Fixing Job from USA

[Not So Wise]

I had that idea that their attitude is kind of we are making you a favour .but maybe I am wrong.

Generally no that is not wrong, thats how far to many view it (with a few exceptions).

If agencys work for anyone is the end client, the contractor is little more than a "some bod looking for a job" as far as they are concerned

And honestly if i was a agency recruiter unless you had some superduper, ultra rare skill set/experience that is not common over here i would just bin your cv as soon as i saw you were still in the USA.

Despite claims to the contrary there really is no real skills shortage over here, nearly every reasonable position (aka not offering well below market rate for skill set/experence or asking for stupid combo's of skill sets/experiance) gets dozens of applicants, so when cutting the cv's down for the client the fact that you not here already will nearly always mean yours gets binned in the first cut.

So my recomendation is either take the plunge on your own and come on over for a while and hunt from here (wait till end of summer though) or try and find some multinational over there with offices over here that you could transfer with because this applying from over there for postions here is a real long shot.

[t0bytoo]

Don't tell agents that you are in the US.
Let them contact you by email, and if they want to talk on the phone, they can call you as you are "on business in the US".

[pkrol]

Thanks for all replies I think you are right it is bit early to call around , I will wait another 2 weeks and start spamming them , one thing I noticed headhunters in UK are not as "user friendly" as in USA but maybe I am wrong, I had that idea that their attitude is kind of we are making you a favour .but maybe I am wrong.Once again thanks to all
Peter

[Rebecca Loos]

true!
but I won't be applying for MS SQL Server gigs (I did check before offering )

[Rebecca Loos]

Tim's right, the summer is not a great season for cold-calling.

On top of that, in your situation, I wouldn't recommend the cold-calling (or cold-emailing) method. Be reactive instead: look for jobs that appeal to you on jobserve.co.uk and for each that you see, send your CV to the agency that has advertised the job, with covering email saying that you would like the job, you are available for interviews and you have a UK work permit. Underline your availability date (e.g. "I am available to start now").
Taylor your CV to the advert before you send it - send a different CV every time.
Don't be afraid to apply for 100 jobs in a month. It doesn't matter.
If you see 2 ads from different agencies that seem to relate to the same job, post them here and between us we should be able to tell you which agency to select for that job.

[tim123]

Peter,

It's August. Do you really expect your CV to land on someone's desk today and have an interview next week?

It does happen, but it's not common. Wait until September

tim

[pkrol]

I havent arrived yet I try to get position from abroad . I look to these sites as well , and yes I am sql server dba ,or I can work as sql developer, also plenty of vb experience
Thanks for reply
Peter

[Rebecca Loos]

how are you looking for jobs? For someone who has just arrived and does not have a network of contacts, or a reputation, one of the best methods is to use jobserve.co.uk or cwjobs.co.uk or such sites, and starts a search with a few keywords. They have lots of jobs (most of them real ones, hopefully) and you'll apply direct to agencies that have currently the positions available.

You can try cold-contacting agencies, but in my experience (limited, I confess) it doesn't work as well.

When you say 'sql', do you mean MS SQL Server? Or just SQL generally? You need to specify which database system, especially for DBA positions.

[pkrol]

Can anyone advise me about any agency that would be serious about finding me a sql dba or sql developer position somwhere in UK ?
Seems to me that they dont want to deal with people from overseas.
I even stated on my cover letter that I have UK permit and can be available for face to face interview, all in vain.
Peter