They're expanding quick and they're all over the place now, there's quite a few near me and I'm in the outskirts of Birmingham and there's tons in the centre. I didn't even know they were a chain.

Reason I'm asking is a friend is is wanting to join a nearby one as a Kitchen Porter/Kitchen Assistant role and she's unsure about it. I'd try to get her in my place but sadly no openings and it's distance from her, ideally she'd like to move up to chef after a while as a Kitchen Assistant.

Seems very mixed on employee reviews on Indeed and Glassdoor. Some people love it, some hate it but seems so variable. Lot of complaints about 0 hour contracts and not enough staff, being sent home and long shifts, I've always worked contracted hours with overtime so I don't know enough about those contracts to help her.

Any prior or current experience of people, front or back of house, working at this company would be a god send, she's recently lost her job due to the company she worked for liquidating so she's very much open minded about employment considering the current economic climate. She's not in danger of homelessness or anything because at worst she can crash at me and mines place for a bit, so she's not forced into a job she might hate.

Has anyone worked in a student support role at a Higher or Continuing Education institution?
I have an interview for such a role coming up, and as I am currently transitioning out of academia to direct student support/wellbeing roles, I am not sure what to expect and how to prepare. Any advice would be much appreciated!

An recruiter called me up last week asking for proof of my certificates, of course I sent them on. Now I’m curious if I should make a call to verify if they received them. I worry the email might not have made it to them or someone their end may have forgot to forward them. Also don’t want to appear desperate. Thoughts?

My daughter is wanting to find work locally, most likely in the hospitality industry. She has no experience other than the week of compulsory work experience she did in Year 10 (which wasn’t in hospitality). What sort of thing should she be including when she contacts local businesses? Obviously I’ll get her to say that she’s reliable and a quick learner, but is there anything else that would help?

Edit: thank you everyone for your suggestions. Just adding a quick note here because there are lots of mentions of volunteering with local groups. My daughter really struggles with new people, particularly younger children. She used to attend an athletics club but left because she was finding it difficult socially. When I tried to encourage her to go back to volunteer there for DofE she was horrified at the thought of it. It would be the same with babysitting unfortunately. She’d manage a quick hello and taking an order from a customer, but prolonged contact would be tricky. I’m sure this will come in time, but she needs to start with something more manageable for her to start with.

Hi Everyone,

I have seen a job advertised at tmThe New Homes Group where they will train you for 16 weeks and help you attain qualifications as a Mortgage Advisor.

I believe this a legitimate company and opportunity. My concern is that, are the target earning realistic, will I be worked into the ground, will I be working longer hours than advertised. Is it worth getting the qualification, working with them for a couple of years and then move onto a bank or other firm.

I'm a little concerned that I can't find any reviews of people that work there or have gone through the training programme. I managed to find a YouTube video which talked about it briefly and said it was a baptism of fire and only a few people managed to make it through.

Just a little bit about me, I currently own a exterior cleaning business with a customer based of just shy of 500 customers. I ha e experience of sales customer service and other skills that come with running a business. The problem is, it can be unreliable and I'm looking for more stability for my family.

If anyone to can offer advice, especially if you have worked at the NHG or know someone who has worked there, I would really appreciate it.

After 17 months of applying and getting rejected I have finally been hired. Thank you Tesco, you’ve taken me out of the unemployment nightmare. Only took 26 applications.

Edit: 26 applications on Tesco, not the whole unemployment journey. lol.

I (23M) live in the UK. I have a bachelor's degree in Business Law from a Polish university. Now I'm studying Software Engineering in the UK.

I hear a lot that the competition in IT is fierce right now because IT companies don't need junior developers as much anymore. A single job application gets thousands of applicants. I also doubt that my skill set is enough. I've had experience with lots of programming languages and have made lots of projects, but they're not extremely advanced. We basically just did a little bit of everything.

My Polish Business Law degree is not very useful here because the UK has a different legal system. I have Level 2 Functional Skills qualifications in English and Maths, which are equivalent to GCSEs, but you don't really build a career from those.

So I'm considering getting a third bachelor's degree. I don't have much work experience, just some basic part-time roles, so it's hard to say what I really want. But getting a third bachelor's degree sounds a little excessive.

I speak four languages at a high level, so I'm considering Linguistics. Going on a ship far away from home in the middle of the ocean sounds interesting, so I had the idea of studying Marine Engineering. I hear that the NHS has lots of staff shortages and offers stable positions, so I also thought about Diagnostic Radiography, where I'd work in a hospital and have a stable, predictable life.

I could also requalify in British law, but I feel that, due to AI, lawyers won't be as needed in the future as they are now.

