A graduate landed a job offer for his 'perfect role' 5 days after standing on a busy street with his resume on display

• A graduate who spent a year job hunting got an offer five days after standing in the street with his resume.
• Mohammad Arham Shahzad said 200 people approached him, including a JPMorgan director.

A graduate received a job offer within five days after he stood on a street in London with his resume, suitcase, and LinkedIn QR code.

Mohammad Arham Shahzad, an international student from Pakistan, was job hunting for more than a year before he decided to push past his comfort zone and advertise himself on the streets of the UK's capital city.

After finishing his Masters in business management, Shahzad said he received 95 rejections from companies he applied to.

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"I was so tired of getting so many rejections on a daily basis, it was really depressing for me," Shahzad told Insider. "I wanted to try a different approach."

Shahzad woke up early on July 11, created a board that included his LinkedIn QR code, and headed into London's financial district Canary Wharf with his suitcase and board.

"I was just standing there with a big smile ... I was not interfering in any way," he said.

When Shahzad left Canary Wharf at 6:30 p.m., he counted that up to 200 people had approached him that day. He described the response as "overwhelming" and "unexpected."

"Many of them just stopped by, scanned my QR code for my LinkedIn, took a picture, and then carried on," he said.

One example of this was when a director from JPMorgan approached him and handed over her business card, Shahzad said. Later, the director messaged Shahzad to tell him she had circulated his resume around the office.

The most memorable moment was when a teacher and her students approached him. The teacher took a picture of Shahzad surrounded by all the students and used him as an example for the group, he said.

At one point, someone told Shahzad that standing in the street wasn't the right thing to do, but he said that was the only negative response he faced.

Five days after standing on the streets of Canary Wharf, Shahzad told Insider he received an offer for a data analyst role, which he said was "the perfect role." Insider has viewed the documentation relating to the job offer.

Shahzad added that he also had three more interviews in the pipeline for the following week.

The biggest hurdle for Shahzad during the job hunt was getting a sponsorship visa, also known as a skilled worker visa, which is required for international students if they want to work in the UK after their student visa expires. This means Shahzad was restricted to applying to firms which have the license to sponsor the skilled worker visa. Companies also must be willing to sponsor the role, he said.

On top of this, there are application fees for the skilled worker visa which range from £625 to £1,423, according to the UK Government's website.

Shahzad in July wrote in a LinkedIn post that went viral about the struggles of international students and explained how they are "adaptable," "exceptionally driven," and have a "solid work ethic."

After receiving the job offer for the data analyst position, it took Shahzad three months before his visa was processed. He said he expected to start working at the company in November.

He told Insider he was blown away by response of passers-by and social media users to his day of standing in the street. "You could tell that people were taking a look at the board and moving on," Shahzad said. "That helped me to be more confident."