Judge A Candidate On Their Credentials, Not Their Nationality

Everyone who lives in London would appreciate that it is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. It has 7 million inhabitants who between them speak over 300 languages and each and every one of them has something to offer. Over the years we have had the pleasure of working with colleagues, clients and candidates from all over the world and I believe their knowledge and experience has not only benefited us but also the organisations they have gone on to work for. For this reason, it always surprises us when we hear about instances of discrimination when it comes to hiring new staff.

Last year, we were lucky enough to work with a fantastic candidate called Helena Annuk who originates from Estonia. Helena dropped by to our office one day and we were immediately impressed by her drive and enthusiasm to find a role within the film industry. Once we got talking to her it was clear that she was a very strong candidate who we felt we could help. We were working on a role for a leading film production and distribution company at the time and within a week we had managed to secure Helena an interview.

Helena didn’t have experience of working within the media industry but her skills and experience matched the role perfectly and we knew instantly that her personality was right for the environment we were trying to place her in. She told us that she felt other agencies had pigeonholed her and tried to put her into jobs purely based on her language skills. She hadn’t been told about any exciting opportunities until she came to Yellow Cat and she felt that we listened to what she actually wanted to do rather than push her into a job that she wouldn’t be happy in.

Helena’s nationality didn’t affect her application or how she performed in her interview. She managed to beat 12 other candidates to the job and has been in her role for 6 months now. We keep in touch on a regular basis and she consistently tells me how happy she is which is obviously hugely rewarding for the Yellow Cat Team.

Helena is one of the many success stories we can tell regarding candidates who have moved to the UK in search of their dream jobs. The enthusiasm and drive we have seen in many of these candidates has, in many ways, made our job easy when it comes to placing them and I can see no logical reason why other recruiters may choose to discriminate against them. At the end of the day, it is our job to find the best candidate for the job, regardless of where they grew up.