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Last week, I applied for a customer service representative position at a well-known fashion house in Portugal. This position was meant to be temporary until I find an internship in my chosen field, law. Yesterday, I got a call from the recruitment agency saying that they are considering my application and wanted to have a quick chat with me. She had told me about a Trading Assistant position at the beginning of our phone conversation but failed to mention the location. She then asked me a couple of questions to assess my competences. I thought she had the customer service representative position in mind but at the end of the chat, she told me I'm better suited for the Trading Assistant position in Sofia, Bulgaria as one of her colleagues thought so. She said I was over-qualified for the customer service position and would rather have me apply to the Trading Assistant position (which pays less because it's in Bulgaria).
Now, although I understand her point when she says I may bit a bit "overqualified" for the customer representative position, this is the position I had initially applied to based on several factors (location, wage, safety, industry). The Trading Assistant position is not bad at all, on the very contrary, but the location does not seem to be ideal. I'm a 25 year old woman who does not speak Bulgarian nor have I ever set a foot in Bulgaria. I have traveled a lot but safety has always been my primary concern. It's one thing to want to explore new horizons for your career, it's another to put your life at risk.
I have a UK (LL.B) along with a French Masters degree from top schools in the UK and France. I have legal and finance experience in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. I've also worked in the fashion industry, volunteered for an NGO and took summer classes a highly ranked colleges. I also speak several languages but Bulgarian is not one of them. I believe that them trying to convince me to relocate to Bulgaria is rather shady. The problem is I can't seem to be able to get experience in my home country despite my credentials. I know I still have to prove myself, so I'm still looking for internships in my chosen field.
I have a Bulgarian friend that told me that racism against "non-caucasians" is a fact to be aware of. He left Bulgaria because of the low wage and quality of life and now lives in Belgium.
I've always lived in major capitals, so this would be a major change for me.
I also checked the LinkedIn of the guy who told that lady I was better suited for the Trading Assistant position ... he's a fresh college graduate and has been working in the company for only 4 months. That's his only experience. I can't possibly think he's got enough expertise to target all the factors and find me an adequate position.
Should I trust the recruitment when they say the job in Bulgaria would be a better choice?
Last edited by LostinPhilly; 10-16-2015 at 07:57 AM..
no i wouldn't trust him.. you list some very good reasons. It's quite possible that he gets a bigger payout to fill the bulgaria position because it's hard to fill and/or people don't want to live there.
no i wouldn't trust him.. you list some very good reasons. It's quite possible that he gets a bigger payout to fill the bulgaria position because it's hard to fill and/or people don't want to live there.
Yeah, I immediately thought about the commission aspect of it. As you said, he will probably get a very good commission if he manages to fill that position. No wonder he and his colleague kept insisting on that position despite the fact that I had applied to the one in Portugal.
To attend school in 2 countries, work in 3, work in fashion, worked at NGO? at you are 25? I'm guessing that each one of those are about a year or less? I mean aside from school. Your experiences doesn't say that you are actually "experienced" in anything other than basics of working, and maybe job hopping? Going by degree, you might be over educated for the position but I'm not sure I'd say over qualified, you have no jobs to qualify you to a customer service job
I'd do the bulgeria job if you want to be there... but there's no reason that you should accept it if you don't need the money because it won't be a lot. I mean, you'd probably get something similar teaching english in asia... and trading assistant/english teacher both contribute nothing to your goal of working in law
If law is your goal, you'd have better luck staying in the country you can practice in, UK? Only because bulgeria law is different, and you can't practice there (not sure if the bar in EU is reciprocated between countries but I didn't think it was). At least working in UK, you can keep looking for law jobs
Stay where you are and keep looking, doesn't mean you can't trust them... even if you did trust that the job was real, unless you wanted to move, it wouldn't mean anything. Trust isn't an issue when job searching, it's being honest with yourself and what you want to do
if trading assistant involves buying/selling on the market, London is one of the bigger ones in EU, might be that they want an english speaker instead of bulgerian? Or one of your other languages? Is english the common business language in EU still? on the other hand, meeting businessmen at the job might introduce/connect you with law jobs? But I was under the impression that the majority of "regular" guys didn't trust/believe in the stock market over there, proportionally compared to US there are fewer people in the stock market from news reports
I did a 6 months internship in corporate finance, a three weeks internship in corporate law and undertook several (3 months + each) internships in the fashion industry for about 9 months. I volunteered (not worked) at an NGO for a year. I never said I was 'experienced'. I said "I have experience". There is a huge difference between those two statements. As I said, I'm still looking for internships to gain experience which supports the fact that I am nowhere near "experienced". Side fact, I finished college at 22.
I don't want to relocate to Bulgaria because I'm interested in Bulgaria. The position just happens to be in Bulgaria. I was initially looking in France, Ireland and in the UK along with Belgium and the Netherlands.
The Trading Assistant position is not a teaching position. It is a stokebroking position (capital markets, corporate finance). This is how it relates to my past work experiences and degree because I would like to specialize in corporate law.
They're seeking bilingual graduates/professionals to work on the French market. That's also the reason why they approached me. The pay is 700e which is not a lot but you can live comfortably by the Bulgarian standards. The truth is, I'm not planning on staying in Bulgaria for long, just enough to gain experience and look for another placement.
Also, the reason why they said I was "over-qualified" for the customer representative position is because they're seeking individuals with a high school degree and one year experience in sales.
When I asked about whether or not I should "trust" them, it wasn't about the job being real or not, it was about them thinking that the Trading Assistant position is a better fit for me than the customer service representative one. I'm not sure if their judgment is accurate.
I just saw online that in its original ad (posted on the company's career website), the company offers a choice between Amsterdam, Netherlands and Sofia, Bulgaria. The recruitment agent is just trying to force Sofia, Bulgaria on me because of the commission involved.
Hence, I would like to know if I could potentially apply to the job in Amsterdam on the company's website instead?
you can always apply directly to the company.. did the recruiter already send your information in?
Hopefully not.. Anway, if its posted for multiple locations the person you interview with should be the same regardless and you should be able to state your location preference.
you can always apply directly to the company.. did the recruiter already send your information in?
Hopefully not.. Anway, if its posted for multiple locations the person you interview with should be the same regardless and you should be able to state your location preference.
I hope so, but I am afraid I will be interviewing with the Bulgarian team which will leave me no chance to discuss the matter with the parent company in Amsterdam.
I have no idea if he has already sent my information in.
I hope so, but I am afraid I will be interviewing with the Bulgarian team which will leave me no chance to discuss the matter with the parent company in Amsterdam.
I have no idea if he has already sent my information in.
then just contact the company directly; and if you're contacted about an interview for the Bulgaria location say you're interested in one of the other locations and see what they say
then just contact the company directly; and if you're contacted about an interview for the Bulgaria location say you're interested in one of the other locations and see what they say
Great, thanks!
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