For many reasons, the “Job quest” is the most difficult task to achieve in London, and the most important, too, for many reasons. First of all, working in London is an incredibly good experience. You will discover lots of new people, and new working methods. The second thing is about money. Staying in London is expensive, and working is the only solution if you want to enjoy the life there. And then, this is useful to validate your “Stage FH”.

Getting a job will probably not be an easy thing. In fact,

• You are French, and French people aren’t English’s best friends,
• In general, you speak basic English,
• You’re coming from nowhere (yes, for an English, France is nowhere), and you have no job references,
• You’re staying in London during only three months,
• You can’t work one day per week, due to lessons at UCL,
• And, worst of all, you have no experience or qualification.

For an employer, you are all but the ideal applicant. If another guy applies to the same offer, he will probably get the job.

Obviously, your only strength is French speaking. There are about 600.000 French people in London, so speaking French is a good quality. So, if you want a cool office work, look for jobs which require to speak French. But this is certain that this kind of work will not help to improve your English. If you want to do so (and this is by far the best solution), you will probably get one of these jobs :

• Waiter
• Cook
• Cleaner
• Barman
• Cashier
• Or just… Slave !

Or, if you’re lucky, maybe you will be sales assistant in computer shops or boutiques.

Several ways to solve the problem

There are many solutions in order to find a good job in London :

The best thing is having a contact (or being part of a network) in London. If you’re in that case, lucky you ! For the others, do not expect to find your job from France (by Internet), especially if you give French address and phone number. I think one or two students managed to do that last year.

Because 120 French jobseekers are 120 less chances to get a job, the best thing to do is to go to London before everybody. That’s harsh, but unfortunately, true!

Other ways are :

Internet

There are tons of offers. Jobs are usually interesting, legal and well paid. But these offers are often reserved to very experienced people. You will need to send lots of applications (about a hundred), and be patient, as replies are very slow ! Most of the time, you will already have a job elsewhere when the first answers will arrive.

Temporary Work Companies

I gave my address and phone number to an Adecco office, but I never got an offer from them. In all cases, be patient, and do not rely too much on them, even if some students were successful with this system.

Jobcentres (British ANPE)

This is a quite efficient solution. Just go to the closest jobcentre and sit in front of a computer. Then, seek for job ads and call them. There is a great range of offers, and you will probably find some suitable for you. But the rule is simple : first come, first served ! There is always a rush for the most interesting ads, so be quick. Let me give you an advice : go to the jobcentre every day, in order to get the latest offers.

The Phonebook / The Yellow Pages

It’s working very well ! Just choose a random page and call restaurants, by example. You have good chances to find one which is looking for somebody. There is a drawback, though : it will probably be moonlight work, which is very hard and poorly paid.

Centre Charles Péguy

This is a French centre, which is located near Leicester Square. This centre has a job ads database, but you will have to pay £50 to read them. Moreover, you have no guarantee to find something, as the number of offers depends of the period.

Door to door seeking

An other solution : just walk through London and look for jobs ads on shops’ windows. If you see a good offer, enter the shop or the restaurant, and meet the manager. In the best case, you will be interviewed immediately, otherwise, leave a CV and a cover letter. Door to door is also a good way to discover London !

Each district has a speciality : you will find prêt-a-porter shops everywhere, but especially in central London : Oxford Street, Covent Garden, Leicester Square… Computer shops are essentially based in Tottenham Court Road (London’s Rue Montgallet), and bars are in Soho.

Call a friend

If you didn’t manage to find a job, try to call your friends who did. Maybe their employer needs somebody else…

To conclude, it's all about patience and luck, but you can be sure that if you are really searching and you are not too selective, you will be successful. Good luck, then !

The London Survival Guide