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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

  • 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!
  • in reply to Jacqueline
    Amazing! Thank you Jacqueline. No, I haven't heard of them but I will get to it! In some ways this experience has made me more determined to do a rockstar job - I suddenly feel I have a lot to prove! Glad to hear they represented good clients :-)
  • in reply to Nivek
    Just in case you not seen it, Nivek, lots of kindred spirits here
    http://www.tntmagazine.com
  • in reply to David
    Thanks, David! I'll check it out. And thank you for your earlier comment as well. I did reply but I haven't yet seen the reply post appear yet!
  • Hi Nivek,

    Welcome to London!

    I can fully understand your frustrations, as someone who moved from Russia a few years ago. I also experienced the deafening silence from recruiters despite my best efforts. The first job in London is the hardest to find - you have to overcome the distrust (foreign! not a native speaker - she must be rubbish at English! (in my case), does she even have a right to work?! (yes!), no experience in UK or London - she doesn't know what she's doing!) - all of those and some more. And that within a market that is already over-saturated with "native" candidates.

    But not to despair! I got my first role within 2 months of searching following my relocation. I think what might help is turning what seems like a disadvantage into your competitive edge, your USP. In your case I think it could be having international HR experience (which is something that a lot of local candidates don't have). I got my first role here mostly because I was bilingual in Russian and English (and spoke 2 other languages) and the firm had dealings with Russia. So that was my USP, rather than having local experience. The role was far from ideal and the company too small for my liking, but it gave me that stepping stone I needed to gain the current role as a standalone HR Advisor in a rather British organisation. Also, it was in the outskirts of London, where (presumably) competition is a bit less intense! Commute was horrendous but I knew there were sacrifices to be made.

    I did my Level 5 alongside that first role and now I feel a lot more confident in the London HR market.

    I am sure you can do it! Good luck!
  • in reply to Maria
    Hi Maria,

    Thanks so much for sharing your experience and advice.

    It sounds like your first role was the perfect stepping stone. I think you're right regarding finding my USP. I was lucky in my previous role to have responsibility for client groups in the UK and AU, so international experience could very well be it.

    Thanks for the support, Maria!
  • in reply to Nivek
    Hi Nivek and welcome to London.

    One of my favourite HR agencies is Oakleaf Partnership. And I belong to a group on LinkedIn called Corporate and Cocktails which you might like to join (www.linkedin.com/.../4006814) The group owner - Andy Selway - runs a recruitment business and is currently posting lots of HR jobs in the group.

    Best wishes, Anna
  • in reply to Anna
    Hi Anna,

    Thanks for your warm welcome!

    Thanks also for passing along this information - I've been trying to find some networking events to head along to so this is perfect. I've sent off a request to join. I have seen one or two roles posted by Oakleaf, it's great to hear a first hand recommendation!

    Thanks again, Anna!
  • Hi everyone!

    Update: Thank you to all of you for your support and advice! As of last week I started in a temporary role which will hopefully give me the UK specific experience I need for securing the next role.

    Enjoy the rest of your week!
  • in reply to Nivek
    Hi Nivek, I've been following this thread but not contributed as the advice you were receiving was far better than anything I could offer. Until now. I can send you my very best wishes and warmest congratulations for overcoming your first hurdle. I hope your assignment brings you the success and experience you require and please do come back to the forum to let us know how you are progressing and, of course, if you have any queries we can help with. Well done for your persistence! :-)