frustrated and really upset with not finding work

LisaPapakis

I wonder if it's this issue about a 5-year checkable history?

Is it possible to get your parents back in your native country to organise a police document for you which states you have never been in prison and don't have any criminal offences against you?

We're moving to UK next month from Greece, and we're both getting this document (I'm a British citizen) from our local police. Perhaps you have something like it where you come from.

Well done with M&S, that's a very good start.

alizee

thank you, they never mentioned anything about that, my parents are still in my native country and they have my maiden name on file so if they want to check anything and they couldn't i would assume they would let me know.. (i hope so!)

LisaPapakis

Hmmm. If they've got loads of applicants, all well-qualified for a job, then employers will take the 'easiest' one - not the one they have to wade through the complexities of foreign references for.

If I were you, I'd shorten my odds. That means get official documents (from the police, or whoever back home) to cover the period between leaving school and now.

I'm going through all this now and it's a pain in the neck, but I have a feeling it's going to be important when we get to UK.

purcel

I don't personally think it is important Lisa. 4 and a half years ago when I first came to Uk no one asked me to show any police documents or official ones apart from the passport, so I would not worry too much if I were you.

alizee

LisaPapakis wrote: »

Hmmm. If they've got loads of applicants, all well-qualified for a job, then employers will take the 'easiest' one - not the one they have to wade through the complexities of foreign references for.

If I were you, I'd shorten my odds. That means get official documents (from the police, or whoever back home) to cover the period between leaving school and now.

I'm going through all this now and it's a pain in the neck, but I have a feeling it's going to be important when we get to UK.

I think it depends on what sort of job you're going for, the one i just got at M&S had loads of applicants too but my interviewer was fine with the references i gave and we also had a chat with the HR lady which also said it will be fine and not worry about it!

inmypocketnottheirs

Excellent news, well done. Good luck and hope this leads to something long term and permanent.

gizi

alizee I feel your pain, I am in almost the exact same situation, difference is I have a university degree already and have plenty job experience. I feel very frustrated because I have applied for so many positions and got no reply whatsoever except 2 rejections. I also sometimes feel it has something to do with the preconceived ideas people have about foreigners though my husband and family keep telling me it has more to do with the economical climate but well I live in a small city and I rarely ever see foreigners specially from my part of the world but maybe all the people posting here are right. What annoys me the most is I tend to apply for jobs directly related to my university degree and positions I have years of experience in so I really don't understand why I don't even get a call back. As for references I always give the names, numbers, emails, addresses to contact them, but I guess since they are all out of the UK it doesn't help. I'm sorry about ranting, I'm just really sad all the time because of this. I hate depending on my husband, I hate my mom keeps sending me money because at this point I feel she has done enough for me and I absolutely hate the fact that my family invested so much money in my studies and I can't even find a job in my field. I have tried for other positions but to no avail, oh well I did get a xmas job at the royal mail which at least gives me something to look forward to.

Oh I've also thought about studying another degree here and getting teaching qualifications as I love languages and have tought English and Spanish to people before but as you said with no employment and no benefits I can't afford it.

I'm glad you got the position at M&S, I hope something more permanent comes your way.

inmypocketnottheirs

gizi wrote: »

Oh I've also thought about studying another degree here and getting teaching qualifications as I love languages and have tought English and Spanish to people before but as you said with no employment and no benefits I can't afford it.

Is Spanish your first language?

alizee

gizi wrote: »

alizee I feel your pain, I am in almost the exact same situation, difference is I have a university degree already and have plenty job experience. I feel very frustrated because I have applied for so many positions and got no reply whatsoever except 2 rejections. I also sometimes feel it has something to do with the preconceived ideas people have about foreigners though my husband and family keep telling me it has more to do with the economical climate but well I live in a small city and I rarely ever see foreigners specially from my part of the world but maybe all the people posting here are right. What annoys me the most is I tend to apply for jobs directly related to my university degree and positions I have years of experience in so I really don't understand why I don't even get a call back. As for references I always give the names, numbers, emails, addresses to contact them, but I guess since they are all out of the UK it doesn't help. I'm sorry about ranting, I'm just really sad all the time because of this. I hate depending on my husband, I hate my mom keeps sending me money because at this point I feel she has done enough for me and I absolutely hate the fact that my family invested so much money in my studies and I can't even find a job in my field. I have tried for other positions but to no avail, oh well I did get a xmas job at the royal mail which at least gives me something to look forward to.

Oh I've also thought about studying another degree here and getting teaching qualifications as I love languages and have tought English and Spanish to people before but as you said with no employment and no benefits I can't afford it.

I'm glad you got the position at M&S, I hope something more permanent comes your way.

Thank you for your post!! i relate so much to what you are saying, i had to depend on my husband for a while now and i really hate not having my own money, and every time we go out, someone buys me a cup of tea or a drink, id love to be able to do the same thing for them (especially my mother in law, she's been such a star)
I really do hope i get a permanent position, and i will try and work extra hard for it, even though i realise this doesn't only depend on how well i do, it also depends if the store has or hasn't got vacancies. The pressure is quite high at the moment as we are moving out and it would be very tight if the only income would by my husband's.

The thing with the M&S job is that they did a role-play interview and nothing else - didn't ask questions about previous work experience, education, etc. Which works for me because they assessed me on what i can actually do - most companies wouldn't even look at a cv with not a lot of work experience - which is somewhat understandable but we all have to start somewhere, at some point, even if you're a student/teenager or if you've been a stay at home mum.

I can also understand what you're saying about preconceived ideas about foreign people - and i can understand why they exist - I know there are a lot of people that come to England and work for a while, just to make money and go back to their native country where life is a lot cheaper but so are wages, and i know a lot of people also come here because they think the living standards are higher, i'm not going to give my opinion on that because i don't want to turn it into a debate, but i'm not in that situation - and i think most employers think i am? i don't know if i'm talking rubbish but my past experiences with not finding work lead me to thinking that.

Congratulations on your temp job at royal mail, as everyone kept pointing it out to me, even if it's a temp - it's a reference in england, it's something extra on my cv, so i will gladly take anything. I'd be quite happy with a part time job on minimum wage.

Sorry about the novel! x

gizi

alizee wrote: »

The thing with the M&S job is that they did a role-play interview and nothing else - didn't ask questions about previous work experience, education, etc. Which works for me because they assessed me on what i can actually do - most companies wouldn't even look at a cv with not a lot of work experience - which is somewhat understandable but we all have to start somewhere, at some point, even if you're a student/teenager or if you've been a stay at home mum.

I think it is a great way of giving people a chance to prove themselves. There is no better way to evaluate someone than to seeing them in action and actually see how they perform. I guess I'm going to search vacancies at M&S, maybe I'll get an opportunity there.

alizee wrote: »

and i know a lot of people also come here because they think the living standards are higher, i'm not going to give my opinion on that because i don't want to turn it into a debate, but i'm not in that situation - and i think most employers think i am? i don't know if i'm talking rubbish but my past experiences with not finding work lead me to thinking that.

I completely agree with you and as you I am not going into it but I only came here because my husband doesn't speak a word Spanish and even though in my country a huge amount of people speak English if you don't speak Spanish the chances of getting a job are very slim unless you find a company here that is opening branches over there. And sadly my salary wasn't enough to support us both over there. x

inmypocketnottheirs: Yes Spanish is my first language