Coming to the UK to work
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Discussion

Markytop

Original Poster:

637 posts

247 months

Tuesday 25th January 2011
quotequote all
A friend of mine is looking to come to the UK to work as she believes there are more opportunities here than in her native Latvia. She has asked me to help with finding her something, but while I know about getting a job from my own point of view, does anyone have any suggestions how best to approach this?

Would it be worth registering with a couple of temping agencies? Or just apply for jobs via the usual routes, web, paper adverts etc. Would an employer take her seriously if she is applying from a far? I know as a recruiting manager I would be sceptical of receiving an application for a junior position with a Latvian postmark.

In terms of industry or occupation she is open to anything (behave.. smile ) She has recently finished college and would prefer something creative, but appreciates that to get her feet on the ladder she might have to start in basic retail, but she does have a good grasp with languages being competent in at least 4. Something like working in a music shop would be ideal to let her settle in and gain some experience, but I honestly have no idea how to get her details across at this level of the market. I'm fine further up the recruitment food chain, but my memory is not good enough to remember how I got my first job, other than it was a painful process.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated, or know anywhere in or around the Milton Keynes area that might be suitable for her?

Oh, and before anyone asks, there wont be any pictures biggrin

davepoth

29,395 posts

227 months

Tuesday 25th January 2011
quotequote all
How is her English?

Her best bet to get started will be recruitment agencies - somewhere that can vouch for her competence in English will be a big help. Find a couple of local ones, she can always ring them from home.

Jesus TF Christ

5,740 posts

259 months

Wednesday 26th January 2011
quotequote all
What other languages does she speak?

SkinnyBoy

4,635 posts

286 months

Wednesday 26th January 2011
quotequote all
does she have potato?

mybrainhurts

90,809 posts

283 months

Wednesday 26th January 2011
quotequote all
She have two potato...

Markytop

Original Poster:

637 posts

247 months

Wednesday 26th January 2011
quotequote all
Thanks for the responses - her English is great, written English is fantastic, and spoken is of a good standard, nothing official though to quantify that in terms of TOEFL etc though.

The other languages she speaks in addition her native Latvian are German, French and is currently learning Swedish. Not sure of the levels of proficiency in these though.

And her two potatoes are rather lovely, one of the reasons why I want to help her as if I do a good job there may be a chance for an early harvest...... biggrin

Scraggles

7,619 posts

252 months

Wednesday 26th January 2011
quotequote all
is latvia in the EU or is she simply yet another immigrant coming to take a job that a local could of taken ?

Markytop

Original Poster:

637 posts

247 months

Wednesday 26th January 2011
quotequote all
Latvia is in the EU.

Without turning this into an pro/anti-immigration argument thread, she is willing to do many of the jobs most people in this country think are below them, she knows she has to start somewhere at the bottom of the pile and gain the experience before she can move up the ladder.

lestag

4,614 posts

304 months

Wednesday 26th January 2011
quotequote all
Scraggles said:
is latvia in the EU or is she simply yet another immigrant coming to take a job that a local could of taken ?
Latvia has been a member of the United Nations since September 17, 1991; of the European Union since May 1, 2004 and of the NATO since March 29, 2004

ewenm

28,506 posts

273 months

Wednesday 26th January 2011
quotequote all
Scraggles said:
is latvia in the EU or is she simply yet another immigrant coming to take a job that a local could of taken ?
If the locals are that keen to work, there wouldn't be any jobs for migrants to take.

deckster

9,631 posts

283 months

Wednesday 26th January 2011
quotequote all
Scraggles said:
is latvia in the EU or is she simply yet another immigrant coming to take a job that a local could of taken ?
Given that I suspect her English is better than yours, and her attitude is clearly far better in any case, I'd be happy to swap the two of you around if it will help balance things.

Scraggles

7,619 posts

252 months

Wednesday 26th January 2011
quotequote all
actually seem to be doing ok, took a look at a latvian site

http://www.li.lv/index.php?option=com_content&...

looks like it will be heading the same way as ireland not too soon frown

Jesus TF Christ

5,740 posts

259 months

Thursday 27th January 2011
quotequote all
The OH's company do a lot of translation work but I just asked and there's nothing at the mo for those languages.
Thought I'd ask as it's in MK.

plg

4,106 posts

238 months

Thursday 27th January 2011
quotequote all
Waitrose have a very good training scheme, are a good employer, and if she is using it as a springboard, probably the best name to have on the CV; otherwise John Lewis? I've heard that they prefer people not to have general high street retail experience as it leaves too many bad habits to unlearn - compared to the JL experience.

BoRED S2upid

21,032 posts

268 months

Thursday 27th January 2011
quotequote all
Hows her massage skills?