Manchester is one of the emerging cities in the UK. Greater Manchester has grown steadily since 2007 and is one of the UK’s fastest-recovering regions from the credit crunch recession. It is the second largest functional financial district outside London and is growing at almost twice the rate of most urban areas in the UK. This expansion has been fueled by massive investment in services, especially the financial sector. Some of the major businesses with offices and large employee bases in the Manchester area include Vodafone, the BBC, Thomas Cook, the Guardian, Kellogg’s, ITV and the outrageous internet giant Google.
Between them they offer a wealth of employment opportunities, however what makes Manchester attractive to job seekers is the large number of other industries available. The main industries are finance; banking and insurance, but there are other opportunities in retail and telesales. Manchester is a center of excellence for services, including logistics. The latter is natural as Manchester is the hub of the UK’s transport network, with motorways and rail lines radiating in all 4 cardinal directions. There are some highly specialized niche industries concentrated in this area, such as biotechnology and environmental technology; perhaps due to the presence of Manchester Institute of Technology (MiT), which produces many scientifically and technically qualified experts.
On a human scale rather than an economic scale, the city and its surrounding areas are cosmopolitan and have a thriving cultural scene. The latter attracts creative people to the city – check any search engine and you will find pages for advertising agencies and other creative companies. These include digital and print advertising, packaging design, marketing, media…the list goes on! So not only is it a great area to look for technical jobs, but it’s also great for those looking for creative jobs. While searching for available positions, I found that the number of positions for linguists was also unusually high (seemed high to me) – the tourism industry needed someone who spoke Polish; a car rental company needed someone who spoke fluent Norwegian People, and there are French-speaking job openings in retail too!
Salaries vary widely across Greater Manchester. For telesales and basic retail jobs, salaries can be as low as 12,000, but you don’t have to look hard to find high-paying management and technical jobs that pay upwards of 40-50K. In other words, there’s something for everyone, depending on their skills and experience.
How to find a job in Manchester
Online is a great place to start. This will save you a lot of time and a few bus rides! There are thousands of job ads on common websites such as gumtree, Monster and fish4. But a great site for job seekers is Reeds, a national recruiting agency where you can see how many people have applied for the position you’re interested in. For creative jobs, check out ‘The Drum’ and remember to check out the Guardian jobs page too.
But before you get started, you should revisit your resume. This is best left to the professionals who, after exploring the type of job you’re looking for, can give you an edge over others. They will advise you on the best type of resume to choose (yes, there are many effective ways to present a resume) and use your skills and experience to make a very positive impression. After all, you are an amateur in the field, unless of course you work in HR!