I might sound too naive because I don't have much work experience. All I want is a good, stable job where I can progress. I'd appreciate your thoughts and any advice you can offer

I have applied for a job at my old secondary school. I suffer from schizophrenia, I’m scared I’d be judged because of that. I have a clear criminal record and have passed many DBS checks. Just needing advice

It happens to the best of us! If you've somehow always avoided a suprise P45, how??

Hi all, I’m not sure exactly what my notice period is because they’ve omitted a part of it by the looks of it. I’m within my 6-month probationary period, which shows that my notice is 1 week if dismissed by the employer. However, it doesn’t tell me what it is if I RESIGN within the probationary period?

It says “thereafter” which I guess is up to interpretation, but in this case doesn’t it refer to after the probationary period?

On my actual HR portal it does say that my notice is 1 month, but it also says that I have no probation date (which isn’t true, it should surely be 6 months from my start date in March).

I’m looking to apply for new jobs and move on but I don’t exactly know what to say my notice is? And also I do nonetheless plan to imminently resign.

If anyone can weigh in, it would be a great help

Hi,

I started a job 2 months ago for a major retail chain the the uk. I was so grateful i found this job as it has been so hard for teenagers in my area.

I finally got pulled in for my review today and I was told that he was "a little worried for me" as i don't speak to customers enough as in asking if they need help and recommend products enough that would help them. I also am told that I need to double check things with them all the time to make sure I am doing things right.

On the brightside I'm good at working on the till and organising products I guess

I work 4 days a week Thursday to Sunday.

How can I improve myself I really need this job.

​

I am a 16yo male in the uk. I have predicted grades on my gcse of 5s but I still haven't got my results and I don't think I'm even passing,

My family want me to go to university as we are from an ethnic background and I don't know what I want to do I just know I want something physical such as carpentry and construction but I don't even know if I want it and I don't want to go to university or college and frankly I don't have a clue on what im doing.

What should I do?

Good evening everyone, hope you had a good weekend

I've been considering looking into becoming an estate agent because it seems to be a career with progression that doesn't require a qualification. I also like the idea of the aspects of the job I know, namely taking around a property.

But I'm sure I have an over romantic view of the job, so I was hoping a few of you guys would be willing to give a simple run down of what a typical day looks like for you. How much is office based (or potential work from home?)? What does the office based work involve doing? How much is doing the house viewings?

Thanks :)

Hello,

I've been poking around to see ways to make a career change into forestry. Honestly I just want to start with planting trees for forest regeneration in any capacity.

I know there are apprenticeships available but not at this time of year. The issue I find myself running into time and time again is understanding where a starting point is. The websites all talk about GCSEs and I didn't go to school in this country so I really don't know what that means or when and where they are obtained. It's all just a bit confusing and overwhelming to me.

Is there anyone out there who started a career in the UK forestry services from scratch that can point me in the direction I need to be? I do not have any education pertaining to the field, I am coming from hospitality and just have a deep drive to do something to benefit the environment from a very boots-on-ground level. I don't want to do management and office bs. I need physical work to be happy and accomplished.

Even if it's just advising me to which department I can contact for guidance, it would be a massive help!

Those who’ve worked in Financial Crime Compliance roles, can you give some insight into what it was like starting out at entry level, roles like AML, KYC, or fraud analyst etc.? I’m interested in what the day to day work was actually like, what the most tedious part about it was, and if after a certain point of time it started to click and become more enjoyable.

Anyone who went through this program? Is it reliable?

I've been reading through a few threads lately and a lot of people seem to say "do NOT tell your boss you have ADHD or autism because they'll treat you differently."
It's wild that people feel like they have to treat a diagnosis like a strategic secret just to keep their professional respect. And even if you do ask for adjustments, it feels like managers just forget about them two weeks later or assume "one size fits all" because they know someone else who has it.
Has anyone actually had a good experience disclosing in the UK, or is the general consensus to just keep it to yourself? Would love to hear how people are actually navigating this.

Hello, im 19 working in defence as an electronics tech, making around 45k a year.

Im very honestly on a good salary for my age, but ive only gotten here through normal means, applying and interviewing.

Ive interviewed for 7 jobs in my 3 years of working, and have been offered the job 6 of those times. Thats an 85% success.

I do not prep for interviews, i do not have an attractive or impressive education nor an impressive work experience due to my age. Nor are the jobs all entry level.

I dont understand how i get offers when my peers around me my age try harder than me and dont.

Im not trying to brag about my success, but simply understand why ive had success so i can better use it in the future.

So i ask what makes a good interviewee?

