While the UK economy, particularly in the finance and IT sectors is booming, the same can’t be said for some of the other EU countries such as Spain and Italy. In these countries professionals are finding opportunities limited and are increasingly looking to the UK to develop their career potential. While the opportunity may be enticing there are many other factors to take into consideration.
The following case study may help you understand what is involved in relocating and how to prepare yourself and your family if you are thinking of making a move:
Marcos is an IT professional in the Finance sector who was concerned about his career prospects due to the poor economy in his home country of Spain. As a young husband and father he wanted to provide a more secure future for his family, yet he was aware that relocating may have its challenges, so he asked for our assistance in the process.
He first made contact through LinkedIn and while he had not considered relocating to the UK before as we discussed his career and experience, it soon became apparent that this might well be an opportunity for him. Marcos had studied English in school and knew the language well. In addition, because he worked in an international company he regularly used English in his daily work. Having worked previously in consulting companies, we agreed that his best prospects would be to work for a consultancy organization in the UK.
A key reason for the success of this process was that he agreed to work with us exclusively and this was important as EPM is a niche market. Exclusivity not only reduces the time to be able to secure a job placement it also reduces the time the candidate needs to spend speaking to agencies as they are only interacting with one person. A single agency can also provide un-biased information on each company and will not be trying to make you join one company so they get paid.
Marcos and I agreed on seven companies to approach ranging from niche EPM Consultancies to Top 4 Organisations. Of these, five companies wanted to meet with Marcos, so we agreed on two days when he could fly to the UK, booking in enough time for him to interview at each company.
Marcos ended up with four offers to choose from and ultimately was able to make a decision based on which was the best offer for him and for his career progression. Once the contract was signed by both parties, we then assisted him with the relocation process. We worked together with Marcos to find a list of schools that would be relevant for his children. When looking for a new home, once he had decided on an area near London he wanted to stay in, we introduced him to local estate agents who helped him find a property. This ensured that his family could feel confident about the move as all the major arrangements were secured in advance.
This case study is just one example of what is involved with relocating to the UK and how we can help make it a straight-forward and simple process.