A 22-year-old refugee has landed three interviews after his job search went viral on Twitter.
Mohamed Elbarkey has a degree in rocket science and after applying for 70 roles with no luck, he decided to take to the streets and stand in Canary Wharf with a sign explaining that he was looking for work.
Mary Engleheart, who works for the International Rescue Committee, then saw Mohamed – whose family came to the UK after fleeing Libya when he was just three years old – and posted a picture of him on Twitter.
Her post was retweeted thousands of times and many Twitter users also replied, asking for a copy of Mohamed’s CV.
Just three days later, Mary revealed Mohamed has three job interviews lined up.
“Thank you everyone for this outpouring of support to #GetMohamedAJob,” she wrote. “Proud today, as every day, to #StandWithRefugees.”
Mohamed has also set up his own Twitter account for any potential employers to get in touch.
Writing in a blog published on HuffPost UK on Thursday, Mohamed explained why he decided to take an alternative approach to job-hunting.
“The idea of standing outside with the sign came from a picture I saw of a man called David Casarez who did the same in Silicon Valley,” he wrote. “He ended up being approached by a lot of companies. I decided to put my suit on and try my luck - hoping that maybe one executive in the City would stop to give me advice or perhaps an interview.
“A job in finance would be ideal for me because I’m fascinated in the way that world events can drastically affect financial markets.
“I’m particularly interested in using Artificial Intelligence and my Space Engineering degree has given me the experience coding. Now I want to apply these skills to the financial sector.”