qualifications often gave them the opportunity for interviews. Then they would get a chance to speak in front of a person. Some had to downplay their experience and education just so they could get entry level jobs so as to start having UK work experience. 

However, there are some professions as you may already know that are on demand in the UK. Like doctors, nurses, Engineers and IT professions to name a few. Some companies are actively recruiting from abroad for these professionals. So, if you fall into these groups, please do your homework on how you can convert your qualifications if you have to. Do not procrastinate and end up getting comfortable in a low paying job. With time you will start doubting yourself, lose confidence and the longer you stay in that job the more difficult it gets for you to explain to potential employers why you have not been practising your true profession. 

• Create a CV and walk into local companies. Ask if they are hiring
• Use Online job boards. Target local job boards
• Join a local organisation aligned to your interests and use the network
• Change your CV to the British format before applying and avoid mentioning too much about your country of origin on your CV
• Ask to meet or speak to the recruiting manager if applying for more high level jobs. This gives you the opportunity to sell yourself before they even see your CV.

Language at work

After you get the job the first few weeks are very important. One of the key things you should pay attention to is the language used. Observe if the language is formal or informal/relaxed. You can normally pick this up within a few days. Follow the language culture if you can. This may be difficult if you are new to the country as you get used to actually identifying the language style being used. So, in that case it is best to be formal and adjust as you learn with time.

Company culture

Values and norms followed in an organisation. This refers to examples like; language, dressing, respect, working hours, body language, behaviour in meeting, expected start and finish times, personal relationships, boundaries between personal life and work. 

Dressing at work

The dress codes vary from company to company. Frst see the general style of dressing that existing employees follow. However, always make an efort, by this i mean tht make sure your clothes are clean, ironed and are not shabby. 

Sensitive Topics in conversations

The British can be conservative about certain topics. In some cultures you can easily ask people direct questions about themselves without offending them or sounding like you are invaading their personal lives. In this country there are certain topics that you should avod unless the person you are talking to indicates that they are willing to talk about them. Even then becareful about sharing your views or being judgemental. Here are some of the topics to avoid;

• Asking about people’s sexuality
• Religion can be sensitive in some oart sof the society
• Directly asking someone’s age
• Directly asking someone if they have kids, and if not questioning why they dont have kids
• Racial topics and issues

This nicely brings me to my next topic about choosing a career.

As I mentioned before, I studied management studies at university without putting much thought into it (Luckly I enjoyed it). My point is I chose this course because that was one of the best courses to do in Zimunda. I did not stop to think what I really wanted to do and whether that would suit the UK job market. What I am saying is that if you see yourself staying in this country for a long time then take some time to study the markets and match it with what you like doing and the income you want to earn to live the life you want to live. These factors will help guide you into choosing the right career for you.  What pays in your country of origin might not be good paying in the UK, or jobs that did not pay well in your country might pay well in the UK.

Job vs Career

You should also consider whether there are progression opportunities in the job or career you choose. A few of my friends in the early days got permanent jobs in manufacturing companies, driving buses and the similar roles because they were paid about £3 to £4 pounds an hour above the minimum wage. They thought they had made it and did not want to go to university as they considered themselves too old for university at that time (they were in their late 20s). You can guess what happened. They had families and at the same time realised that their jobs led to dead ends. Only after about 3 years they had reached the top salary rate which would typically be no more than a few pounds above the minimum wage. This was a wakeup call for most of them They all ended up going to university now in their (30s). Now most of them are engineers and project managers. After a few years working in professional jobs most are now considering changing careers again… that’s another topic all together 😊 

A few Quick Tips about your CV

These are a few things to note about CVs in the UK;

• CVs have to be a maximum of 2 pages
• There are generally two types depending on your experience; Skill based CVs (if not much working experience) and Experience based (if you have work experience)
• Work and Education History to be listed in date order starting with the most recent to the oldest
• Do not write your personal details like sex, date of birth, marriage status, race, nationality, age, religion etc. You should only write your name and address
• Do not insert your photo
• Check your Grammar and spelling mistakes

I used this website early days: www.prospects.ac.uk