Get ready for the most inspirational story you'll read all day, as the former refugee whose job search went viral has landed himself a full-time position.
22-year-old Mohamed Elbarkey - an aerospace engineering graduate - grabbed the nation's attention when he stood outside Canary Wharf train station with a sign that read: "Came as a refugee, just graduated from UCL in ROCKET SCIENCE.
"Looking for a career in Finance. Ask for CV."
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A woman named Mary Engleheart uploaded a picture of Mohamed onto the interactive breeding ground that is Twitter last month, citing his aspirations and how he has not one, but two degrees in space engineering. Soon enough the tweet went viral and saw the job interview offers rolling in.
Back in August, Mohamed announced he felt "overwhelmed" that the tweet led to a number of interviews at places he'd "love to work at".
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Fast forward a couple of weeks and the graduate has bagged himself a full-time role with Milamber Ventures, a specialist business incubator based in Marylebone, and is set to start on Monday.
He to,d the London Evening Standard: "I met maybe 15 to 20 companies, either offering me advice, mentorship or trying to convince me to apply for their graduate programme as well as trying to help me join their team.
"There was a good range of companies from start-ups to more well established banks and consultancies."
But it was with Milamber Ventures that Mohamed's future was set.
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"I was called for a phone interview just to see if I had the passion and drive to do well. Then I came in for another interview with the board at their office. I felt I handled it well," he explained.
By the third interview he was offered a role at the company, who took to Twitter to congratulate their new employee.
James Drace-Francis, Group Financial Officer at the company, wrote: "Delighted to say that further to our conversations, Mohammed you're hired!
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"One of the very best on the phone and at interview, a super CV and just about all the key skills - not to mention a great fit with our needs."
Mohamed has said the role is "is exactly what I wanted," adding, "I wanted something that means that I would be working with people who were experienced and that I could learn from."
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It's even more impressive when you consider his road to success was not an easy one. Mohamed arrived in the UK with his family as a refugee from Libya and went on to graduate with a 2:1 in aerospace engineering from Southampton University and a masters in space engineering from UCL.
Although he'd sent out roughly 70 applications, Mohamed received no replies and struggled to even land an interview. Thankfully he took a chance and thought outside the box with his job search and it totally paid off.
"I think especially people who might not have the network, I would suggest any creative method to get a job," he said.
"I saw a couple of years ago, a guy bought an advertising place on a billboard saying I've used my last £500 on this billboard. Hire me. Something creative like that could go a long way in attracting attention from recruiters."
Solid advice - and clearly it works. Hats off to you Mohamed, we're wishing you all the luck in your new job and beyond.
Source: The Evening Standard
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