Working in the UK

[Brian Knight]

Hi Guys,
I have recently arrived in the UK and was wondering if anyone out there can give me some tips on where to start looking for work. I have registered on all the sites (monster, jobsite, jobserve, etc) and search them regularley, but I never seem to get any replies to the positions that I apply for. I am a Sun Certified Java Developer with four years commercial experience in JSP, Servlets, Struts, Swing, JDBC, FOP, Velocity, Session Beans, JDO, OR Mapping etc and have worked as team leader on the majority of projects that I have worked on.
What am I doing wrong?
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated as I am starting to get a bit worried
Brian

[Matt Cao]

Hi Brian,
Do you know any one in UK before you venture there? What I am looking for is the network connection, the only reliable source of employment opportunity. If you have time to trace back in this forum and probably will find the topic discussed about the validity of those job hunter sites.
Regards,
MCao

[SJ Adnams]

which town? london?

[David Rocks]

Brian,
I think that is what most people get just now in the UK. Most of the agents are pretty pathetic in getting back regarding your CV and it is pretty sickening. I would estimate that you only get a reply for every 7 or so jobs you go for on jobserve I have came to the opinion that the agents do not understand the java technologies and therefore cannot distinguish between the skill level of xml and ejb, etc and therefore send on wrong candidates.
They just seem to take the skills given from the employer and send on three CVs that have all of the skills no matter how advanced the candidate. They all get told to only send in three max now for a position.
I have the architects cert and that makes no difference to my applications. I now have a cover sheet especially for the agents that contains a summation of my skills especially for them which they can take of before it hits the employer.
You just don't know if you should swamp the agents with your CV or be more selective. Probably the best thing to do is phone an hour after you send your CV but you often get filtered out by the reception desk while you form a mental picture of them waving there hands frantically at the mention of your name. Probably just paranoia on my part but i do appreciate that the agents do get swamped with CVs, especially from people who could not do the role and probably do not live in the country and have no visa so they probably don't open all the mails.
hope things pick up for you. and for me as well!
Best of luck.
David

[John Lee]

hi:
i have never been to uk, but in my previous experience, when you move to a new place, it is better to go to job fair, open house, job hunting work shop,...you will get familar with the place, and become more confident.
just my 2 cents.

[Amy Phillips]

Try looking in the newspapers, either the local one or The Guardian always have job listings.
If you go for The Guardian they have different days for different jobs so Thursday is the IT section but you might also want to look at academic positions (wednesday) or maybe office jobs (Monday).
Otherwise why not just bypass the agencies and strat looking for job listings on websites, most companies have vacancies which you could apply for.
Good Luck

[Sam Tilley]

I agree with Amy, just registering on sites is not enough. Employers often advertise on their sites so take a few days out to trawl around them. They like it better if you come to them regarding an job advert as it shows initiative and that you are a cut above the rest (and it saves them fees). I recently advertised for a new position on our site and got lots of replies but out of a shortlist of 3, 2 of the best candidates found it off their own back and one got it. Both were head and shoulders above the rest who just relied on agencies.
Get your cv and covering letter done properly as well as this is their first port of call and sells you. There is a lot of interest in J2EE as well so learn some of that.
Good luck
Sam

[John Lee]

Sometimes try to make some cold calls, perhaps your US degree will give your some edge? i am not sure about it.

[Richard Scothern]

Originally posted by Sam Tilley:
I recently advertised for a new position on our site and got lots of replies but out of a shortlist of 3, 2 of the best candidates found it off their own back and one got it. Both were head and shoulders above the rest who just relied on agencies.

I think this is definately the best way to go about it. Of all the interviews and jobs I have had in the UK and abroad, none have been through recruiters.
The only problem is, how do you find companies who are hiring, and have advertised postions on their website? Did your company advertise the job on monster directly, like some do? The agents have all the job openings, because companies don't usually disseminate job postings outside of their own websites.
Richard

[Mark Howard]

Originally posted by Matt Cao:
Do you know any one in UK before you venture there? What I am looking for is the network connection, the only reliable source of employment opportunity.

There's a frightening amount of truth in this. After many years in this bizarre IT world, it appears that sound experience in general IT and the principles of system development and implementations don't count for much anymore. More of a buzz-word, flavour-of-the-day type of market where a student with 6 months experience with the correct version of a sought-after technology will be an employer's preferred choice. Most agencies are just a further level of abstraction, many of which often stand as an unwanted impediment between a qualified employer and their desired job.
Having a contact in the right place is worth a thousand CV's, and there's nothing like a good reference to get you going. Failing that, you can research various companies on the net, get the HR contact numbers, and call them. Some of the benefits of this rather simple approach is that it eliminates waiting for responses (or hoping the employers are trawling the correct CV websites), you tend to get a yes-or-no answer straight away, and it also gives the employer a chance to know more about you than just your CV covering letter.
Better still, try and win the UK lottery

[Sam Tilley]

Originally posted by Richard Scothern:

I think this is definately the best way to go about it. Of all the interviews and jobs I have had in the UK and abroad, none have been through recruiters.
The only problem is, how do you find companies who are hiring, and have advertised postions on their website? Did your company advertise the job on monster directly, like some do? The agents have all the job openings, because companies don't usually disseminate job postings outside of their own websites.
Richard

The girl i eventually recruited simply went to all of the companies that she wanted to work for and that had a web vacancies page and bookmarked them. Then every week she would check the bookmarks to see if anything had been put up and one day struck lucky (not sure if she still thinks that )
So that would be my advice. Spend a day or 2 going around all the websites of the companies you want to work for (also helping you to see whats available and whats out there), bookmark all the relevent pages, and then every week (or even every few days) spend half an hour going back and checking the vacancies page, and adding or removing pages to your favourites list.
If an employer can recruit you himself (without an agency), it makes him look good, it makes you look good and it saves him money.
Actually i think i might start doing that a bit myself, it never harms to keep looking does it.