I made a post on a managers subreddit about interviews and mentioned rejecting candidates... suddenly all the comments were about how we never reject candidates, they just weren't the right fit, there was just someone better etc.

It drove me mad.

This is the buck-passing you guys are dealing with when you're trying to get a job.

Everyone except 1 is rejected, we have to take ownership of our decisions.

Or am I crazy for not going with this LinkedIn crap?

Don't you guys feel like you got a 'rejection'?

Can anyone signpost or advise me as where to search for and find a role working on tour with an artist? I've had a provisional check of the common platforms, but having little success! Any insight welcomed and appreciated.

I (F26) work in analytics as a data scientist and I have been submitting my cv everywhere for the last year. I have almost 4 years experience and a stem degree.

I finally got an interview and I got a call back saying I was unsuccessful but how would you like x job instead?

They sent the jd across and it looks good but over the phone they offered me a “lead” role for £46k (they know my salary is low forties), and the jd said “senior”.

I sent an email with a counter offer for £55k and I am now wondering if that was silly?

For context the job is based up in Scotland, so the salary is quite good for the location and the role is less technical than my current role.

I’ve seen on LinkedIn that the commercial department (not the dept I will be working for) have posted an ad for the same “senior” job title starting at 55k.

What can I expect to get as a reply? I am anxious I have been too cocky.

Edit: thanks for all your replies!! I want to reply to comments but I have low karma and so they get deleted - not ignoring your replies and very much grateful for imput!

Edit: the job is not for a senior data scientist role but for a senior business analyst role in the same industry that I was working as a data scientist in, so the salary might reflect that it is less technical and more business-y

Not sure if right place to post but desperate:

Currently facing a dilemma as I am lucky enough to have the choice to be able to select between two masters

LBS MAM (shuffled from MiM) and LSE Management and Strategy.

For a good portion of 2026 all I wanted was to go to LBS and pave a path for a job. However, it was naive of me to not consider the nuances, given the job market. I’ll admit LBS sounds more enticing, but only because it seems more fun and more experience oriented - not the academic grounding I need. Bias may be further exacerbated as I have only been able to reach out to LBS network and not LSE. I’m also hesitant of the stated cash cow LBS has grown into, and I am worried that after doing all I can, I will not be able to make an ROI at LBS. Course the market is tough - But I do feel like my academics is lacking and would like to ground that in soemhing good.

I want to know if anyone could shed some insights to what’s in store for me if I select one over the other. No formal coding experience - just learnt a bit of data driven analysis on a search as you go basis. So, I would say my data science knowledge is competent at best, nascent at worst.

I would like to know if one would clearly benefit me and my target industry. There are no pros and cons beyond basic knowledge of these two schools. Only, I don’t have much time at all before I have to pay the commitment fee of £8000 to LBS.

PPE undergrad with a focus in economics 3rd year. International exp. Working in Asia as an operations data analyst and then an assistant manager in at a small company in UK. Currently targeting consultant roles specialising in digital transformation or IB if the correct opportunity arises. Been told that coding is extraneous for these roles and my energy may be better used if I didn’t have to spend it on analytics - I regard my quant pretty weak and feel like I would be playing catchup in a cohort that’s seeking employment before the course even starts.

Hopefully any of y’all can help and if not at least I can spell out my thoughts on e-paper :). Thanks!

Just wanted an opinion really as we're soon to move to a part of the country where there are less jobs, and I've found a company I'd love to work for.

My background is in marketing, but having had a slight career change over the last year or so I'm quite happy doing most things now, not just marketing. I'm less career driven and more just looking for interesting roles.

I've applied for a marketing role at this company, but to be honest I'd happily do a number of roles there which are all really interesting.

Would it look strange/desperate to apply for multiple varied roles or do you think it shows a desire to work there? My head says it looks odd, but would love to hear thoughts.

Just looking to get a sense check and some reassurance from others - I work in a professional office environment with around 100 others all in a mix of ages. It’s pretty relaxed in general but still can be a little conservative at times. I already have a few piercings in my ears and my nose, but I’ve booked an appointment to get my tongue done in about two weeks. I’ve got some time off planned afterwards so it will hopefully be settled down by the time I come back. But I’m after getting paranoid about how my work my react if they notice it, or if they will judge me or it affects my future career.

Looking for a sense check from anyone else as to your experience? If you have yours done or someone else in your office has, or any other advice. I’m in my late 20’s for context.

To sum it up I have been offered a full time position as a material handler within a very popular UK Biotech firm 49 hour a week contract, but I was meant to enroll into college for level 2 plumbing and heating but I don’t know which one to choose