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Passage
A
Marcela's Work
Experience
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I decided early in my college years that I wanted to experience
living abroad
before entering in the "real world." During my senior
year, while most of my friends were interviewing for "real
world" jobs, I was investigating
how I could go work in a different country. At that early stage
of my inquiry
I was pretty open about where to go and what kind of work to
undertake. My desire to live abroad was so strong that I was willing
to do anything anywhere. 
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BUNAC (British Universities
North American Club) 
This is a program from the USA. BUNAC currently offers
US students and young people work/travel programs
to Britain, Australia, New Zealand, etc. Each participating
country offers a unique insight into life in a completely
new culture and a
chance to spend extended time working and traveling
overseas. US students can work anywhere in Britain
for up to six month at any time during the year and
explore the whole of the UK while they are there.
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 Bank
Holiday
A holiday of national importance such as Christmas
or New Year's Day when banks and some other businesses
are closed (altogether there are 8-10 of these per
year in the UK)
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Merrill
Lynch International Bank
A very large international company which specializes
in a variety of financial services such as stocks, bonds,
mutual funds, credit cards, and checking accounts. It
has offices in 38 countries. |
Soon I learned about BUNAC,
a program that seemed to be designed precisely
for students with such interests. BUNAC offers work visas
for students or recent graduates to work overseas. Of the six
countries available, I chose England because of the language
and opportunities for employment.
Two months after I graduated from college I crossed the Atlantic.
I traveled throughout Europe for six weeks before arriving in
London. I got to London on August 24,
1997 with a work visa, but no job or place to live. I have to
admit it was pretty scary! The day after I arrived, I experienced
my first British holiday-Bank
Holiday, a national holiday where everything is closed
for the day. It wasn't until my third day that I visited the
BUNAC office and went through orientation.
At the orientation I learned all about living and working in
Britain; I learned about getting around in the city, making
a CV (Curriculum Vitae-British resume), paying taxes, getting health insurance,
traveling around Britain, finding accommodations
and most importantly, finding a job. I was most scared
about finding a job since my financial resources
were running low and I needed to get a paycheck
soon.
It turns out that finding a job was just as easy as making a
CV! The BUNAC program is very well known in London and many
employers
participate in the program. As a result there are many
employers in many different fields to choose from. My job search
began when I chose three different business employers and faxed
them my cover letter1 and CV. That first week I had three interviews.
I accepted my first offer working for Merrill
Lynch International Bank. The Merrill Lynch office I
worked at was in a beautiful, old building located two blocks
from Buckingham Palace. The people were nice and the work interesting.
It was easy to adjust to life in London. And there is so much
to see that after six months exploring I probably covered only
half of what I intended.
Working in London has many advantages.
For one, I truly
get to learn the culture by being immersed in its workforce.
Most of my coworkers were British so I feel like I really got
to know and learn the British culture through such a huge aspect
of a British person's daily life. Secondly, it is an
economical
way to live and travel in another country since most
jobs pay enough to cover rent,
living expenses
and some travel expenses. And thirdly, I have the chance to
gain valuable work experience and internationalize
my resume.
Working in London has been the best decision I have made so
far. I would not hesitate
for a second to recommend
it to anyone!
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