I Finally Found a Job in London

Let me tell you about the job I got in London: Legal & Business Affairs Manager at a small construction company. I never thought it would be the kind of job I land in the city, but again I don’t have any clear professional path traced in my head, I never had and always kind of went with the flow.

Since I live in London, I noticed that job titles don't necessarily entail exactly your responsibilities on the job.

One of my best friends has been living and working in London for about three years as a “Sales Administrator” in a SME, but her missions are much broader than her title indicates. My partner found a job as a “Research Analyst” in a bank headquartered in the city, needless to say his tasks couldn’t be summed up in researching and analyzing data. With his team, he oversees the whole process for investment and financing projects all around the world, meets with clients to identify their needs and cooperate with all the departments (legal, KYC, Finance, etc.) to ensure the smooth progress of all the projects in his sector.

When I was told about this new job’s responsibilities, I found out that they included:

• Legal responsibilities: drafting, negotiating and reviewing contracts, managing the contracts database and all the legal documents to make sure everything is compliant and meets legal requirements.
• Office administration and team management: ensuring the team members are working well together, setting objectives for improvement and efficiency, solving problems arising within the team, acquiring an overview of the business and assess the team’s performance and improvement potential.
• Business development and planning: defining a new business plan for the company and targets to reach for the year to come, looking for new clients.
• HR management: hiring and firing people, and processing the information of all the employees.

You wouldn’t guess that just from hearing the job title “Legal & Business Affairs Manager”… at least I wouldn’t. Once I got over the initial surprise of learning about the job and being hired, I started feeling stressed about my first day, a feeling shared by almost everyone, I guess.

To give you a bit of context, I haven’t worked for about a year. After my last work contract ended in Tokyo, I travelled within Japan and then Canada with my partner for months. We came back to France to define our next step, and as we finally decided to settle in London, he landed a job in the city and we moved there a few weeks later. I searched for a new and long-term position for three months and finally convinced an employer to give me a chance.

Even if this role is not my dream job (I don’t know what my dream job is anyway…), it’s a great opportunity because it gives me a first experience in the UK. During my job search, what I heard a lot from recruiters and employers is “But, you don’t have any experience in UK.” To what I would reply: "Well guys, I’m French and already worked at the other side of the planet, in Japan, a unique and special country located on another continent. What makes you think I don’t have what it takes to work in the UK?"

So, tomorrow will be my first day at this new job. I’m excited and stressed at the same time. I hope everything will go smoothly and that I will get along well with the rest of the team.

I read countless articles on how to make your first day at a new job a success, and picked the following advice:

• Show up early to show your motivation and explore the workplace.
• Prepare questions about the company and its objectives.
• Get to know your colleagues and try learning from them.
• Don’t stress out about your first day, relax, listen and, in doubt, ask questions.
• Show you energy and your enthusiasm to your colleagues.
• Demonstrate your commitment to the job and your interest in your missions.
• Try learning more about the company and the rules.
• Just be yourself.

I'll tell you how it went in my next article!