UK Job Market is getting better!!

kenfrapin wrote:
But yes, companies usually apply for the Tier 2 visa themselves to have total control on you and treat you as their slave - such is the never changing mentality of Asian companies and most of us dont have any other option
KP

I think , it's little harsh on companies. Probably, having tier2 fits well in their streamlined process, instead of remembering who else got other type of visas. And it's could be about tax exemption(I'm not sure how it works). Who knows?

Every company(not only Asian), looks for their profit.

LearningCurve wrote: However after the travel desk goofed up, they couldn't conside applying a Tier2 because apparently a company can apply for a Tier 2 only after employee completes 12 months with the company.

Word of advice to everyone with Tier 1 visas - most Indian Companies dont know the ABCs of UK immigration rules and I am pretty sure if a person has a valid Tier 1 Visa, there is no way a company can or should apply for a Tier 2 as well for the person!

This has happened to some of my friends as well when coming over from India - the simply ignorant company wants and even forces to get a Tier 2 permit for a person who has a Tier 1 visa valid for 3 years.

Once you have a valid permit to work - then applying for another one is really stupid. If not careful, the UK Visa Consulate may just cancel the Tier 1 and stamp a fresh Tier 2 visa and then you are in a big big hole!!!!

KP

the simply ignorant company wants and even forces to get a Tier 2 permit for a person

True, but in the case of MNC's, they tell the employee that their existing visa will stand cancelled when the new visa (Tier 2) is issued. So it's purely the employee's choice.

In my friend's case although he was not eligible for a Tier 2 with that company, he knew if they were to exercise that option, his Tier 1 would get cancelled and was never for that option.

Can anyone throw some light on how is the job market in UK now for IT professionals? Few ppl in this forum have given totally negative opinion and are advicing ppl not to come to UK at all , where as other sources in this forum post some positive feedback abt improving job market.

So was wondering whats the actual scenario. Can anyone already in UK looking for job post some feedback about the mindset of job consultants over there as to if they are really interested in considering Tier1 visa holders or just prefer British at any cost ? And also whats the average number of interview calls you get?

sapvish wrote:Can anyone throw some light on how is the job market in UK now for IT professionals? Few ppl in this forum have given totally negative opinion and are advicing ppl not to come to UK at all , where as other sources in this forum post some positive feedback abt improving job market.

So was wondering whats the actual scenario. Can anyone already in UK looking for job post some feedback about the mindset of job consultants over there as to if they are really interested in considering Tier1 visa holders or just prefer British at any cost ? And also whats the average number of interview calls you get?

Everyone gives their own perspective of the job market. As a job seeker, it would be better, if you get a feel of it by visiting UK and being in the market (as the consultants call it).
To quote once again from the Matrix

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Morpheus:

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sapvish wrote:Can anyone throw some light on how is the job market in UK now for IT professionals? Few ppl in this forum have given totally negative opinion and are advicing ppl not to come to UK at all , where as other sources in this forum post some positive feedback abt improving job market.

Market is slowly picking up, but the competition is still very high. Also very soon it will be much worse - because the marker will be flooded with huge number of people being made redundant in public sector (which avoided serious cuts until now - but with the new government it will be a major target for that).

London is particularly affected by this as it contains majority of financial institutions and public offices.

Basically the only way to find a job quickly is to have some unique skills that are in demand (not a rocket science obv.). Java marker seems to be awash with people who formerly worked in banks, so the salaries and rates are rather poor.

sapvish wrote:So was wondering whats the actual scenario. Can anyone already in UK looking for job post some feedback about the mindset of job consultants over there as to if they are really interested in considering Tier1 visa holders or just prefer British at any cost ? And also whats the average number of interview calls you get?

Job 'consultants' generally do not discriminate against Tier1 holders, but sometimes you have to explain them what Tier1 means (that you are free to change employers, that the employer does not have to apply for work permit, etc - basically you need to tell them that hiring you won't be any different from hiring Brits).

Interview calls or just calls? When I searched (about 3 weeks ago) I had about 30-50 calls a day, and later had 2-3 interviews a day. Found a job in 3 weeks.

Thats good response.. thanks wunder... congrates on ur job...
By any chance you know how is the job market for embedded systems?
Like C, unix and those who have worked on cisco products? any help is much appreciated..

sapvish wrote:By any chance you know how is the job market for embedded systems?
Like C, unix and those who have worked on cisco products? any help is much appreciated..

No idea, sorry. The only thing that comes to my mind is that most embedded jobs seem to be outside London and South-East.

congrats on getting a job in 3 weeks. which profession are u in?? how about compliance jobs?? i was in banking sector doing compliance and have also done customer service. presently doing customer service in telecommunication sector

@kenfrapin: thanks so much for your very detailed and informative posts. and thanks to all contributers as well. they are all very helpful to those of us in the job search.

