Looking for positive advice on job hunting.

tzzt123

Hello Everybody!

I'm new to this forum. I moved to the UK from America a few months ago. Did not come to benefit on anything. I actually came following a girl. I think I should have done more research before I came, since it seems like the market is really tough.

We live in Basingstoke, a really small and suburban town in Hampshire, and I've been told, and seen that the job market here is saturated. I've dropped my resume at offices, I apply for jobs on sites like linkedin, reed, and other major sites as well as directly no company websites, on a regular basis - minus the days I wake up a little frustrated. Companies respond negatively if they respond at all.

What's worse is the recruiting market. They call you, rip off as many details as possible, specially if you have any contacts in the UK - which I don't, or information about other companies, promise you jobs, some of them probably don't even exist, and then never call back. But do flood your email box with emails starting with "my client......award winning company...... looking for a superman"

I mean, I was recently interviewed by a major computer entertainment company in London, spent time, money on getting there, not to mention hours on rewriting my resume - and we all know how expensive the trains are, specially when you're unemployed, the interview went nice, and I was told someone would contact me for a second interview in the following 2 weeks. It's been 2 months now. Nobody has returned a call, or email, even though I waited for a while, but emailed back eventually asking if there were any updates.

I'm a computer science major, but right now, I would probably take anything, but it feels so tough sometimes - a local restaurant was advertising for waiters, I went in, they asked for a paper resume, and said that they were collecting resumes until the end of the month and then start interviewing right after. For a waiter job. It's insane.

Yes. This all sounds like frustration, but I am sure there are jobs out there. It's just that - I don't have contacts. At least no one who would give me a job. I even tried volunteering here - only to be rejected, since there are millions of other people to volunteer, I guess.

So, any positive advice on how to get a job. Any job, would be really appreciated.

Oh yeah. Yes I do have an EU passport, and no, I would rather not apply for benefits.

Thanks a million of you reply.

Annisele

Does your CV/covering letter make clear that you've got an EU passport, and that you're planning on staying in the UK long term? Got your NI number sorted?

If an employer employs somebody who doesn't have the right to work in the UK, the penalties are fairly tough. So they're pretty nervous about it!

tzzt123

Hi Annisele,

Thank you for answering. Everything is on my CV and Cover letter, and I do have an NI number.

DebtClearer

It really is a tough market, if you have a degree also try the jobs on sites like https://www.milkround.com

Sign up to agencies, do work experience to keep your CV full and start building that career. One piece of advice would be stay in touch with the industry you want to work in, it will look odd if you end up working waiting tables for years whilst wanting to work with computers.

You seem positive and understand about re-writing your CV. Keep chasing these employers, speak to the recruitment team and make yourself known. Show how passionate you are!

tzzt123

Hi DebtClearer!

Thanks for the advice. I have actually been to agencies around here and they seem to work like recruiting agencies. The surprising thing is that most of them actually said I would be overqualified for many of the jobs they have, since I have a degree and some experience, even though I said I didn't really mind. I would love to work in the IT industry, but it seems like it's saturated, or it's just like you can't get inside unless you know someone. At least this is what I understand. I mean, I know that eventually I will find a job, it's just that, it's been months. Financially I' am not well since I've used a lot of my savings, and besides, the UK, even Basingstoke, is very expensive.

It somehow seems that everybody is on the compute emailing resumes, but since there's so many applications, nobody bothers to read everything, yet this is how people apply. But then it doesn't actually work. It's a funny loops.

browneyedbazzi

Have you tried signing up with an agency for temp work? It can be a really good way to get your foot in the door with employers - if you have a good work ethic you can really impress an employer and end up on the inside track for a permanent job. Temp jobs can also help you to get local references which will make referencing faster/easier.

Also, in addition to the recruitment agencies etc, it's worth keeping an eye on the vacancies for the local councils in your area because they often have jobs for customer advisers/help desk staff that aren't advertised on agency sites. There's a bit of an odd culture in local government here and in my experience people from North America tend to do quite well so it could be a really good starting point for you.

