How I got my first job in London

Hey good morning!

It's been a week already since my last post Keep moving. Do not lose momentum.
We have a lot to catch up on and there's so many more discussions I'd like to have with you. But before that I thought I'd talk a bit more about myself and my journey. That would give me a bit more credibility and would show you that I usually try to practice what I preach.

So today I'll be focusing on my first 2 years as a Software Developer. how I got my first job in London.

The start - Moving to London:
11/11/2013; I will never forget this date. The day I started my first software development job in London!
After having studied in Lebanon and few months after having graduated from the Lebanese American University. 5 months to be exact; I graduated on the 13th of June 2013.

Here I was now in London.
But how did I get here in the first place? What brought me here?
Well it's a nice story, we could say it was sort of spontaneous in a way.

Obviously I had been trying to get myself as many interviews as possible and had been applying to as many jobs as possible. Not really in London though! Well Europe for sure, but I was mainly focusing on Paris and Brussels to be honest.

Flashback - Prior to moving to London:
As mentioned earlier, I had been applying to so many jobs in Paris and Brussels mainly. I had a spreadsheet with all the companies and jobs I had applied to. I was keeping track of the status of each application, with a contact and date for me to follow up on..

Truth be told, it wasn't really easy. It actually wasn't easy at all.
As a Lebanese American University graduate, it would have been so simple to get a job in Lebanon or the region. Thanks to my university being one of the top universities there.
I was seeing my friends and mates getting jobs one after the other. They were happy to stay in the region; I wasn't. I wanted to go to Europe. I had higher ambitions. I did not want the easy route!

Finally! A face to face interview in Brussels:
And... Finally! I finally get that call from that big multinational. A multinational with a history of inventing and holding patents!
It was a Thursday! They call and ask if I could come to Brussels for a face to face interview on Monday.
Face to face? Brussels? Monday? Of course I can! I have just been waiting for that moment to happen!

First thing I do: I cancel another interview. I just tell them the truth, and they really appreciate my honesty (always tell the truth! I will be writing a post about that).

Now time to buy my Beirut-Brussels ticket. I need to leave the next day but when do I come back? Do I even come back? What if I get the job? What if I don't? How long will it take them to come back with an answer?

And here I am with a one way ticket to Brussels.
Obviously I also get a one way Brussels-London. Of course because my sister at the time is living in London, and first thing would be to go visit her there after the interview.

Let them know you'll be in London:
My sister is so happy waiting for me, and gives me the best advice (as always...! 🙏) to contact that London based company that I've been in touch with. To contact them and just let them know "I will be in London between this date and that date" and of course that I would be delighted to meet them in person if possible.

I didn't get the job in Brussels. I got the job in London!
And this is how it all started. How I became a London based Software Developer.

Next times I'll be talking a bit more in details about that Brussels interview and why I didn't get the job and I'll definitely go back to writing about my first 2 years as a developer. It will be an extremely important post, specially if you're at the start of your career. I'll be telling you why your first 2 years are your most important years as a Developer and why these are the years that will sort of set your path.

I hope you enjoyed this post!
Please let me know in the comments.
Let other readers know how you started or how you're starting.

Until the next one ✌
Keep it easy!