I agree with all that's been said above...in my personal opinion i'm starting to see that experience plays an extremely big part in what salary you will get...in fact experience in some cases is even higher than education! let me give an example:

-currently i have just completed an MSc in Environmental Science but unfortunately have no experience whatsoever in the field...which means i am basically looking at entry level environmental positions of which are ranging from £18k to £22k.....to say i qualify for £25k would be even stretching it! this has come as a complete shock to me and i'm very sad about it considering i studied my masters here in the UK and spent alot more than £25k in fees plus accommodation etc.

all jobs are asking for experience which i just do not have...when i look at customer service (call centre) posts they are even giving upto £19k and those don't even require a degree!!

at the moment i am disheartened about the job search but trying to keep positive reading posts such as the above knowing that if i put in the hard work and effort in the job search and never give up on it that something will come through.

so for now i'm willing to take any entry level environmental job to get experience and will use it as a stepping stone for a better one.

as for part time jobs, i'm in london and have been searching for a few months, even those have so much competition. i either never hear at all or mostly get regret letters. i remember i once applied to work as a customer service assistant in our local boots pharmacy store, i got a response from them saying that unfortunately they could not take me on as they where overwhelmed with over 2000 job applications for that post alone!

anyway...all the best to those on the job search and congrats to those who have found jobs already!

wabuthu wrote: as for part time jobs, i'm in london and have been searching for a few months, even those have so much competition. i either never hear at all or mostly get regret letters. i remember i once applied to work as a customer service assistant in our local boots pharmacy store, i got a response from them saying that unfortunately they could not take me on as they where overwhelmed with over 2000 job applications for that post alone!

Sadly, that is something that I have become accustomed to in the rejections I receive - 'due to overwhelming response...'

The cuts in the public sector will make the situation much worse on top of the redundancies from the private sector.

Double post deleted.

I am now almost one and a half months into my PSW visa and still unemployed! I'm becoming very disheartened but know that i cannot give up and will keep trying untill hopefully something comes up.

I am actually now in the process of applying for unpaid volunteer and unpaid internship positions to help me get into the environmental job market. It seems without experience no one even wants to consider me at all!

And it's not like i have managed to get a part time job either as i apply for full time jobs. This is so much harder than i thought it would be.

wabuthu wrote:I am now almost one and a half months into my PSW visa and still unemployed! I'm becoming very disheartened but know that i cannot give up and will keep trying untill hopefully something comes up.

I am actually now in the process of applying for unpaid volunteer and unpaid internship positions to help me get into the environmental job market. It seems without experience no one even wants to consider me at all!

And it's not like i have managed to get a part time job either as i apply for full time jobs. This is so much harder than i thought it would be. :(

I had seven months with as much as sniff, it happens, it's the Western dog-eat-dog mentality I'm afraid, one minute it will in the name of god u over, the next you are considering three offers, roll with it!

Hang in there Wabuthu - its not easy getting a job but dont give up. Keep a min time frame of 3 months and then assess your situation and next steps.

I have no clue about Environmental Science so I cannot help out at all. There are many many companies that have graduate placements but not sure if MSc in Environmental Science will get you such roles as these are all IT related.

One suggestion I do have is to broaden your market. If you are staying in London now and not going for a lot of interviews, then move out and save some money on rent and expenses. Only travel when you have an interview. There are jobs all over UK so my suggestion is to include the whole of UK in your hunt and not only London. Places like Reading, Bristol Cardiff are nice and even Manchester, Leeds etc up north have openings. Glasgow and Edinburgh are good too. It will be far easier to get part time roles and even a Customer Service job in such cities than London and you can atleast make some money and feel a little better.

Also, did you do a thorough research on where most Environmental Science jobs are? London will have jobs but remember companies here will only recruit the best and most experienced as they pay big bucks. Being a fresh grad in this field, its my honest advice to forget London and get a job in some other city.

All the best
KP

@kenfrapin: thankyou very much for your response.

I totally agree that london appears to be for the creme de la creme...the best of the best in any field. Competition is very stiff here.

The only reason i'm currently in london is because my brother has very kindly let me stay at his place as i go about my job search (thank goodness for family lol!). So basically for now london is my base as i do the job search but having graduated of course i'm very eager to branch out on my own and start working and earning for myself.

I completely agree with what you say about checking for jobs in smaller towns. I actually started doing this afew weeks ago...i've noticed at least with the smaller town jobs they have the courtesy to reply even if it is to politely say that i was not qualified. With the london jobs i hear absolutely nothing whatsoever from them as they are always overwhelmed with qualified applicants.

Initially i started looking for jobs at towns in the south east or south west (to be close to relatives in london)...but i realise now i have to be realistic about the job situation so need to cast applications far and wide all over the UK and hope for the best.

In terms of jobs in the environmental field scotland is the best place to be, so in addition i also want to concentrate my applications particularly in edinburgh, glasgow and even aberdeen as well. Of course jobs are scarce everywhere in this recession but since most people want to be in london and other big english cities it hopefully means there's not as much competition in scotland.

