Finding employment in a different country can be incredibly challenging. When Bilal (31) moved to the UK he initially wanted to pursue a degree in Photojournalism and Documentary, but due to unforeseen circumstances, he had to drop out and so his job hunt began.
Bilal struggled to find confidence and believe in himself and his capabilities of obtaining a job in a different country. The process of finding the right place where his skills would be recognised and finding a company where he could get the opportunity to prove himself, was difficult.
During his job search, the pandemic began and lockdowns made things even more challenging. Having previously struggled with his mental health, the rejections started to impact his well-being.
“A lot of jobs I couldn’t access, which is affecting my well-being because I’m not getting the job and it’s been like 3 years of unemployment.” 
After months of unsuccessful applications, Bilal enrolled in the Reed Re-start Scheme, which transforms the lives of people by helping unemployed individuals back into employment. Together with the support and guidance from Reed Re-start Scheme, our Recruitment Officer Cheril offered Bilal an interview for the role of Customer Service Agent in our Contact Centre.
After two successful interviews, Bilal is now a Customer Service Agent at We Are Digital and able to help others on the Home Office project in our Contact Centre.
Having been through the difficult process of gaining status, and overcoming many barriers, Bilal has been on the receiving end of needing support from the Home Office. He knows first-hand how difficult the forms can be to understand and how to get our customers the help they need when trying to complete them.
“You get them some confidence that someone really is listening to you. Usually, when I was on the other side. I felt completely slated. When you talk to the system. It’s like an automated reaction you get, a robotic kind of reaction. You feel like they don’t have any feelings for you. They do not have any empathy or sympathy for you. It's natural for me to relate to them because I have been through it.”
We Are Digital is Bilal’s first full-time employer in the UK. The feedback he receives on a regular basis from customers is fantastic. We are so pleased he is part of our amazing team and it’s especially great to see he has made some good friends here too.
To find out what working for We Are Digital might look like for you, visit our vacancies page and apply for a job today.
“Everyone is easy-going and nice. The team and I share a lot of common interests, like football. You’ll find some good friends. It’s really easy to integrate.” - Bilal
