u/Fine-Operator

I’m a proud British citizen, and this is something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently.

I came to the UK in 2009, grew up here, did my GCSEs, A Levels and university here, and now work full-time in London paying my taxes.

My mum worked as a carer and nurse. My dad (English) is working class, and has done well for himself. We all support West Ham, have held a season ticket for 12 years, back England in any sport, speak English, sound English, and this country is home. On paper, I am 'typically English'.

By definition, I am an immigrant.

So with everything going on in the UK right now, I genuinely wonder: when people say immigration is the problem, what type of immigrant do they actually mean?

Is your issue immigration as a whole, mass immigration, or illegal immigration?

I do not agree with illegal immigration, and I 100% want the boats to stop. A country should be able to control its borders.

But if someone has grown up here, integrated, worked, paid tax, contributed to their community and sees Britain as home.. is that really the type of immigration people want to stop?

Just wanted to share this because a few months ago I probably wouldn’t have believed it myself. Not to boast, but to share my experience.

I’ve not finished uni yet, and I’ve just been offered a role in a field I wanted to move into, despite the job spec asking for around 5 years of experience.

I’m currently finishing a master’s related to the area, but I don’t come from a traditional background for the role at all. What made the difference was being proactive.

Instead of just applying cold and hoping for the best, I reached out to the hiring manager for a coffee chat about the function of the department and showed genuine interest in the area. A while later, I sent over a personal project I had done off my own back that was relevant to the type of work the team does. That led to more conversations, then I was asked to complete assessment tasks similar to the actual role.

I put a lot into those, got really strong feedback, and was then encouraged to apply formally. From there I went through interviews and have now been offered the job.

Biggest takeaway for me:

being underqualified on paper is not always the end of the story if you can show real interest, initiative, evidence of ability, and that you’re someone worth taking a chance on.

Obviously this won’t happen every time, but I do think being proactive helped massively. Sometimes you have to create a bit of your own luck instead of waiting for the perfect opening.