Job Market and Application in the UK

Hi everyone, how are you? Here, winter is taking its toll on me. It's supposed to be spring but it's still freezing (snow forecast before Easter)! Talking about climate change...

Last post I talked about my Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) job here in the United Kingdom. So, how did I manage to get this amazing (ikr) job? I believe that it's God's grace. But in the Philippines we have this saying: "Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa," which means that God gives mercy to those who help themselves.

In short, I worked hard for it!!! Most people say that I am extremely lucky, which really, really annoys me. It's not that I got this job instantly out of nowhere?!? Urgh. Anyway, I identified key elements that I think allowed me to get a specialised post like M&E in the UK. However, please note that these are just facilitating factors, not the determining factors!

Key element 1: visa situation: I am a Filipino citizen, which means I'm not a British or EU citizen (duh!). This is important to establish because employers must apply for the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) if you're not from UK/European Economic Area (EEA), and the job like mine is NOT in the shortage occupation list. Simply put, employers must prioritise suitable applicants from the UK/EEA before considering an 'international person' even if you're the best amongst everyone. This is such a hard-to-overcome policy. Good news though, I did my Masters in the UK – Tier 4 student visa holders don't need to satisfy the RLMT, which means I can compete equally with UK/EEA applicants until my visa expiration! Hurdle 1: succeeded.

Key element 2: education: The next hurdles are more on edging your co-applicants. Masters education is kind of a 'norm' here. In short, having a Masters is not really an advantage; having PhD is (at least in my field: public health/development/M&E work). But having my double-masters put in me on equal footing (or a tiny, tiny bit of advantage) with the majority.

Key element 3: experiences: For me, this element is my real edge from other thousand applicants. Before doing my masters here, I already have 3-year work (M&E) experience both in the government and UN, and they are all consistent with the post-graduate studies and jobs I'm pursuing. I'm not saying that this made all the trick, definitely not. But this really helped a lot, especially in an M&E post where you need solid (at least one year) experience.

Now, don't be misled that these key elements just worked on its own and gave me a job overnight. I did s-t-r-u-g-g-l-e. I really thought having masters and work experience will give me an easy time getting a job, not at all! However, it gave me an easier time compared to the rest. For example, a British colleague of mine applied for more than 150 jobs for a year (!) before getting an administrative post now; my other British friend had more than 100 internship applications just to get one interview and the post. I applied for 43 jobs within four months, invited for 12 interviews, and got 2 job offers – this is really good statistics for a non-UK/EEA citizen. I'm not bragging, just showing some stats to back up my claim lol.

So, what advice can I give to future applicants (both insiders and outsiders) in the UK?

1) This is not an easy ride. I almost gave up. Before having 2 job offers, I had 10 failed interviews (context: I have 100% success rate back home so it was really difficult for me to accept all these rejections); I started doubting myself. DO NOT! Sometimes employers look for something (like special attribute) depending on the context. For example, we chose one country project manager because of her dealing-with-people skills over an applicant with strong project management skills; just because of the specific governance issue in that country.

2) Plan and search ahead. Start looking at least 3 months before you finish your courses. This will give you ample time to sift through current openings, and apply for them. Watch out for some graduate schemes like the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme, where application starts a year before you start. UK has also very good job hunting websites that I used: Jobs, NHS Jobs, Trac Jobs, and Indeed; I also used LinkedIn. Just filter the jobs you're looking for and subscribe – yes, even though it will spam your email!

3) Spend time writing your job application. Step 1 is submitting a written job application; and the most challenging part is the supporting information, i.e. the last section where you need to demonstrate that you have read the person specifications and how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for a particular post. This is where all those experiences (whatever it is – school, work, volunteering, etc.) matters. And you should tailor fit all these things with each job you're applying. I did have a mother document, which has developed throughout time, which contains all the experiences I have; and so I just go to this document and adjust my write-ups depending on the person specifications.

4) Prepare for interview. Step 2 (if you manage to succeed in Step 1) is the interview. Please note, having an interview is an achievement on its own! It simply means that you're doing the right thing in step 1, you have some things the employer is looking for, and they want to get to know you more! CELEBRATION...not yet! Interview is a combination of validating your write-ups in Step 1 + personality check + your research/knowledge about the organisation.

Rule 1: make sure whatever you wrote in job application is true and something you've done.

Rule 2: research the organisation (mission, vision, values, their current work, SWOT, etc.) and align your experiences and interests to these things.

Rule 3: Use STAR technique: helps to guide you in answering questions.

Rule 4: be pleasing and charming – might be hard for others but try your hardest! No employer wants a grumpy seal! Lol.

5) Remember and document things. Have a database (Excel sheet) of all your applications: details, status, results, etc, and make sure to update them. Also, file your documents – I had separate folders for each organisation and post I applied. When you apply to many jobs, it can be quite crazy if you don't have a record of them all! And it's good to go back to your applications if you get an interview. Finally, try to take note of all the interview questions (especially the ones you struggled) so you can prepare on these in the future.

These are generic advice which probably you know already, but I thought it would be helpful to share. Send me a message if you need more information – I am more than glad to help! :)

Ciao,

M x