Just a quick update on the whole job search situation - job search beard has now reached the length where I'm no longer sure it's safe to walk within 100m of schools. In short, still an unemployed bum. :P

Yours etc,

Patto

P.S.  Okay, so that wasn't particularly illuminating. The longer version then...

It's definitely been harder than I thought it would be. The main issue (surprise) is the visa. Due to the various UK Government messing around with visas over the last few years, there's a lot of misconceptions about exactly what my visa allows me to do. I'm on a Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) Visa, which lets you work in the UK for two years with very few restrictions, provided you are a citizen of a Commonwealth country, and are under 31 years of age when you make the visa application. Unfortunately, this visa was not always so flexible - it used to be that you could only work for one year out of the two, and there are a lot of misconceptions that these rules are still in place today.

Secondly, a lot of the financial institutions have HR policies that only allow them to hire candidates on a Tier 1 visa. This one is a particularly sore point for me. As some of you may remember, I started a Masters degree a few years ago, with the idea that I could use it to apply for a Tier 1 (General) Visa, which basically required the applicant to be filthy rich or be educated to at least a Masters degree level or above. Of course, two thirds of the way through the degree, David Cameron & Co. decided to close that particular visa type. Unfortunately, since there are still a number of ex-pats on that visa type over here using the remainder of their Tier 1 visas, the banks have not yet updated their hiring policies to reflect the change. As a result, conversations with recruiters tend to go something like this:

Recruiter: Hi, I'm Neddie Seagoon from Bloodknock and Associates. I was hoping to have a chat with you about a position that I think you'd be perfect for.

Me: Hi Neddie, that sounds great! Can you tell me more about the position?

Recruiter: <Describes decent job that I have experience doing, with good location and great pay>. So, does that sound like something you'd be interested in being put forward for?

Me: Yeah, definitely. I think that would be a really good fit.

Recruiter: Great, I'll get things started on my end and let you know as soon as we hear back. Just one final question, can you tell me what visa you're on?

Me: I'm on a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa, which allows me to work in the UK for up to two years, and expires in August 2014.

Recruiter: Oh... Umm.... Look, an eagle!

Beep, beep, beep...

So yeah, slightly disheartening.

Thirdly, all the recruiters and agents that I've been talking to have been saying the same thing. They expected it to be slow over August (with the Olympics, and people taking summer holidays), but they're not seeing the market pick up in September like they usually do, which I suspect is nearly upsetting to them as it is to me. :P

It's not all doom and gloom though - I made a decision to start looking at full time positions towards the end of last week (although my preference is still for contracting). And as luck would have it, I've had a couple of nibbles already, all in the banking sector, which is a nice surprise. It's not quite as flexible as contracting, so there may be more weekend trips than week long ones, but at least it's stable work (theoretically) and it means I'll actually be able to afford to do the trips in the first place. It also means that I can have another crack at the contracting market when my visa comes up for expiry - a number of contracting firms have said that they'd be willing to sponsor me on a working visa, which is a nice backup to have.

Anyway, end of rant. :D

In other news, Mum is flying into London on Saturday for the end of her European tour, so with any luck I'll be able to put on my tourist hat and go and see the sights with her, which will be good fun. And then, Oktoberfest is coming up rather quickly as well. All I will say on that subject is that flights have been booked, and lederhosen have been ordered off eBay... :P

Pics of beard?
my beard is better!
Pics of lederhosen?