Recruitment agencies show interest, but never revert?

[moodymani]

I am a HSMP visa holder, came to UK on 14th January 2008.

I have a total of 5+ years of work experience in Windows, citrix and VMware environment; and have worked with big US clients and Multi National Companies inIndia

I am CCA (Citrix), MCSE 2003 (Exchange) and ITIL Foundation Certified.

With my work experience and good exposure in technical roles and MNC environment, I was feeling that I should get job easily.

I applied for so many jobs (100s of them), the recruitment agencies show some interest in the beginning, but never turn back after that.
If I myself call them, somebody else picks up the phone and they are simply not available.

I don't know what is happening!

Can somebody throw light please or help me out somehow?

[SKUK]

I don't know how the market is for Windows/Citrix but seeing that you've applied for over a 100 jobs, I assume it's good.

Lot of factors are involved in your resume being shortlisted for an interview. You should also remember that it's not the recruitment agencies who decide if you are apt to be called for an interview, it's their client. The clients might be looking at

1> The relevant skillsets
2> Experience etc

Also they usually wait for a minimum of 4-5 CVs to be received and looked, before calling for interview. All this takes time. I can understand your anxiety. Keep trying and I m sure you will get an interview call very soon.

[ashishashah]

I guess they receive 1000s of CV for a job advert,so they dont bother abt. responding /taking your call if they dont think that u fit the role..
But they definately call you/pursue you if they think that u r suitable/client short lists you...

What they look for in CV???UK experience /US experience/Big MNCs in your CV..

[pdeshpande]

Hi moodymani,

Same thing is happening with me too. My role is similar to the one that you are looking into. I reached UK on 18th Jan and have been looking for a job since then. I have applied to almost 700-800 jobs till date. I have been getting phone calls from recruitment agents, but have not been able to fix interviews. What is ur update till date?

You can call me on 07972680098. Also, do give me ur contact number so that we can be in touch with each other.


Regards,

pdeshpande

[OFCHARITY]

It is quite normal for it to take months to get a job in the UK. This is often the case even for people with UK experience, be patient, be confident, make sure your English is fluent and your speaking voice clear (going out and interacting with people helps, even if English is your first language, as your accent may still be pretty strong after just a month in the UK, I have heard employers decline to go ahead with applicants because they think their speech is not very comprehensible mainly because of strong accents.

[SKUK]

Spot On Ofcharity.

Don't hang out only with fellow countrymen in East Ham. Make some English friends. Listen to local English channels on radio and TV.....it helps in picking up the British accent faster.....

[applyhsmp]

I think people are getting off the track here regarding English accent and thing. People here on HSMP have cleared the english language requirement (which more or less is a test of understanding British/Aussie accent) and only then able to enter britain.

But to talk about the job situation. I am a SAP consultant. I have 7 yrs of experience along with the past 3 years in UK. Prior to that I have worked in Singapore as well and I am a US citizen. I resigned from my company about 5 months back and have been looking for a job since then. Though I have managed to give certain interviews, there have been quite a few revelations off late.

1. You would not be considered for a job if you do not have UK experience. Even though I have worked for some really well known names(Semiconductors giant, well known retain chain in Singapore), but if the client has not heard of those companies you are useless for them. The only name which rings the bell is the UK company I worked for and they only want to talk about it.

2. Even though I have been in UK for the past 3 years and have got HSMP for another 2 years(which should lead to ILR hopefully), companies are not very open to hire you for permanent positions. I have had situations wherein my resume was a perfect fit for a position, but the consultant told me that I have to be either a EU citizen or on ILR, hence the client might not actually call for interview. As expected I never got a call. Companies are not sure whether the hired guy would be able to secure further visa extension, hence sceptic about hiring HSMP holders

I went for an interview at the largest investment bank in the city. They conducted 2 technical rounds and then called me for the third(about a week back). The HR person told me that your HSMP may be a problem in coming years. He said "The law change is not over yet, trust me on this. Dont be surprised if even after completing 5 years in UK somehow the laws change at the last minute and you do not get an ILR or you dont qualify for HSMP extention. We may not be in a position to get you a WP then. We would look at moving you to company's US location but cannot garantee the same right now" These are his exact words.

[crusador0408]

thts eye opening thing..true ! very true..

I am lil bit scared to the fact tht now HSMP rules have again changed..employers still have doubts in thr minds not to hire HSMp ppl as no idea of thr sustainence in england for long!

what are the chances of geting a job from india with consultant companies tht take u to UK?

[rocky]

hi,
i got my ec would be travelling on march-1st from india.
iam also working on microsoft technologies/VMware. concerned what will be the future since im leaving a very good job and coming there ????

a bit disappointed by hearing this please help buddies.

[aj_sp_007]

hi Guys..

