I left Nigeria a while ago for America.

My very first job outside of Nigeria was washing dishes in an Indian restaurant in London before I ended up in the US.
I lasted 5 days at the job. Came home smelling of chicken pakora.

Please tell us your first job outside of Nigeria.

my first job was at my school. most international student work in the cafe. the manager took a look at me and then asked that i go to the Sandwich dept there i will be making Reuben, i was like
"WHAT"

Reuben is a name of a person, he said nah this Reubens is a Sandwich, i was so embarrassed o

he then took me to the dept where they made it. they showed me how to make Reuben,  few days after i was good at it.
but one week later, they moved me to Pizza. they said i was needed there. oh that was terrible! work from 8-11:45, class from 12-2pm, that wasn't funny. i had to dress because no time to come back to prep for class. even the apron couldn't protect me from the flour that messed up my jeans and sweater. i would dust off the flour once done ( i was responsible to put the dough in the machine to flatten it) my hair, jeans and shirt all will be in flour, lol. in class they all knew i worked the pizza. by the end of the quarter, i was aware of all the depts and asked to move to salad dept for evenings. there i cut fruits, prep salad and cut dessert. when students start coming, i will go to the bar and serve. at the end of the day my feet all hurt for standing. No sitting at all through out your shift, na wah o.

but then i was glad because I hated the dishline where they normally put the international students.

if i should find work tomorrow, cause i will go round agencies again , then i will post here.

ma first job was woking with an NGO, did that for 5 summers straight and now work with one of da govt. agencies

I'm starting my first work in two days time. It's a voluntary work for charity!

busygirl:

I'm starting my first work in two days time. It's a voluntary work for charity!

How are you going to feed and pay your bills?

babyosisi:

How are you going to feed and pay your bills?

dont u know shez a big gurl?

[/quote][quote author=babyosisi link=topic=52383.msg1098438#msg1098438 date=1178557808]
How are you going to feed and pay your bills?

Don't mind! I'm still a student. . My school is starting by September. So I guess THAT COULD KEEP ME BUSY. .Although, I've filled a couple of application forms and sent my CVs to other places. . I'm still awaiting their responses.

I have never had a job in my life until last summer because I was bored and needed something to do so i won't get fat , so i got a job at the international Airport, oh Lard I quit after one week since I couldn't take the pain from standing on my feet all day and also I couldn't chill with my friends or party like I do. that job took away my freedom since day I haven't had another job but am getting one this summer again but just for 1month hopefully this one works out very

@busygirl

ope o! we are in the same shoes. tot i was the only person looking for job. all those yeye agencies no one give me work. if only you know how many vacancy i don apply for.

how many have you applied for?

Early morning cleaning for Sony Records in London. Have to wake up at 4am in the morning and get to work by 5am. Lost the job after a few days because I was not fast enough to clean the office within the alloted timeslot.

wait first. tell me how you got the job, the cleaning thing

lol.
It was so easy back in the day to get cleaning jobs in London even for vacationers.
How things have changed.

even here in the USA you now need green cards even to flip common hamburgers.

who who who told you i was looking for cleaning jobs abi u think say na jenge or oju oloju or student or visiting i dey carry? stop am o. no dey yeye me like dat!

Well as at now, i have applied in 20 shops, just in a week. . .I'm still going to apply in other shops too. I think the more you apply, the higher your chances. .

First job was at Macdonalds. It was depressing.

Ndipe:

First job was at Macdonalds. It was depressing.

Thank God 4 my loving caring parents because i don't see myself working at a fast food joint. lai lai i will rather suffer than work there.

Mickeedee is not the most desirable place to work for, but for an immigrant, any job was worth doing, for survival sake. Life is not a bed of roses, andfor us immigrants, it is a double challenge, since you are constantly hopping from one job to another. It was an eye opener, that yankee is not an easy country.

My experiences in yankee has taught me a whole lot about independence, and has strengthened my faith in God. Back home, my parents catered to my needs. Out here, I had to do all what it takes to survive. The Good Lord saw me through. Less than 2 years, there was a remarkable turnaround, or should I say a divine intervention in my life. I landed a job in a law firm, making a comfortable wage. Some months later, my mom visited for my brother's wedding, and was impressed, to say the least at God's Blessings in my life. This was coming from a guy, who had a very rough start earlier on, but was now living a fairly comfortable life. The company events that I took her to, was very consoling to her. When my mother returned back home to Naija, never did it dawn on me that it would be the last time of seeing her alive.

