After over 300 unsuccessful job applications, Indian student offers to work for free to stay in UK

An Indian student is facing criticism for offering to work without a salary for a month in the United Kingdom in a desperate bid to stay in the country. I

In a LinkedIn post recently, she said that she had three months to secure a job in the UK or risk deportation.

The Leicester-based student, who entered the UK for higher education in 2021, said she has been relentlessly looking for a job that would sponsor her visa but after more than 300 applications, she had still not found a job.

“Hire me for free for one month. If I don’t deliver, fire me on the spot, no questions asked,” she told recruiters in her appeal on LinkedIn.

In her latest post on the professional networking site, which is going viral, she said her employers could fire her without notice or compensation if unhappy with her work.

She also promised to work overtime and without weekly offs, just because she could stay on in the UK.

“I’ll work 12 hours per day and 7 days a week to prove my worth,” she wrote.

Earlier in a post, she said was looking for design engineer roles in the UK so she could stay on in the country after her student visa expired.

“My Graduate Visa EXPIRES in 3 months … repost this to help me stay in the UK,” she said.

“Since graduating in 2022, I’ve been tirelessly looking for a visa-sponsored UK job,” she wrote, adding, “The job market feels like there’s no value for me, my degree, or my capabilities... I have applied to 300+ jobs and got a handful of useful feedback.”

“This LinkedIn post is my FINAL chance to secure a long-term future in the UK,” she wrote.

Criticized for ‘ridiculous’ post

Her posts have received backlash on LinkedIn and Reddit, where many users slammed her for ‘ridiculous’ pleas to avoid returning to India.

Reacting to her post, some others said it would not only create unrealistic expectations for employers but also lead to a toxic work environment. The offer to work for free may also adversely impact the chances of jobs for deserving candidates.

“12 such candidates for 12 months and the company's golden. Zero salary given and free labor. These folks don't realize the level of harm these kind of posts do,” a Reddit user wrote.

Criticizing her, another Reddit user wrote, “This is shameful and parasitic and it lowers the standards of working for natives.”

“Parasite. Will do whatever it takes to stay in the UK,” a user wrote on LinkedIn.

“It’s sad to see how Indians beg for work to stay abroad,” read a comment.

Another LinkedIn user reacted,“Desperate to hold on to a country that wants to ki kick you out.”