Former refugee rocket science graduate who stood outside Canary Wharf station with a sign looking for work gets hired

The 22-year-old stood outside Canary Wharf station with a sign looking for a job
Mary Engleheart
Sophie Williams9 September 2018

A former refugee who stood outside Canary Wharf station with a sign looking for work has found a job.

Mohamd Elbarkey, 22, starts work at Milamber Ventures, a specialist business incubator based in Marylebone, on Monday.

He said: “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.”

Following a successful series of interviews with Milamber, he was offered a role there.

“I was called for a phone interview just to see if I had te 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 said.

By the third interview, Mr Elbarkey was offered a role at the company and as congratulated online by one of his interviewers.

James Drace-Francis, Group Financial Officer at the company, said on Twitter: “Delighted to say that further to our conversations, Mohammed you’re hired!

“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.”

Mr Elbarkey said that the role is “is exactly what I wanted”.

He added: “I wanted something that means that I would be working with people who were experienced and that I could learn from something.”

Mr Elbarkey came to the UK with his family as a refugee from Libya and graduated with a 2:1 in aerospace engineering from Southampton University. He has just finished his masters in Space Engineering from UCL.

He had sent out over 70 applications but hadn’t been offered any interviews.

Mr Elbarkey was spotted by Mary Engleheart who took his picture and posted it to Twitter asking her followers to help get Mohamed a job.

It has since had over 19,000 retweets and over 28,000 likes.

The 22-year-old says he would recommend thinking outside of the box when looking for employment.

“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. “

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