When Uzma came to the UK from Pakistan last year, she knew that finding work might take time. What she hadn’t realised was how different the process of applying for jobs would be.
Uzma is a qualified pharmacist and is looking to get back into her profession. Since settling in Uxbridge with her family, she has been applying for entry-level pharmacy roles, as well as looking at retail jobs that could help her build up some UK experience.
“I kept applying for jobs, but people were refusing me because I don’t have UK experience,” she said.
Uzma was introduced to Grow around six months ago and started working with the team on her job search. One of the first things they looked at together was her CV.
Uzma had already tried to improve it herself using information she found online, but she hadn’t realised how differently CVs can be written and presented in the UK.
“I had no idea that the UK style is different,” she said.
The Grow team helped her look again at how she described her previous experience. Rather than simply listing the responsibilities she had held, they showed her how she could talk more about what she had achieved and the difference she had made.
Since changing her CV, Uzma has had two interviews for pharmacy roles in the space of just one week.
Neither has led to a job yet, but after struggling to get through to interview before, it has given her some encouragement that things are starting to move.
Uzma has two children and her youngest son is only two. With her husband working full time, finding someone to look after him when an interview comes up can be really difficult. She has even had to miss interviews in the past because she couldn’t arrange childcare.
She is trying to find ways around that now, including asking neighbours whether they might be able to help for an hour or two if she gets another interview.
This is also one of the reasons Grow’s online support has worked well for her. Uzma has been joining the online Coffee Mornings, where she can meet other women and hear about their experiences without needing to travel or arrange childcare.
She enjoys hearing other women talk about both the problems they are facing and the progress they are making.
“You learn from other people too,” she said.
“Being part of GROW has helped me emotionally, to keep going and don’t lose confidence,” she said. “They emailed me and called me many times. That’s a big thing. If someone pushes you, it’s a lot of motivation.”
Uzma is still looking for that first opportunity. Her priority remains pharmacy, although she is also open to retail work that could give her the UK experience employers are asking for.