At times, I do reflect on the vicissitudes that I have traversed in America and marvel on God's providence to me in the midst of life's challenges. It was like being lifted out of a horrible pit, into an oasis.  Rather than being consumed with bitterness, my experiences has brought me closer to God. Others have had it worse in America. God has not let me ventured into the paths of homelessness.

Psalm 18:16

mine was 'recruitment agency' here in philippines. a Nigerian onwner who's also married to a filipina n have 3 kids. applicants apply to go to HK, cyprus, Israel as domestic helpers n for professional workers as nurses, doctors n engineers, goin 2 Nigeria, US, other countries.

but im lookin 4ward again to go guangzhou city in china to have some lil business with sum friends of mine n also im gonna go to states too,

LOL imma hustler

yeah, the more you apply for better chances. bt i think i have over applied

LoVeBoOBS:

Thank God 4 my loving caring parents because i don't see myself working at a fast food joint. lai lai i will rather suffer than work there.

are you serious? how old are you by the way? because you sound 14 or less


@topic
i did my first job in a hotel laundry

Well, do all international students have to do menial jobs in UK?

same job I'm doing now,was lucky enough to have a sister and my brother in law who let me stay without paying for anything while I did my exams.
I know my sister worked cleaning in hotels, shop assistant in mark one,tesco and now a surveyor.

May i ask if there is any rspit spcially for thos who have completed their first degree back home before going abroad?

It was so easy back in the day to get cleaning jobs in London even for vacationers.
How things have changed.

I understand you now need to show your passport as proof of identity to do early morning job. I wonder whether the same rule applies to a white folk in London,

My first job was working in the bakery department of a supermarket, wasn't too bad for a college student, its even the reason i added weight, it was fun while it lasted, a bit stressful cos i had a manager from hell.
That was some time ago though, i've moved on to do much better things and more will come by d grace of God

@Ndipe -sorry about that may God uphold you

My first job was as a graduate TA (teaching assistant) for a course "Problem Solving using Computers" to sophomore students in a U.S. college. Specifically, I taught the following:

1. Spreadsheet Computing (MS Excel)
2. Symbolic Computing (Maple)
3. Numeric Computing (MATLAB)

Nice experience and worked with great professors!

My first Job was in the UK. I worked for a pastor in his christian Bookshop. I saw it as a previledge cos i got to read a lot of christian books that seriously rescued my christian life that up till now, i can never go back to the way i was.

my first job was voluntary, i got to weight babies and measure their heights quite easy, but yeah i wasn't getting paid. did dat 4 bout 2 months

McDONALDS!!!! I luv'd this gig until I got tired of it!!!

Junegirl - most students, international or not, do these sorts of jobs to help pay the bills while they are studying. It's hard to find a good job that fits in with study hours. People here don't see anything shameful or wrong in doing this sort of thing. Most professionals I know have done a stint in a grotty job or two!

Egbon, yes the regulations have really been tightened up. Companies have to ask all new employees for proof of legal work status, even white English people. I've had to show my passport to new employers.

There's no shame in earning money to pay your bills. I think that many graduates/students coming here from abroad seem to think that they are above doing the sorts of jobs that graduates/students do here to support themselves. Perhaps in their own countries only poor/uneducated people do these jobs, but here it is different. Of course, no-one wants to be stuck doing this sort of thing for the rest of their lives, but it's very common for people here to take whatever they can while they look for something better. Taking jobs like these doesn't mean you get labelled as someone who can only do those jobs. I'm a professional, now with my own company, and in the past I've worked in factories, supermarkets and a hospital laundry. My own son is currently working as a barman while he studies. My best friend used to be a waitress and a barmaid and now 3 years later she is the head credit controller for a whole group of companies. My boyfriend was a professional with many years experience and good qualificationswhen he moved here and had to start off working in a factory and as a taxi driver. He now owns a company employing 10 people. You have to be prepared to start at the bottom, no matter where you come from.