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New in London- looking for advice and/ or support

Nivek

Hi All! 

I recently moved from Sydney to London and I've been actively looking for a role (Generalist HR Advisor/ Jnr HRBP) for the past 3 months. Whilst I have been trying to stay positive, I have found the process rather disheartening. I'm wondering if there are others who are familiar with the challenges of moving to London and securing their first London-based HR role who may have advice for me? 

Some quick information about me for context: I am a dual citizen with full working rights (British and Australian), most recently working in the technology industry as HR Advisor supporting a client group of 160 based in the UK, Australia and Pakistan, 3.5 years' experience at the Advisor Level, Bachelor Degree in Psychology and Masters in HR and OD, AHRI and CIPD member. 

I have had meetings with various recruiters and two client interviews. One of which I went through to the second stage, however, I withdrew as the role wasn't the right fit for me (I am a Generalist and it was an L&D role with 50% design and 50% delivery). The other was with one of the top 10 tech companies, the feedback was very positive, however my interview responses weren't 'deep' enough - fair feedback as my interviewing is a little rusty. 

I have applied for 67 jobs, with some applications taking as long as 2+ hours each (for big commercial businesses asking detailed questions in their application process), and I have only heard back (rejections and otherwise) from 37%. Each time I get a lead they seem to drop off. Calls to recruiters go unreturned. 

I have since broadened by application to include Junior/ entry-level HR Advisor roles. Although this isn't ideal, I am more than willing in order to get my foot in the door, however I am not having any luck with these roles either! 

Am I potentially doing something wrong? Am I missing something? Any and all advice from those in the industry would be greatly appreciated! 

Warm regards,

Nivek

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  • Hi Nivek,

    As a fellow Australasian I empathise.

    I moved to the UK in 2015. I'm also a dual citizen and had 5 years experience in medical administration in NZ before moving to Japan for two years in an HR role.

    I struggled to find anything at first and eventually moved into an HR/Admin Team Assistant role well below my experience level. It only took 8-9 months before an HR Coordinator role opened up and since then I have been working in that same position gradually growing the responsibilities and am now in charge of a brand new LMS and a recruitment website project.

    In the end I only spent 6 weeks job hunting - it didn't take me long to identify that I wouldn't get a great role to begin with and would need to start from the bottom again (I also didn't have the finances to be out of work for long).

    I think expanding your search to more junior roles and using them as a starting point will definitely help to get your foot in the door. Spend a year gaining experience in some HR/Admin related position in the UK and then look to find something a bit more suitable.

    It's not easy and I'm still trying to recover for lost time myself but you'll get there!

    All the best,
    Clare
Reply
  • Hi Nivek,

    As a fellow Australasian I empathise.

    I moved to the UK in 2015. I'm also a dual citizen and had 5 years experience in medical administration in NZ before moving to Japan for two years in an HR role.

    I struggled to find anything at first and eventually moved into an HR/Admin Team Assistant role well below my experience level. It only took 8-9 months before an HR Coordinator role opened up and since then I have been working in that same position gradually growing the responsibilities and am now in charge of a brand new LMS and a recruitment website project.

    In the end I only spent 6 weeks job hunting - it didn't take me long to identify that I wouldn't get a great role to begin with and would need to start from the bottom again (I also didn't have the finances to be out of work for long).

    I think expanding your search to more junior roles and using them as a starting point will definitely help to get your foot in the door. Spend a year gaining experience in some HR/Admin related position in the UK and then look to find something a bit more suitable.

    It's not easy and I'm still trying to recover for lost time myself but you'll get there!

    All the best,
    Clare
Children
  • in reply to Clare
    Clare,

    Thank you - I knew there must be someone out there who had had a similar experience! I just let out a little sigh of relief. I'm so pleased to hear that your strategy paid off and it sounds like you are owning some really interesting projects.

    I am fortunate that I don't have the financial pressure immediately, however of course I am keen to get back to it! I definitely see the value of joining an organisation in a junior role, particularly in a company where there are opportunities to progress. Although it does concern me that I won't be using my skills - I don't want to get rusty and lose confidence. Although, being out of the game has that effect too.

    Thank you for your words of encouragement, I'm very grateful. All the best to you in catching back up!