Pooja Balasubramaniam

I chose the UK because it felt safe and offered the kind of exposure I wanted for my career.

I'd been working as a Tax Senior at Deloitte India before deciding to pursue my master's. The move felt right. I took a loan, packed my life into suitcases, and landed in the UK ready to build something new.

Six months into my program, I started applying for jobs. I thought my experience at Deloitte would help me stand out.

I applied to over 1,000 jobs. More than 800 rejections came back. I made it to six interviews. Four of those went to final rounds. But nothing was converting.

The rejections were hard, but what really shook my confidence was how the goalposts kept moving. When I first arrived in 2023, the salary threshold for a sponsored job was £24,000. That felt achievable. Then the UK government changed the rules. The threshold jumped to £42,000 – double what it had been.

I felt stuck. The system kept shifting, and I kept falling short.

Then I found Unimad. Shaki helped me completely rethink my approach. Before that, I was applying to random jobs with no real direction. My CV wasn't focused, and my LinkedIn wasn't optimised.

We rebuilt everything. My CV became sharper. My LinkedIn started showing up in searches. I learnt how to position myself with a Value Proposition Document that clearly showed what I brought to the table.

Suddenly, things started working out. I got called for an interview and told them upfront, "I need sponsorship and expect £38,000" but the hiring manager told they would hire a Tax Manager with 10 years of UK experience for that salary. It stung. He offered me the role at £27,000 and I turned it down.

Later on, I saw another role listed at £52,000. I knew I didn't have the UK experience they wanted, but I applied anyway. I walked into that interview and was completely honest about what I could bring. No exaggeration, no false promises. Just clarity and confidence in what I'd done.

To my biggest surprise, I was offered the job!

Here's my 2 cent if you're still in the hunt: be brave enough to apply even when you don't fit perfectly, and believe you can achieve what feels impossible.