DKLS

The IT sector is saturated but if you have good employable skills you should be fine and certain IT sectors are definitely not saturated, anglicise your CV, get yourself onto Linkedin, and look for IT contracts on sites such as cwjobs and Jobserve.

fedup2007

I feel your pain. Having been job hunting now for approximately 6 months I am losing the will to live. Luckily I am in work but my commute takes up on average 5 hours per day which is really taking its toll on my health.

I'm amazed by how rude recruitment/agency staff are - whats most frustrating is that most of these people know absolutely nothing about IT specialisms but unfortunately for us, are the deciding majority when it comes to getting an opportunity - CRAZY. It fails so often (they get the wrong person for the job) as this filtering system relies on some kind of word search software and then the subjective opinions of the recruiter (selfish usually). I've been asked - do I have children or plan to have them on a number of occasions - what sort of questioning is that?

Its apparent from what I'm reading lately is that its an employers market, and no matter how much a good fit/experienced you are - the tendency is to treat all applicants as a disposable mass. Its a worrying trend. Having recruited myself in the past, I always employ courtesy and NEVER promise anything I cannot deliver on e.g. imaginary interviews.

I think - being philosophical - its that we all have too much choice. Employers initially short list - then maybe get a slightly better match or someone who will work for less money etc etc. so you get forgotten about.

In summary manners and professionalism have gone down the toilet.

Growurown

tzzt123 wrote: »

. It's just that - I don't have contacts. At least no one who would give me a job. I even tried volunteering here - only to be rejected, since there are millions of other people to volunteer, I guess.

I'm surprised by this because the charity I used to work for really struggled to get good IT help and it couldn't afford to pay anyone so relied on volunteers. Have you approached Basingstoke Voluntary Services? I would try the volunteering avenue again as it is a very good way of making contacts and developing your networks.

http://www.voluntaryservices.com/

Fluff15

Also, try do-it.org.uk - they have plenty of volunteering vacancies. I once had a volunteering job from there.

As you're in Basingstoke, how wide is your job search? You're in easy commuting distance with Southampton and Reading, as well as South London and Surrey. It may be a pain, but I know lots of people in that area who commute to those areas. A quick look on the Reed website and there's 24 IT jobs posted in the last three days for just Southampton.

You're also near a few major universities - Reading, Southampton, Southampton Solent and Winchester will all have IT departments and whilst I was at university in Southampton, I saw several jobs advertised for IT staff.

If you're worried about travel costs for interviews, use uk.megabus.com, they do plenty of £4 fares to and from London on the train, and there's always National Express coach service, who do similar fares and stop off in Basingstoke.

Make sure you're CV is really selling you - I know that American type resumes can be different to the UK equivalent and this might be putting off some employers. In your profile/cover letter make sure it's clear you're staying in the UK permanently, as they might think you're about to leave.

NinaSwiss

Other than the degree, Which area in IT do you have work experience in ?

General IT admin/support jobs are harder to get (due to over saturation as already mentioned) but if you have specialist experience(data analysis, .net programming etc) , I find that the key to getting past the agency stage is to tweak your CV to contain the keywords that agencies use for jobs in your field. i.e when job hunting I found just saying I had data analysis experience got me few calls but mentioning the tools and industry buzzwords used got me more calls.

Whilst still hunting/volunteering, it might be good to also use your time to acquire more skills that could set you apart from other job applicants. A lot of IT can be self taught if you are disciplined enough so should not cost you much to acquire the theoretical knowledge.

I.e a data analyst who mostly uses excel might want to also learn some sql if a lot of the data analysis jobs also call for sql skills. Just a thought really.

As the last poster said, make sure your CV is selling your skills and if you have a photo (which is normal is some countries) on your cv, leave it out as it isn’t the norm here.

Depending on your field, I might be able to give more specific pointers as I also studied computer science.

Good luck.