Don't Travel To The UK: No Jobs Anymore

How i wish all of us could listen to you, but no, capital No, even if you tell them 100 times. it a pity how they live on the street and run for cover all the time, 

Hi

Finding a job without papers. Yes it is sometimes possible but very difficult. There is a law here that all employers must see proof of either citizenship or other right to work. Even as an English person I always have to take my passport in when I start a new job to prove that I have the right to work. There are massive fines now for companies employing 'illegals' so the majority of companies WILL check.
Any 'illegal' jobs will be badly paid ones that no-one else wants.

To the lady with social work HSMP. I think you will be alright. There is a shortage of qualified social workers so you should be able to find something. If you have no practical experience it'll be a bit harder and you'll have to be realistic about starting right at the bottom. It takes a while. You will have to pass a police check for most social work positions and they take a couple of months at the moment, so even when you are offered a job you won't be able to start straight away. So make sure you have funds to support yourself for at least 6 months, is my advice.

Others with papers. There are plenty of jobs here. Whether you will win one of those jobs is another matter as competition is high.

Can I give everyone a bit of advice without wanting to offend anyone? My boyfriend has given a few Nigerians jobs in his UK company as he likes to help them out and give them a start. I also run a company sharing his offices. I wouldn't give a single one of those people a job in my company and I know that he is quickly running out of patience with them too. Why? Because they are so unprepared for work in a western country. I think they make terrible employees. I know I'm generalising, as I know others who have lived here for a while who are good, and my boyfriend is brilliant and I'd employ him with no hesitation, but the 'just-arrived-from-Nigeria' people are the most terrible employees I've ever seen. They really take advantage of him and it sickens me that they repay his kindness in that way. Any UK company would get rid of them.

So, if you've just arrived in the UK, you'll have a better chance of getting and keeping a job if:

You don't think you are anything special just because you have a degree or other qualification. In the UK lots of people have degrees. When you are looking for your first job you are still a trainee level employee as you have no experience, so you have to accept that you will be starting at the bottom, just like UK graduates. He had one employee who complained about her rate of pay as an admin assistant. She thought that because she was a graduate she should be paid a graduate wage regardless of the actual job she was doing. Sorry, but you are an admin assistant so you get paid an admin assistant's wage.

Don't be snobby about what work you do. I get the impression that a lot of Nigerians think they are too good to do certain things. In UK companies everyone (especially new people) are expected to 'muck-in' and tackle all sorts of tasks and not be snobby about it.

Know how to use a computer - and I mean really know, not just have some rubbish bit of paper with a no-good 'qualification' on it. Learn how to touchtype or type quickly. It's essential in any office environment. I know that is easier said than done in Nigeria but if you don't have these skills sign up for a good course as soon as you arrive in the UK.  If you can't type fast or use a computer it's exactly the same as if you can't read or write. You are useless in any office. Why would I waste money on you when someone else can do four times the amount of work you can do?

Take your job seriously and work hard. Don't keep turning up late. Don't keep calling in sick. Don't spend half your time chatting to other people in the office. Don't come in to work and spend half and hour or more messing around before you sit down and start working. Don't spend half your day surfing on the internet. Don't do things in the office that you should do in your own time (personal phone calls etc).

Religion. The UK is very non-religious. Even the religious British people don't go on about it all the time. Using religion as an excuse for things is totally unacceptable. I've heard people say things like 'there are errors in the work because that's how God willed it' or 'it will go well if God wills it' or 'it will be ready, God willing.'  You are responsible for your work, not God. Also, it is not acceptable to lecture other people about religion in the workplace.This sort of thing will make you very unpopular and may result in your being sacked. Religion is seen as a personal thing and not something for the workplace.

Language. There is nothing wrong with having an accent. After all, there are lots of different English accents too. But I've met some Nigerians who have such a heavy accent that they are quite difficult to understand. I've also met Nigerians who find it quite hard to understand some English accents. So, you may find that there are some communication problems and you may need to start changing the way you speak slightly. You may not want to, but be realistic, clear communication is important in any company. On the other hand, most Nigerians accents are fine and understandable, so don't worry too much.

As well as the accent, some things are just different between British English and Nigerian English and you would be wise to get the hang of these differences quickly. We have crazy spelling and pronounciation, it's not always logical and often not pronounced as it is spelled. Quite a lot of words have letters that are not pronounced. This sort of difference causes more confusion than accent, in my experience. For example 'th' is sometimes just pronounced 't'. The river Thames is pronounced 'Tems'. The name Theresa is pronounced 'Teresa' and Thomas as 'Tomas' here. Salmon, well forget the 'l', just say Samon. So try to tune in to British English mannerisms and you'll find life a lot easier.

You know the most common word that causes the most misunderstanding here? Using 'take' to mean eat or drink. We don't use it in that way (other than with medicine. I did say we are illogical). Talk about taking food or drink and the British person you are talking to is thinking 'take it where?'. Say 'no thank you, I've taken enough' and the British person will force more food on you as they think you are still hungry but just being too polite to help yourself to more.

Sorry, that was a bit long wasn't it.

Just wanted to help. A lot of what I said applies just as much to UK new-graduates too - I wouldn't employ most of them either! 

@English1.

Your post is one of the best advisory posts I have seen. Happened to stumble on the thread.

If you don't have the work papers. Do not come here to work.

However, If you do have work papers and experience, there are good jobs you can do. You may have to start out at a lower level, but you could rise in good time if you prove yourself to be a good employee and not be like some of those employees mentioned by @English1.

Good News[size=14pt][/size] - There is one job available, I work in a military establishment in london, if you are between 18 - 28 years nigerian, you might be able to get into the british army, they are recruiting a lot of commonwealth people to join the army, if you are in nigeria apply for skilled labour visa, I think the army is also classified as such but I am not sure. you will be oblige to  sign a contract of about 3 to 5 years. Recently I noticed a lot of Ghanians, privates and lance corporal in my unit, and I asked them how come you guys are in the British army they told me they got in through the Skilled labour visa. British people are reluctant to en-list, so the british goverment is recruiting from former colonies, like Jamaica, Ghana, I have not seen too many Nigerians at the moment but I beleive this incentive will be available if you enquire in Lagos or Abuja.