Trouble securing employment

I arrived in London a few weeks ago. A month before I arrived I had a phone interview for a job in my field. The phone interview went well and I had an in person interview the day after I arrived. A few days later I interviewed with the departments V.P. as well as the hiring managers peer. Those two interviews went so well that I was asked back for an interview with the CFO and to complete a case study. All of the feedback I received from the hiring manager was positive as well as was the reviews by the others I interviewed with. At my last meeting I was told I'd hear from them later that day regarding a hiring decision. When I hadn't heard for a few days I emailed to follow up and the hiring manager assured me that the group I interviewed with had just met that day and the VP and CFO wanted to do discuss separately and he'd let me know ASAP. That was a week ago and still no word. In the US, all the jobs I've applied to got back to me within days of the interview on a decision. Is this delayed timeline normal? It's a good job and I need something to get me out of the house. I've applied to many other similar jobs but haven't gotten any other interviews. I've also been working with a recruiting agency but one day they'll email me with an opportunity and I'll follow up right away and they never respond. I've tried reaching out to other recruiting agencies with no luck. I'm a qualified finance professional with a masters degree. Most of the jobs I apply for require the ACCA/CIMA/ACA qualifications, which I don't have, but I make up for with my advanced degree and work experience. Is there something I'm doing wrong? My CV is up to date, I'm applying daily and I try to keep in touch with the recruiting agencies. Any other tips about what I could be doing would be greatly appreciated. I really need to find a job!

Thanks


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I'd say it's not abnormal, and probably too early to worry. However, a lot of British employers have trouble with equivalent/transferable skills, and honestly if they have another candidate who has the exact qualifications they're looking for, they may go with that person over you, even though you're perfectly able to do the job. Is there any way that you could get the British qualifications, or volunteer somewhere to get some UK work experience?

I'm an independent contractor so I've got lots of experience attending interviews and talking with recruitment consultants.  I agree with above that your experience is completely normal, they could just be taking a long time to get everything worked out on their end.  If you got that far in the interview process, you stand a good chance. 

What I wanted to say is that in my experience, the British don't like to tell you that the job is not suitable for you.  More often than not, they just don't ever talk to you again.  For recruiters, this is just business as they have nothing to gain from calling to tell you that it's just not going to happen.  It's a long painful call with no benefit to them, so most don't do it. They just never call and dodge your calls. 

I've had the same experience dealing directly with companies, they just can't bring themselves to have that awkward "no" conversation, so they take the cowardly way out.

Don't take it personally, it's a cultural thing.  Fortunately, this avoiding of awkwardness makes them terrible negotiators as they will agree to anything to make the American stop talking directly about money.  Take advantage of this!

You'll probably get a call out of the blue about that job, but in the meantime just keep plugging away.  It's all a numbers game, keep the numbers of cvs sent out and jobs applied for high , and other things will come . 

When I applied for my current job, my interviewers (HR manager and someone else) didn't ask at all about my right to work or visa situation.

A few days after the interview, they scheduled a call and asked me first about my visa and, after hearing it was all clear, offered me the job.

It's easy to forget when visas are so central to our lives as immigrants, but the average person has no idea where the red tape might be and probably has to look into it all a bit more (or just take the easy way out and go with another candidate, even if they're less qualified ).

If you're looking at working at a large company, or even a medium sized one, it's pretty much to be expected that the hiring process takes some time. It's a bit like government job hiring processes back in the US.

I found it useful to include some info on my right to work on my CV and in my cover letter final paragraph.

I went through 3 rounds of interviews for Molson Coors, one video interview, a phone interview and an in person interview over the course of 3 weeks or so. It was about a week before I had even gotten the invite for a video interview! I ultimately didn't get the job, but it did introduce me to the UK way of doing things. haha.

My first job here I sent them a CV, got called that day to set up an interview the following day and was hired on the spot. So not everyone is like that. This was for a tiny, very profitable used car company (Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rovers, both classic cars and basically brand new). The family was featured in a TV program last year.

