Featured Image Credit: TikTok/@imjustangeline
Topics: Social Media, TikTok, Viral, World News, Jobs, Travel, Spain, Brexit
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Social Media, TikTok, Viral, World News, Jobs, Travel, Spain, Brexit
A TikToker has opened up about her dilemma after traveling overseas for a job role, only to receiving an unfortunate phone call once she'd landed.
Applying for jobs is stressful enough already - finding the right fit, the application process, getting through to the next stage and sometimes even further stages after that, then bracing for an in-person interview where you're still battling against the odds given the backlog of people trying to find careers in a post-covid world.
And TikToker Ángela Soto, from Spain, had the extra hurdle of being offered an interview in the UK.
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In a video uploaded to her channel earlier this week, the social media user explains how she signed up for a job online, initially applying for a role in Madrid.
However, she notes there were also jobs available through the company for roles in other locations such as London, Holland and Sweden.
A few days later, she received an email with a series of questions for her to answer, including: "Do you have a visa or residence to work in the UK?"
"I said no, because obviously I don't have one," Soto continued, explaining she also detailed her situation in her cover letter, reiterating she holds a Spanish passport and ID card and has no visa in the UK.
After a bit of a confusion with getting the email sent off properly, Soto says her application was sent to human resources 'directly' from the careers site and she was contacted via telephone two days later, checking what role she was applying for - sales assistant, cashier or clerk - and another phone call followed, Soto asked to come to an interview - despite her saying she once again noting she lived in Spain.
You can probably see what's going to end up happening here...
Soto told them she would figure out when she could get a flight and let them know the next day, arranging a date and time despite it being expensive to fly.
Alas, shortly after arriving in London, Soto received another call.
She reveals: "Just when I'm in London they tell me they can't hire me because I have no residence.
"[...] I cannot be given a visa and I cannot be given I don't know what. And that I can't because I don't have a UK passport."
Soto explained she even turned away two other jobs to prioritise this interview, alongside being left out of pocket for the flights.
And it's not taken long for people to flood to the post to weigh in.
One TikToker wrote: [Translation] "But obviously you cannot work without a visa or work permit."
However, another argued: "When it is a country that does not belong to the EU, you should look for offers that specify that they offer sponsorship...but you are absolutely right, they have to read your CV before anything else."
"With Brexit it is more difficult to work in the UK, what I don't understand is why they make you go when they already knew what documents you had," a third commented.