I can only hope for the best and will keep positive. Rgds.

kenfrapin wrote:Hang in there Wabuthu - its not easy getting a job but dont give up. Keep a min time frame of 3 months and then assess your situation and next steps.

I have no clue about Environmental Science so I cannot help out at all. There are many many companies that have graduate placements but not sure if MSc in Environmental Science will get you such roles as these are all IT related.

One suggestion I do have is to broaden your market. If you are staying in London now and not going for a lot of interviews, then move out and save some money on rent and expenses. Only travel when you have an interview. There are jobs all over UK so my suggestion is to include the whole of UK in your hunt and not only London. Places like Reading, Bristol Cardiff are nice and even Manchester, Leeds etc up north have openings. Glasgow and Edinburgh are good too. It will be far easier to get part time roles and even a Customer Service job in such cities than London and you can atleast make some money and feel a little better.

Also, did you do a thorough research on where most Environmental Science jobs are? London will have jobs but remember companies here will only recruit the best and most experienced as they pay big bucks. Being a fresh grad in this field, its my honest advice to forget London and get a job in some other city.

All the best
KP

Hello Guys,

Just want to share my experience with you. I am a qualified accountant, worked part-time in the financial services organisation during my studies, then accepted a full-time role within the same organisation after getting my PSW. I am on £32,000 with nearly 5+ years of professional experience in the industry.

I started to look for another role back in January 2010 and even though I had all that experience, I couldn’t just find anything. I registered with at least 50 different agencies, attended maybe 20 interviews in total, but all of them were unsuccessful. First, I couldn’t even get through the first interview, but later I understood what was required and managed to get through to the second and third interviews. However, none on them was successful. So, despite all my experience and high enough earnings, I spent nearly 7 month looking for a job.

I finally found a Financial Controller role paying £40k and feel extremely happy about it. I have now handled my notice to my employer and looking forward to starting my new job in September.

My own experience has shown that the marker is extremely difficult at the moment for all – professionals, part-qualified and graduates. I have met lots of people during my job search process and all of them told me it was really difficult to find a job. You either need to have some unique skills or have a lot of relevant experience. If you are a graduate, then you need to be able to sell yourself better then other candidates. Also, your communication skills need to be outstanding which is not really possible if you are an immigrant. Most of my friends who studied with me, now work in customer service or sales, as this is the only type of job they could find.

So, if you are looking for a job in the UK you need to be persistent and positive, you also need to learn from every failure and become better with every interview. Also, you need to be smart, confident and professional. And hopefully you will get the job!

Vitavi wrote:Hello Guys,

Just want to share my experience with you. I am a qualified accountant, worked part-time in the financial services organisation during my studies, then accepted a full-time role within the same organisation after getting my PSW. I am on £32,000 with nearly 5+ years of professional experience in the industry.

I started to look for another role back in January 2010 and even though I had all that experience, I couldn’t just find anything. I registered with at least 50 different agencies, attended maybe 20 interviews in total, but all of them were unsuccessful. First, I couldn’t even get through the first interview, but later I understood what was required and managed to get through to the second and third interviews. However, none on them was successful. So, despite all my experience and high enough earnings, I spent nearly 7 month looking for a job.

I finally found a Financial Controller role paying £40k and feel extremely happy about it. I have now handled my notice to my employer and looking forward to starting my new job in September.

My own experience has shown that the marker is extremely difficult at the moment for all – professionals, part-qualified and graduates. I have met lots of people during my job search process and all of them told me it was really difficult to find a job. You either need to have some unique skills or have a lot of relevant experience. If you are a graduate, then you need to be able to sell yourself better then other candidates. Also, your communication skills need to be outstanding which is not really possible if you are an immigrant. Most of my friends who studied with me, now work in customer service or sales, as this is the only type of job they could find.

So, if you are looking for a job in the UK you need to be persistent and positive, you also need to learn from every failure and become better with every interview. Also, you need to be smart, confident and professional. And hopefully you will get the job!

Good luck,i am part qualified accountant,cant find a job!what should i do?which agencies?

Vitavi, very motivating post indeed. Its been 2 months since I am looking for new work. I work outside of London and trying very hard to get into the London job market. Have attended 5 interviews in the past 2 months and lost all of them. One interview dint go too well, but thought I slam dunked the remaining 4. Was disappointed and surprised at the same time when I learnt that they hired someone else who was better suited for the role.
When I first came to the UK 2.5 years ago, I had 2 offers in the first month. In my 8 years of .net design/development experience this clearly has been the toughest period. Confidence has taken a beating, that is when I come to this board and read different experiences and try and get pumped. But hey ho..tommorrow is another day,lets see what it brings. All the best to everyone searching.

Since I am not still in a position to divulge details, I can still state that within the next few weeks I shall post a detailed version of my take on the current job market scenario which may throw more light on the current situation



KP