Then any reason why you are there? Are you allowed to legally work in the Netherlands.
> there's not actually any support in the UK for people like me
I'm pretty sure there is. 2/3 of British families receive some kind of benefits in Britain. You might have to ask for it. I also suspect there is more to this story (like do you have something serious in your records).
I'd go to the British Embassy, ask them to get me to the UK, present myself to the government and ask for any help. Then proceed to the plan outlined previously.
Heck, I'm from Tunisia, an almost non-functional and bankrupt country and the government does have some benefits (like food, basic medical care) for the really in need.
The key part of that is "families", single people don't get nearly as much support.
I am.
> I'm pretty sure there is.
There's a very complicated system, but tl;dr being unable to find work would cause me to lose benefits and be left without a home. I don't trust that I would be able to find a job, so I would prefer to keep a roof over my head for now.
To add to the mess, I'm trans, which means companies (even big ones) will not put me in a position where customers might possibly see me, or where they might wind up with another coworker causing an HR incident, which means an awful lot of traditional jobs for people without qualifications are out. I've had this said to my face in the UK, and I've had interviewers in the UK visibly disappointed when they saw me.
Pick a topic that is not very difficult, but not trivial. Let's say "categorization of data" - you wouldn't believe how many companies need that with the latest ML hype. Create a static page with a bit of bio - native english, whatever you know about tech, + talk about categorization, give some examples, etc. Github Pages is free, so that should work. Same on Linkedin and whatever is used in NL. Go to Upwork, Fiver, etc. and apply to all jobs related to this - include your bio, static website, your "examples". Here is an example kind of post, but there should be plenty - https://www.upwork.com/job/Startup-Database-Data-Entry-and-C....
If you can, try to do the above for more topics to increase your chances, from the top of my mind:
- Find websites that do some kind of aggregation but can benefit from manual work - aggregators for jobs, rentals, products, etc. and offer your help.
- Teach english online
- Review product descriptions
- Find leads based on keywords
Navigate that system. People with much lower IQ are relying on it, you should be able to do that too.
> I'm trans, which means companies (even big ones) will not put me in a position where customers might possibly see me,
Same if you were homeless. I wouldn't hire a homeless barista that will turn off customers.
> I've had interviewers in the UK visibly disappointed when they saw me
Find places that are gay-trans friendly. Even where I live such jobs exist and are valued (ie: a woman hair dresser will prefer hiring a trans-gay as straight guys might put off customers, etc...)
I feel you're really underestimating the extent to which being visibly trans is a barrier in finding dignified employment. Perhaps the most maddening thing is that people don't hire you not because they, themselves, have anything against visibly trans people, rather it's because they are afraid of what others might think. And yet, even as everyone knows very well what "people might say", it is at the same time extremely difficult to covince cis people (i.e. not trans) that being visibly trans is an important factor in being out of work. It's a cruel catch-22 situation. The same people who would never hire you because you look visibly trans would never accept that you have trouble finding work because you look visibly trans.
I'm guessing that the OP ommitted any information about being trans from their original post above either because they expected that people would either think the OP was playing the victim card or they would just think there's some other reason, that has nothing to do with being trans, that the OP can't find decent work.
But I'm inclined to believe that this is, in fact, the primary reason. That's from my own experience and that of my many trans friends.
To the OP- just hang in there, please. Things will get better. And don't go back to the UK. It's now a fascist, racist little shithole with a majority that delights in crushing vulnerable people.
To be clear, I currently have a shower, mattress, access to a washing machine, etc etc. Living in squats is pretty ok, police repression aside. I don't look like... whatever you're guessing, and nobody I'm applying to knows I don't have a permanent legal residence.
Hairdressing is a ridiculously qualified job in the UK, I have no idea what you're talking about. People go to vocational school to learn it.
Can confirm. It is actually a very technical and regulated field, despite what many people think - myself included before i met my wife.
For instance, you need to know the risks of all the chemicals used, and infection vectors, etc. etc. and prove that you know it all in a licensing exam (both written and practical).
(Source: Married to a licensed hairdresser)
Er how do you get past "meldung" then. When I last had the pleasure of experiencing the dutch job market, the Vreemdelingenpolitie (lit. foreigner police) and the myriad other amptenare (term of affection for govt officals) made it impossible to not have a verified, permanent address.
I think I misunderstood that from your original post. Do you mean you are squatting someone else property? If that's the case, I feel sorry for myself spending all this time writing these responses...
>For example, become a hairdresser.
>I wouldn't hire you if you looked homeless...You don't look homeless because you're showering as a squatter? I wish I hadn't given you any advice at all.
Empathy is not a constrained resources. It's one of the only things humans can generate in infinite supply, and that's worth taking advantage of.
Also, it seems to me OP was not saying they can't get benefits in the UK because the system is too complicated. They said the system was complicated before summarizing the complexity by explaining that without work they will lose benefits, and they are concerned they won't be able to find work. It seems disingenuous to me to read into that as OP saying they can't figure out how to get benefits.
I didn't suggest that. I did suggest that he/she works for a hairdresser. (probably doing errands around).
> I wouldn't hire you if you looked homeless
Not for a customer facing job. For some businesses, that would destroy the business. That's why I suggest that he/she starts with jobs that do not care too much about your current status.
> Empathy is not a constrained resources.
I have a hard time giving empathy to someone who doesn't have it. By squatting other people property, you might be risking putting these people out of their homes (maybe they are looking to rent it and are paying a mortgage/loan).
Not all properties are hold by rich people and closed to make people on the streets. Some of these are by normal hardworking people and that's all they have (or maybe less if they are borrowing money).
I would suggest to look for organisations that support you while dealing with the paper stuff but from a quick glance this might be useful (at least health insurance, monthly money, maybe access to some kind of paid training program that fit's your needs).
Going "home" is kinda pointless - there's not actually any support in the UK for people like me, so I'd be sleeping rough there quickly anyway.