Sounds like you dodged a bullet by not working for Coors.  That beer is rank.

Your recruiter should be letting you know what's happening.  Big companies have red tape with hiring and it's likely an offer has to go into a "document approval system" and be signed off one at a time by each person.  Some companies do this before even presenting an offer, meaning negotiating a package can take a considerable amount of time!

A good recruiter (whether internal or external) should at least let you know what is happening.  If it's been a week and you haven't heard anything, I would follow up.
 

Sounds like you dodged a bullet by not working for Coors.  That beer is rank.

Haha. I have to agree about Coors Light. I've never actually had one, I've tasted it and wasn't impressed. I much prefer Blue Moon (another beer on the Molson Coors portfolio...). I wish I could get a Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat or a Palisade Brewery Dirty Hippy (local brewery from back where I'm from.  http://www.palisadebrewingcompany.com/year-round).
I prefer a beer that pairs well with orange. There was an awesome seasonal apricot infused beer at a local brewpub too...

Molson Coors is a great company to work for though with a huge scope for a career and their main offices are under 5 miles away from me... They have a large portfolio of brews over here. Coors Light is just one of many.

Don't take it personally, it's a cultural thing.  Fortunately, this avoiding of awkwardness makes them terrible negotiators as they will agree to anything to make the American stop talking directly about money.  Take advantage of this!

Fabulous!

When I last interviewed in the UK, (albeit a long time ago now) it was considered such bad form (in my field) to mention money, that if you did, you were almost certainly not the right one for the job. 

I'm glad to see things have changed! Because of this, I never could get used to the US style of upfront money talk. 

It's hard to be picky when it's hard to get that first job, but looking back I wish I was a little more picky because I took the first job I was offered (after searching what seems to be forever) and I hate it. Absolutely miserable everyday, but then I feel guilty if I quit and am no longer bringing income in. I am now searching for jobs again and it seems like I've applied and it's been forever since I got the initial emails of were reviewing you as a candidate.

When I last interviewed in the UK, (albeit a long time ago now) it was considered such bad form (in my field) to mention money, that if you did, you were almost certainly not the right one for the job. 

This really gets to the heart of one of the things that bugs me the most about life here.   Who could possibly benefit from making it taboo to ask for a raise?    Oh yes, the ruling elite!  Next they'll be trying to tell us that God picked them especially to rule over us.....

Think about this. I know a job hunt is very personal from the standpoint of the applicant. But imagine Company A needs an inventory specialist. They advertise and receive 250 applications. 

How long does it take to put a really good CV, application and covering letter together? Let's just say an hour. Of the applicants, six are selected for interviews....they have to travel to the location, spend an hour there and travel home. Some may get called in again, but only one is hired. Hurray for them!

That's a heck of a lot of societal time wasted. And if you think about all of the hiring/searching going on....it's massive.

Thanks everyone for the input. I'm still searching for jobs and am now working with three different recruiting agencies. Unfortunately, they all want to start me off with contract work. I suppose contract work isn't entirely bad but I was hoping for something a little more stable.

I did eventually hear back from the company with an offer. It's not what I asked for but I accepted because I need something to keep me busy and to provide some sort of income. I'm continuing to look as I always believe that a person should be apprised of the current job market situation. I'm also hoping that perhaps a better job closer to home may come up.

@Historyenne, I am looking into the CIMA qualification. It's pretty expensive but I'd like to obtain that eventually since it also would transfer back to the U.S.

Thanks again everyone for your input it's very much appreciated.


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Congratulations!  Unfortunately salaries are definitely lower here.

Personally I don't think you need UK accounting qualifications.  I'm in finance and my experience speaks for itself.  But if you want to, go for it.

Congrats on the job offer! I'm glad I read this thread, it actually explains a lot. I always wondered why my UK other half did no salary negotiations and was pretty badly underpaid (still is imo). Unfortunately the UK pays less than the US in a number of specialized fields, but there is a range and you have to hope you end up on the high end. I've been watching job postings in my field and already know a pay cut is likely.