Have gone through the above conversation..every single word about the U.K job market is correct. I landed in november 2007 on HSMP and since then have been applying for the jobs everywhr...online and via consultants...everyday receiving 2-3 calls from them..but they never call you back...dont know whrs the problem...i dont think my english or my accent could be a problem...even finding a small part-time job is so difficult here...U got to go through a consultant and these guys have so many candidates already on their list...I have registered my self with all the recruitment agencies in U.K visited them personally...attended their online test...everything is perfect...so promisingly they talk but feel really shy to call you back...somethimes i feel thrs beloved.....or U.K job market is saturated...no more jobs... Honestly...i never thought U.K will treat me like this..

Secondly...everything is so expensive here from food to accomodation...to internet...to transportation...everything is out of the budget if i calculate in INR.....buying groceries from nearby stores is like getting yourself ripped...they just charge you whatever they feel like...huge price difference if we compare it to SuperMarkets...like sainsbury...lidl...morrison...tesco.....Big time cheats U.K shopkeepers are..
communication is so expensive...getting a mobile contract immediately after landing is next to impossible..coz they check you bank credit history...which should be atleat 3 months old...now what to do...calling from public booths...again..get yourself ripped.....Only british government is making money is U.K noone else...everytime..they are revising the prices...gas has gone up by 15 % and transportation by 14.5% whereas our salaries dont go up by 1% infact we dont have jobs...dont know why they are calling ppl on HSMP when they dont have jobs......just making good money by the help of application money...
3 days back came to india for some reason...and i honestly feel...thr r so many oppertunities here...so much to do...our ppl....our food...everything is value for money...Have MRP's on everything...ppl to help...family and friends...Im realising everything now...please guys.....dont take it other wise this is what i really feel about U.K...and im sure i will never make it my home country...never want my children to say ...for what i left india...coz after 20 yrs...im sure india will be like super power of the world...USA+Europe+MiddleEast+China=India
Im here in india for some time will take few final decisions...cant waste my life thr in U.K running around jobs and consultants....

Aj_sp_007
________
Singapore Recipes

[moodymani]

Dear friends,
I have made a strategy and if that works I will let you know soon.
Hopefully that will work for all of you too.
Please pray for me!
moody

[SYH]

When recruiters make ignorant remarks like the employer won't consider you without ILR, they are talking out of their a$$. I usually tell them they are doing their client a disservice by not putting forth the CV because getting a permanent position helps get you ILR and they are just making it self fulfiling prophecy by being stupid.

[jd]

Hi buddies,

I've same situation here. Please let me know if you find any way out.

Regards,
JD
Cell: 0779 888 5396

[SYH]

Hi buddies,

I've same situation here. Please let me know if you find any way out.

Regards,
JD
Cell: 0779 888 5396

use another recruiter or stand up for yourself

[gsurendra]

I feel disappointed reading the above messages. Its a real eye-opener.
I am a Chartered Accountant having total 11 years experience (including 5+ years experience in Oracle Financials as functional consultant), currently in Singapore holding a HSMP Visa. Currently my job and salary is quite good compared to the local standards in Singpaore.

Can anybody advice me what can be situation for me in UK looking at my profile?

Do you think its a better idea to visit UK (without leaving current job) for 2-3 weeks after having organized some interviews from here?

[moodymani]

Friends,

My sincere advice to you is to hunt for Indian mpanies like Wipro, Infosys, TCS, HCL, Mastek etc.....in your first job search.
They will be genuinly interested in you. Use your network of friends who are already working there. Approach Indian consultants like Mafoi who deal with UK recruitment also.
Negotiate for salary in a very polite manner saying that you want the salary to match and map according to your last Indian salary.

These tips worked for me. Hope they do for all of you too.

Cheers,
Moody

[thirdwave]

I feel disappointed reading the above messages. Its a real eye-opener.
I am a Chartered Accountant having total 11 years experience (including 5+ years experience in Oracle Financials as functional consultant), currently in Singapore holding a HSMP Visa. Currently my job and salary is quite good compared to the local standards in Singpaore.

Can anybody advice me what can be situation for me in UK looking at my profile?

Do you think its a better idea to visit UK (without leaving current job) for 2-3 weeks after having organized some interviews from here?

That would be very sensible..

[SKUK]

moodymani Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:46 pm Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friends,

My sincere advice to you is to hunt for Indian mpanies like Wipro, Infosys, TCS, HCL, Mastek etc.....in your first job search.
They will be genuinly interested in you. Use your network of friends who are already working there. Approach Indian consultants like Mafoi who deal with UK recruitment also.
Negotiate for salary in a very polite manner saying that you want the salary to match and map according to your last Indian salary.

These tips worked for me. Hope they do for all of you too.

Cheers,
Moody

Moody, you are right in saying that Indian companies will be more considerate towards you during recruitment in UK [particularly IT professionals from India with relevant skills and experience]. However the problem is your need for them is project driven. If they have a role ready, then they hire you. Once the project is over, say even if it's long term they go on for utmost 1 - 2 years, if they do not have the next role ready they will ask you to go back to India to join one of their Indian offices. It's taken for granted that you will go back to India because that's your home. It doesn't matter to them that you are here on HSMP. They can't afford to pay you salary in Pounds when you are on bench. It pinches them very badly. You'll eventually resign or go back to India. So I don't see the point. May be if you think of it as getting a foothold here, then trying to get another job in UK then probably it's fine. I m saying this from experience of a few close friends of mine.

