Engineering graduate offers to work for free after applying for over 300 jobs

An Indian student with an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Leicester, offered to work for free in a desperate bid to secure a job before her student visa expires.

Swetha Kothandan, who moved to the UK in 2021, shared her struggle on LinkedIn, where she opened up about her job search since graduating in 2022. 

Despite her best efforts, Swetha said she had been unable to find a job in the UK. 

Faced with the looming expiry of her graduate visa, she took the extreme step of offering to work unpaid for a month in exchange for the opportunity to stay.

“My graduate visa expires in 3 months... Repost this to help me stay in the UK,” Kothandan's LinkedIn post read.

In addition to working for free, she further stated that if her employer was dissatisfied with her performance, they could terminate her without notice or compensation.

She also expressed her willingness to work overtime and forgo weekly holidays in an effort to remain in the country.

Kothandan described her job search as disheartening, revealing that despite applying for over 300 positions, she had received minimal feedback. 

 “The job market feels like there’s no value for me, my degree, or my capabilities. I’ve applied to 300+ jobs and received only a handful of useful responses.”

In her post, she added, “This LinkedIn post is my final chance to secure a long-term future in the UK.”

Her plea quickly went viral, sparking a debate about the lengths some individuals are willing to go to for job security, even with the proper qualifications. 

While some expressed sympathy for her situation, many criticised her offer to work without pay, arguing that it could set a dangerous precedent and lead to exploitative practices in the workplace.