In her opinion, some of the rumors circulating in China about life as a student were wrong. Although the postgraduate program is only one year long, it is not as easy as expected, and finding a job in the UK after graduation is not as difficult as it is said to be. Soon after receiving her master's degree, Joey became a salesperson for the Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo.
When she first started looking for a job, Joey's wish was to get back into her old job and continue working in PR. Despite the gap between the ideal and the reality, she is still happy with the status quo.
"The jobs I envisioned before were all related to PR or branding, not so much to marketing. But going into frontline sales allows me to better understand the operation of the market and grasp the psychology of consumers. These experiences will be of practical significance to enter the brand as management in the future."
Joey, who has just returned home from work at the Westfield store in East London, said he was "lucky" to get the job. "After graduation, I wanted to stay in London, and I was chatting with a British friend when I revealed the idea to her. Coincidentally, she had just resigned from Uniqlo not long before and recommended me to her manager. I attended the interview and training and stayed without any problems."
Based on her own experience, Joey wants to show other international students that networking is just as important in the UK. "Making friends with locals is the trick to finding a job. Most Chinese students go back to their home countries after graduation, while locals have more resources in their hands. In the past, I always heard that the UK is xenophobic, but when you try to fit in, you realize it's not that hard."
Joey also said that being prepared is one of the essentials for finding a job wherever you are. "Make sure you have your CV ready and try to start submitting it six months before you graduate. It's definitely a plus to have work experience, whether it's an internship or a formal job, so it definitely pays to get a job to work on yourself if you're not busy with schoolwork while you're studying abroad."
Sea CVs work too
Cassie, a Chinese girl, is currently working as an independent documentary director for a media company in the UK. Before getting this job, she studied film at the University of East Anglia for 3 years and got her master's degree in documentary at the University of the Arts London's Film School.
Soon after graduation, the budding director found a job that was "professionally relevant" and was busy shooting and editing films every day.
"I didn't really have a clear idea of what I wanted to do with my future career while I was in school." Like many students, Cassie didn't know what she wanted to do after graduation, and didn't even think about whether she would stay and work in the UK or go back to her home country. "I just wanted to do something related to the creative industries. I was thinking that I would stay in the UK if I could achieve that."
With this belief in mind, she set out to do what many graduates do: a sea of CVs.Cassie started by logging onto the official websites of several Ideal Films companies with a goal in mind, from which she searched for job postings and filled out application forms. While waiting to hear back, she continued to post her resume on job boards Reed and Monster.
In terms of finally landing her dream job, Cassie's rule of thumb is that carefully crafting a resume and cover letter in English format is a necessary and good start. "I mostly used online applications to look for jobs and communicated with potential employers through emails, so my advice would be to word your resume and reply letter in a way that reflects professionalism in writing."
In addition, Cassie believes persistence is essential. "Mental toughness is very important as it is common to receive rejection letters back. I've sent out nearly 100 cover letters with very few responses, but don't give up, just one positive response is your chance."
Cassie is happy with her current situation and believes that the job has not only given her experience but also improved her communication skills. When she is not working, she will bring her camera and go to different places in Europe to record the beautiful scenery.
Chinese students staying in Chinese companies in the UK
Sabrina, a Chinese student, is a Xiamen girl working in Chinese media in London. She has been working for two years at Sky UK, one of the most active Chinese media groups in London, a job she got in 2012 after getting her master's degree in media studies. At first, she worked as a reporter gathering news for Sky UK, and after a year, she was promoted to the position of department head.
From the day she arrived in the UK, Sabrina decided she wanted to stay here, and she's been working towards that goal ever since. "When I was studying abroad, I planned to get a media-related job in the UK instead of going back to my home country. So while my friend was traveling around the world, I started putting in my resume."
According to Sabrina, Chinese companies have been developing strongly in the UK in recent years, covering a wider range of fields and with an increasing demand for talent, and they are happy to recruit Chinese students as international students have an advantage in language and can play a good role in communication.
"I initially thought that the British companies in China is a shortcut to find a job, so in addition to the British recruitment website, I will from time to time brush a microblogging, such as some of the UK's well-known bloggers "British red scarf", "Britain those things" have been posted on the job. Some famous British bloggers like "British Red Scarf" and "Things about Britain" have posted job information. I put in a lot of CVs and soon received an interview notice from Sky."
Sabrina recalled that the interview took place in an office building in London's first district, and there were five other people interviewed together. "The first round is a written test, the purpose is to detect the level of English and news sensitivity; the second round is conducted by the personnel department, mainly to examine the applicant's communication skills; the last round is a separate interview with the head of the company, the content of which is mainly centered on the salary and scope of work. By the time you get to the last round of interviews, it basically means you've been accepted."
Being in a foreign country and breaking into London alone, Sabrina has gained experience at work that has become a lifelong asset. She says the job has given her a valuable work visa.
"A work visa is something that all students who stay here have to deal with. The Chinese media group I work for only offers one place per year, which is more competitive than getting a job. Now I'm just relieved to finally be able to work."
As a successful veteran, Sabrina's advice to students who want to stay and work in the UK is to be very resilient and tolerant.
"It's not just my personal experience, my friends all feel the same way. There is no smooth sailing at work, we are sometimes lonely, sometimes aggravated, and many people can't adapt to living alone in a foreign country, let alone adapting to work abroad. In two years, I've seen too many people give up." Sabrina hopes that everyone is mentally prepared before they stay. "London is indeed beautiful, but only by being there can you realize that it's not easy."