[ashishashah]

SKUK is correct... have been approched by all above mentioned cos,but i would prefer to work in a local co which i am working for now..All these Indian cos. were ready to take me on board for around 1 year ,they couldnt promise any thing after that..So i asked for a contract rate,but they were unwilling do so...In short,they wanted a contractor at the rate of a permi employee

[1971]

@All,

Everyone is correct on this.But does it mean we have to give up our hopes. Afterall, we have left the chores of our various countries to come as a Highly Skilled labour in the UK. I had a similar problem for over a year, managed to extend after one year for another one year only. After my extension, got a SAP implementation for one of London's Borough and a few weeks into that got a IT Manager role on a pemanent basis with a growing company. I have over 9 years Business and Systems Analysis experience implementing Enterprise Resource Planning Applicatipn (ERPs.) It should be noted that irrespective of your skills,background and even UK experience, you might still face some challenges of not finding a 'skilled' job because there's so much 'economic crunch' in the Uk right now and this brings about a higher rate of unemployment.

Let's a break from this. Re-strategies.In my case, I decided to look at contract jobs after studying the economic trends and what most UK companies are doing. They believe that it's cheaper to contract staff on a temporary basis which takes out the issues of benefits and they just pay yiou for the services you can provided either on a hourly or daily basis. After a few weeks into this, I updated my CV and landed the permanent job which I will resume shortly.

Never loose hope, God has not forgotten YOU!!!

~1971.
'You can Win, if you believe'.

[shads]

Just to offer my 2 cents...

'Organisational fit' is very important. That means if you don't speak the language well, and understand the culture, it will be more difficult to secure a job. The rationale behind this is that interpersonal skills are just as important as technical skills.

Having hired staff before, it's easy to tell the difference between somebody that speaks English natively and somebody that learned English - it shows through in the cover letters more than the CVs.

Also, some of the reasons that are given for not hiring you (HSMP etc) may just excuses to cover the real reason (whatever that may be) ... I very much doubt any agency would reject a good candidate because they have a HSMP visa.

[TIRELESS EFFORTS]

Dear friends,

I know how hard it is to find a job in an alien country where everything is different for the migrants..

Check the following links, those who've apply hundreds of jobs must learn from this...Recruitment cosultants are nothing but tin man or con man..

http://www.weeklygripe.co.uk/a489.asp

http://www.itcontractor.com/Articles_IR ... hotopage=0

I know few people in HSMP who earns 500 pounds a day if he can do definitely you can also do..thing is you have to formulate a strategy work on it..

Its entirely a different planet for the new comers, there is no apptitude sort of things it all depends on the way you communicate...Don't just keep on applying, always have a follow up strategy..give them a phone call or send emails..

Wish you all good luck

[daisy_ktm]

FRIENDS,

NO JOB HERE..LETS BE CLEAR...GO BACK TO HOME COUNTRY REQUEST PREVIOUS HR MANAGER TO GIVE BACK INDIAN JOB.I THINK THATS THE ONLY WAY...

THINK TWICE OR THEICW BEFORE QUITING YOUR JOBS...1000S OF HSMP
HOLDERS STARTED WORKING IN SUPER MARKETS & COFEEE SHOPS..
I KNOW AT LEAST 10 OF MY FRIENDS IN COFEE SHOPS, CLEANING TABLES. THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR THAT JOB WITH EASTERN EUROPIANS WHO GOT A DEFINITE EDGE OVER INDIANS..

SO EVEN THAT IS NOT EASY

NO IT JOB HERE AT ALL..

[hsmp_prey]

Just to let you guys know that person working in recruitment agency has a target to build CV database, which pays their bonuses. So don’t fall in love with them when they are too sweet on first few calls. Most of them will turn as nasty as you can imagine.

I tend to disagree that they are not the one who decide about interview. It’s exactly opposite. They are the one who forward very few CV which they are sure are best, and in that scenario they don’t prefer brown or black skin.

[pranjam]

Just to let you guys know that person working in recruitment agency has a target to build CV database, which pays their bonuses. So don’t fall in love with them when they are too sweet on first few calls. Most of them will turn as nasty as you can imagine.

I tend to disagree that they are not the one who decide about interview. It’s exactly opposite. They are the one who forward very few CV which they are sure are best, and in that scenario they don’t prefer brown or black skin.

I think I agree with part of what you are saying the part that

They are the one who forward very few CV which they are sure are best

but the part that

they don’t prefer brown or black skin

I dont agree at all. My CV was fwded to atleast 30 clients and I am an indian and so brown skinned, it just depends upon your luck and how good your CV is.