toodlepip

Hey betty boo, I hope things improve for you and I know where you are coming from. My OH has finally been offered a job but we didn't think it would take this long (been back since the end of July) being unemployed has had a very bad effect on him and us on a family as he feels very very negatively about our life here and would like to rush back to Oz at the earliest opportunity.

It's hard to stay positive at these times but I still love England and take joy in being here near my family & old friends. I hope you find work soon x

sallysimmons

To everyone taking some time to find work, I just want to say don't be discouraged. Toodle Pip, I know it won't cheer your husband up to hear this, but finding a job within 3 months is pretty good - most job searches now are stretching on 6 and even 9 months.

When something is taking longer than we want, we tend to start thinking it will never happen. But that job offer will come along ... and I will keep everything crossed for sooner rather than later.

NiHao

BettyBoo,

I'm so sorry you're having a tough time finding jobs, I know it must be extremely demoralizing. The not knowing when its going to happen is so stressful, if you only had a time line to count down too it wouldn't be so bad

I don't know whereabouts your based but is there any possibility of temp work? I've done that at various times (office admin stuff). I know your field is nursing but maybe just some temp admin work might give you some breathing space and you could maybe put your nursing background to good use in a temp clerical/admin post in a doctor's office, hospital, etc. Just an idea and I do know how irritating it can be when your stressed and people offer ideas that you've already tried or which aren't appropriate for your situation so apologies in advance but thought I'd throw it out just in case

Also please don't feel like you can't post here just because things aren't going well right now. Even if we can't be of any real help we, as expats, probably understand more of how hard what you are going through is than others do. Please keep posting and don't worry if it feels negative, we don't only need to hear the happy clappy stuff and even if we can't help we can give you a virtual hug and give you a space to vent about what your going through and feeling.

Equally don't close yourself off from friends in RL, its very natural to do that and I think many of us do it when we're feeling down but it only makes things worse because you end up so isolated. Try and turn the tables and think how you would feel if this was happening to a friend, we are always much too harsh to ourselves, you'd feel terrible if a friend was feeling humiliated about it taking time to find a job so be kinder to yourself. Its a really tough job market both in the US and the UK right now, you are not alone and there is no shame in it.

Hang in there, keep plugging away and something will come through for you eventually.

bettyboo67

Thanks Quoll, I am starting to apply for jobs further away now- wish I had done it sooner really. I'm in Glasgow and it does seem like the health board have hardly any jobs to apply to right now. I am a mental health nurse so although there is always less jobs than in general nursing I have always just walked in to jobs with no problems. I'm begining to think that my recent Canadian experience is counting against me if I'm up against lots of other applicants with UK experience.
Anyway will just have to keep plugging away, am feeling better already from the posts from all of you Thanks for taking the time to reply and offer encouragement it does really help.

J.JsOH

Foreign experience can be a good thing, it brings a different perspective. I think this is a positive selling point for yourself.

bettyboo67

Well that's what we thought, I thought people would be wanting to hear about my experiences nursing in another country but it appears that they don't. We are now trying to place more emphasis on our UK experience to see if that will help. I don't understand it myself, I do remember people posting on BE that not having Canadian experience counted against then when looking for work in Canada but I never expected it to work in the reverse when we got to the UK.

bettyboo67

[QUOTE=NiHao;9708715]BettyBoo,

I'm so sorry you're having a tough time finding jobs, I know it must be extremely demoralizing. The not knowing when its going to happen is so stressful, if you only had a time line to count down too it wouldn't be so bad

The lack of a time line really is the issue, we keep saying if we knew when it would end we might actually enjoy being at home with the kids for now instead of stressing out.
Good post NiHao with lots of good advice

Barbara1133

So true. It does depend on what you do. I arrived home in the middle of August, and found a job less than two weeks after I arrived. I work as a legal secretary and live in Central London, which probably helps. I had three interviews on the same day, two job offers the following day. I took one. It isn't a dream job, but I was very lucky, and I'm earning what I'm told is excellent money and went in at the highest incoming salary the agency had encountered in over two years. Another lady, who is American and whose husband is English, started two weeks later at the same place. It seems as though things may be looking up in some areas.

I found the job by applying online for every single job I thought might vaguely suit me. I probably put in at least 40 online applications in one day. I got about 3 hits from agencies, and one of them really came through for me. Try everything you can, apply for everything. I really thought online job applications were a dead loss, but I was wrong. I've been there for two months now. It isn't my dream job, but I'm thrilled and grateful to have a job.

Don't give up, just apply for everything. Something will come along.

Best of luck to you.

ambe

just to let you know I have worked in the nhs as a nursing assistant and my mother is a qualified nurse. They are RENOWNED for being ridiculously slow with applications it took me 6 months to get my job from the interview i honestly thought i didnt have the job in the end, the same thing happened to my mother. its human resources, they are soo slow , you just have to be patient. to have a faster response maybe apply for nursing homes? they are desperate for qualified nurses, more so than the hospital.

Lara45

We've been back now for 18 months and I too am having a mood crash - a bad one that I just can't seem to shake off. After three months of our arrival the only job I could obtain was working as a receptionist - £13000. It was accept that or continue to temp - I couldn't afford to carry on temping.

Its a constant struggle ... we were in the US for 7 years - prior to that I have over 25 years' experience as a legal secretary. We're living on the breadline - if we move out of the area i.e Carmarthenshire then I'm going to have to transfer my daughter to another school and start again. I just don't know what the hell to do. The 7 year absence from the UK together with my age 54 - has made life very difficult. I dont regret coming back to the UK - I just wish I'd moved to another area.

bettyboo67

Its so hard to choose the area before you get here however, especially when you have to factor in schools. We spent a lot of time researching it and even did a reccie (hate that word) 6 months before we came. What we didn't know was that Glasgow and Clyde NHS would have effectively put a hold on recruitment.
We too are looking at relocating and taking the kids out of a school in which they are really settled . Either that or DH goes to Saudi for a while where apparantly there is work and I am a single Mum for a while

Stitch

Is Hubby a nurse too?? We were thinking about that too for a little while?

Cheetah7

Do you reckon you will go back to Scotland?

I am going through a crap time at the moment and would pay to have my UK friends near me, but dont actually fancy going back if that makes sense.

I want it all and I want it here.

bettyboo67

No he's an architect and almost no-one is hiring them in Scotland, however we did expect that and he's been sitting project management exams to give him more strings to his bow.
Did you mean you were thinking about Saudi???