Case Studies

Simon Newsham

The Accountant

Thomas Bech Hansen, was living in Copenhagen and planning a move to London when he contacted CareerBalance. A Press & Public Relations professional, Thomas wanted to find out how to enter the London job market. He signed up for one session with David Pullinger at CareerBalance. Today he is a Campaign Manager at global betting business Unibet. He acknowledges things might have turned out very differently without the help and support of CareerBalance.

What major issue did you want to tackle?

TBH: I was living in Denmark and my girlfiend and I had plans to come to London. I’d been working as a Communications Officer at the Danish Ministry of Education and I didn’t know how to access the London job market within the communications sector.

How did CareerBalance help you move forward?

TBH: Before the session, the CareerBalance consultant David Pullinger had been through my questionnaire which covered my concerns and background. During the session, David showed me specific types of jobs that might be relevant to me. We talked about the sector, the number of applicants employers typically receive for certain jobs, and the experience those applicants are expected to have. We then followed up the session with email correspondence.

Where did CareerBalance make the most impact for you?

I found the main barrier to securing a job was the fact I wasn’t living in the UK. Employers all look for proof that international applicants are serious about moving here.

David Pullinger made a big difference by showing me that one option was to leverage my Danish background and use it as an advantage. This led me to look at companies with a Nordic attachment, which helped me narrow down my search, while still focussing on jobs in communications.

Many companies still said they were only interested in candidates already based in the UK. I was still reluctant to move without securing a job first, but I soon started getting a more positive response.

How might things have turned out differently without the help of CareerBalance?

It’s thanks to guidance I received at CareerBalance that I narrowed down my job search efforts.

I also changed the structure of my CV to make it more in line with the British style. Previously, my CV was purely factual, but I introduced a short summary at the top, outlining why I was suitable for each of the jobs I was applying for and then adapting that part for each application. I kept the factual part, but made sure the summary was designed to catch the reader’s attention first.

Things certainly might have turned out differently without the involvement of CareerBalance. It gave me the assurance that I was pursuing the right path.

How is your new job going?

It’s going well. I’m in communications at Unibet and I’m responsible for ensuring that materials we put out in Danish are adapted to the Danish market, not just direct translations of the original. It’s part of a global strategy to make customers feel at home with the company.

Would you recommend CareerBalance or go back in the future?

Yes, I would.