NIN, bank account, flat...work

When you come to the UK, you will have to take care of some formal things such us National Insurance Number. First and foremost, you are to call Job Centre Plus: 0845 600 06 43 and make an appointment. Unfortunately, you cannot call from Poland:( But you can ask someone else to call on behalf of you. During an interview you just have to present your proof of address (it may be a bank statement, letter from UCAS with your British address-if you change your contact details in Track, you will get such letter in a few days:) or even proof of address letter written by another tenant. Of course, you will need any proof of identity-it may be you ID or passport. I got my number 7 days after a day of my interview but I may take longer. Do not worry, because you really can be employed, work and even get your first salary without this number!

You do not have to worry about your bank account, either. All U need is a proof of identity and address (letter from UCAS is a very good solution). I would recommend Barclays http://www.barclays.co.uk/PersonalBanking/P1242557947640 , as you can have your account open in literally one day and do not have to pay a penny for most of the things! Just visit your nearest branch and open your account in approximately 30 minutes:)

Flat/room. I am just looking for a new one, since I have to move out on 1st September. Therefore, I can recommend a few websites:

http://www.spareroom.co.uk/

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/

http://www.gumtree.com/aberdeen

If U want to rent a room, you should be very careful, since there are many fraudsters who want to take advantage of naive student. I am not a lawyer, but I can show you an example of my flat share agreement. You are advised to sign something (even such unprofessional document) before giving your money to someone else!

FLAT SHARE AGREEMENT
FLAT SHARE AGREEMENT for X bedroom flat in (address)
This agreement confirms that
flatmate, YOUR NAME
is currently renting the flat leased to:
tenant, NAME
at the above address, for the period
from ............... to................. .
The amount of rent will be charged
£X per month for the flat (£X per month for the room).

• There is a X-pound deposit paid by the flatmate, which will be returned to him when he moves out leaving the flat in a good condition without any financial liabilities. It means that the deposit will be paid back with return of the keys, general inspection and at least a full calendar month notice.


• The flatmate's amount of rent (£X per month) and bills will be paid via Internet Banking from the flatmate's account (flatmate's account number:XXXXX, flatmate's sort number:XXXXXX) to tenant's account (tenant's account number: XXXX, tenant's sort number: XXXXX).


• The flatmate agrees too keep the flat in a good condition and will not engage in antisocial behavior.


• Bills (Internet, gas, electricity) will be paid on an equal basis by both the tenant and the flatmate.

Signed:

NAME, tenant                                                                                          place and date ...............................

YOUR NAME, flatmat                                                                             place and date ..................................

Health. You should find your nearest GP here http://www.nhs24.com/, register and take advantage of free medicines (prescription) in Scotland. Before you come, you are advised to apply for European Health Insurance Card in your country (just in case).

Work... it is a very difficult topic, because some people find work in 2 days while the others aren't employed for a few months. My advice-arrive in May/beginning of June when students and employees go on holiday, 16 and 18-years-old revise for exams. I wouldn't come here in August, because there are few job advertisements and lots of people eager to work-students, seasonal workers etc. It must be extremely difficult to find something in September, because thousands of students come back from holiday and everybody wants to be employed:( Generally, it is up to you! I believe that it is worth arriving earlier, as you can get acquainted with the city, make friends, improve your language and get used to the accent etc:)

Important: Before you come, you must prepare a professional BRITISH CV (it is not only about the language) with contact details (British address and mobile number). You can buy a sim card on Allegro and print your CV in Poland in advance. I printed 200 copies or my résumé! I used only 30 but I managed to find work in 5 days' time:)

British CV http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/goodbadCV.htm

• without photo


• different format


• focus on skills and experience

Where can you find work?

• http://www.gumtree.com/aberdeen


• http://www.emito.net/ogloszenia/Aberdeen/Praca-w-Anglii-Szkocji-Walii-Irlandii-Polnocnej


• http://jobseekers.direct.gov.uk/homepage.aspx?sessionid=0c87c8ff-a119-4c0c-9644-6e21be1da92e&pid=2
• many other websites,


• ask people (you do not even realize who important it is)


• look for job advertisements EVERYWHERE! (that is how I found my work in Japanese restaurant)


• leave your CV in different places or ask about any vacancies


• just keep searching and you will find. Do not sit at home! Believe in yourself! Do not give up! 

You can even start sending CVs by email from home in May, that way you have 1 month in advance looking for a job and see if they will answer  Do not tell them anything about NIN, just say that you had an interview and you are just awaiting for the number. Normally they simply require a CV, nothing else. 

Do not forget about SAAS in Scotland or a student loan if you want to study in England!



I wish you luck!:):)

Choosing a course and a suitable university

It is hard to choose a proper course to study, especially if you are 17 and have thousands of interests. In the beginning, I wanted to apply for Social Work. It is a high-powered profession, which can be extremely rewarding but also very dangerous. Social workers are responsible for their wards who they have to visit regularly. They have a lot of tough cases associated with sexual/alcohol/drug abuse etc. When I started reading about this occupation, my interest was growing immensely. I got to know that I would need an experience in volunteering to be eligible to apply for this course. During my holiday I thought through my decision and came to a conclusion that I am not mature enough to study such a responsible course. Finally, I drew a list of my merits and flaws which made me understand who I really was.

I thought about my interests and extra curricular activities. As a result, I realized that I would be a wonderful manager:) Yes, I love working with individuals and I have thousand of ideas... During my "educational career", I took part in roughly 30 contest. I even managed to achieve second place in The National Theatre Knowledge Competition. But, It was 3 years ago when I was fascinated by literature. Besides, I have always been into Geography, but I regard that being a Geography teacher is not the best job in the 21 century-low salaries and few job positions. Moreover, I was looking for a versatile job-full of perspectives and challenges. I would like to cooperate with people from different backgrounds... I would like to travel a lot and be completely independent... I know-everybody does:)

In may,2011, I won "Do Business in Tarnow" Competition. I had a privilege to present my project during The Tarnow Entrepreneurship Forum:) and I won a new laptop. Yeah, this contest completely influenced my decision. I decided to apply for a business course-Marketing with Management. It was probably the most important decision in my life.

When you know what you want to study, you can start searching for the most suitable university. Consciously did not I use expression-"the best". In the UK there are many "worse" universities which have brilliant departments of Business, for example. There are also great unis which have low employment rates. So, it is crucial to read university league tables carefully!

If you are an EU student, you should also bear in mind how expensive higher education in England is (even though you do not need to pay well in advance). It is worth considering Scotland when undergraduate courses are generally funded by SAAS.

Because of that, I chose three Scottish institutions and only two English universities. As far as I am concerned, I may recommend some rankings:

The complete university guide rankings (Do not care about overall score of university! Look at graduate prospects of particular faculties).

Guardian's table
world university rankings (If you care about the world reputation).

And remember: your career is up to you-university can only help you expand your knowledge and acquire essential skills.

Oh, I have almost forgot: here you have my choices: Lancaster University, Nottingham Trent University, Strathclyde University Glasgow, RGU Aberdeen and Napier University in Edinburgh:) They have great business departments, employment rates and ...offer placement-a year in industry:):)