Moving to London for the first time

[SueEllen]

@VietnamZombie what you are failing to realise that while there is a contract market it's competitive not only in London but around the UK.

If you don't have any experience of contracting then very few agents will be interested in you.

The fact that your English isn't fluent is another minus point as it's common for people to interview you on the phone only. It's hard enough to get technical points over to people when you are in the same room let alone when you are talking down the phone and can't draw a diagram.

You do have a chance in the permanent market mainly due to the shortage of people with years of experience who are willing to take on permanent work due to the habit of IT companies overworking people and not giving them pay rises. However even then with your English skills some companies just won't recruit you.

BTW There is a tendency in the UK for people to want you to interact with them daily verbally whether you are working remotely or in an office - even if it's just to have a coffee break.

[VietnamZombie]

@Sue May I ask what do you for a living in UK ?

[d000hg]

If your English is good enough to talk with people in foreign countries, it should be good enough to talk with English people? I'm wondering how bad it really is.

[Wanderer]

If your English is good enough to talk with people in foreign countries, it should be good enough to talk with English people? I'm wondering how bad it really is.

Yeah, me too.. VietnamZombie, your written English is very good, probably better than some of the English natives who post here.

Either that or you have a some very good translator software.

[VietnamZombie]

@d000hg & @Wanderer Spoken English is really hard for Spanish speakers for several reasons -we don't have so many vowel or consonant sounds, not even link words so hard and our 'accent' is rather limited-.

In Asia english is... unbelievable - Humor: el inglés en Asia | Destino: Tailandia

My spoken English is really bad. It's a frustrating experience and I'm trying to fix it. But living in an English country seems to be a major requirement

[BlaueReitgerte]

@d000hg & @Wanderer Spoken English is really hard for Spanish speakers for several reasons -we don't have so many vowel or consonant sounds, not even link words so hard and our 'accent' is rather limited-.

In Asia english is... unbelievable - Humor: el inglés en Asia | Destino: Tailandia

My spoken English is really bad. It's a frustrating experience and I'm trying to fix it. But living in an English country seems to be a major requirement

Dont bother! my fist job in switzerland was english speaking. I was shocked! had no idear how to survive for more then a few days. 4 weeks later i had the impression, i learned more english than that 6 years in school :-) and by the way, thats a funny post, haha

[d000hg]

Is it possible you can find a way to do at least 1-2 hours speaking in English every day? Maybe some internet site lets people do this who want to practice language skills, or you could phone up phone companies or go into shops and ask about their products at length, and then leave.

[VietnamZombie]

@d000hg That's what I'm trying to do now (via. Skype). Also I'm trying to spend as many hours as I can watching movies and TV shows with a British accent (I think I'm going to become an expert in Monthy Python's Flying Circus).

Thanks for the suggestion!

[StarApple]

Stick your CV on the many, many job websites here in the UK.

You may wish to not come to London but actually outside of London as it is very expensive. You may also wish to look at Spanish companies based in the UK. Santander comes to mind right away.

To get a job in the UK you have to be here. You may get a job which is not customer facing. Once here get out and mingle with the people and learn to speak the language.

You may get a lower paying job, but if you work on your langue skills you will eventually get back to the working level you were at before.

You may get a job in the UK where you have to speak Spanish all day to Spanish customers in Spain.

[helpFul]

@VietnamZombie
...BTW There is a tendency in the UK for people to want you to interact with them daily verbally...

What is your authority for that proposition?