Finding a Job in the UK as a Non-UK Citizen: The United Kingdom (UK) has one of the world’s biggest economies and is one of the most important places for foreign business. Every year, more than 800,000 people come to the country to study or work. This is because of its welcoming culture and excellent education and healthcare systems. The jobless rate in the UK is pretty stable at around 4%, which makes it a good place to start a career.
Recent numbers from National Statistics show that 99,345 of the 205,528 work-related visas given in the year ending September 2021 were sponsored by companies in the UK. This is a lot of people. If you want to know how those people were able to find jobs in the UK and get their employers to pay for them to work there, you may want to read this piece carefully.
It’s not that hard to find a job in the UK. You can move to the country officially and find a job that works for you by taking a few steps.
Finding a Job in the UK as a Non-UK Citizen 2023
Search
The first thing you need to do to get a job offer is to apply for one. But your job application can be turned down if you are not a UK citizen or don’t have the right visa to properly work in the UK. This means that no matter how good your CV is, you won’t get an interview. To avoid being let down, it is important to look for jobs that will support work permits. UK Visa Jobs is a great place to start your job search because it has a list of jobs that will help you get a work visa. Using UK Visa Jobs saves you a lot of time and lets you focus on looking for jobs that fit you.
Apply
When you apply for a job, you send in your work application. But before you apply, you should think about what you want from your job, what you are good at, and what experiences you have. It is also important to put together a resume that makes you stand out.
There are a few ways to apply, and the process is a little different for students and for people with a lot of work experience. Most applications are sent to companies through their websites. In the UK, most companies have their own website where people can search for jobs and apply. UK Visa Jobs helps you find your way around these pages and takes you straight to the page where you can send in your application.
You can also use companies or headhunters to find a job. Headhunters will usually get in touch with you if they think your skills or experience are a good fit for a job. This is also why this happens more often with professionals with more experience than with students or new graduates. But this is a passive way to do things. Headhunters are not likely to find you if you are not in the UK or if you are not a very skilled expert in a certain area. This is why it’s important to keep looking for work.
Complete online assessments
Many UK companies get between 100 and 1000 applications. They have to do a lot of work to look over each application. Because of this, many companies have an initial screening process where they use automated systems to pick good candidates before the application gets to a person. One way to do this is through psychometric testing.
There are a few types of tests that companies use very often. For most jobs for people with experience, companies may ask you to take a Situational Judgement Test to see if you are right for the job. Depending on the job, you may also have to take a numerical thinking test and a coding test to show that you have the skills needed for the job.
Most companies want you to take a situational judgment test, a numerical reasoning test, or both when you apply for a job as a student or recent graduate. Some companies may also ask you to take a verbal reasoning test and a logical reasoning test. But they don’t happen as often as the other two tests. Depending on the job, you may also have to take a code test.
Employers can use technology to find good candidates through these tests, and their staff has to look at fewer applications. Usually, you have to meet a certain standard to get to the interview. So, it’s important to practice these kinds of tests ahead of time. Some of the tests listed above can be practiced on platforms like Learn and Pass. Please read our assessment guidelines if you want more information.
Interview
If you pass the first round of screening, most companies will ask you to come in for an interview. There are different ways to do an interview. They can be digital, where you use video recording sites to record your answers to questions that have already been set up. This is a very normal way to talk to students and recent graduates these days. The interview can also take place over the phone or on apps like Teams or Zoom. Before the pandemic, many talks with experienced hires were done in person. But most of the talks are now available online.
Different things will be asked of you during the interview. These questions can be put into groups like a strengths-based, competency-based, case study, motivation, commercial knowledge, and technical capability. Depending on the job you’re looking for, the type of interview and the questions you’ll be asked will be different. Read our advice on how to prepare for an interview for more information. You can also come to our interview classes to get better at interviews and improve your chances of getting hired.
Follow-up interviews
For many jobs, you’ll have to go through several interviews. For jobs for students and recent graduates, you might have to go to an evaluation day or center where you do different tests like group and individual exercises. If you are an experienced professional, you may have to go through one or more of the following interviews again: strength-based, competency-based, case study, commercial knowledge, technical capability, or a mix of these.
Receive an offer
If you do well in all of the above steps and meet the recruiter’s standards, you will be given a job offer, which is an offer of work. Once you accept the offer, you will usually be sent a written contract, and the onboarding process will begin. During the hiring process, background checks are often done to make sure that the information you gave them is true. So, you should never lie on your CV. This is also when a member of the company’s employment team will reach out to you to give you a Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) and ask you to start the visa application process if your job start date is coming up soon.
Apply for a visa and move to the UK
As soon as your background checks are done and you get your Certificate of Sponsorship (COS), you can start applying for your Skilled Worker visa or other visas that are important to your situation. Some companies will pay for your visa and moving costs, but others will ask you to pay for them yourself. If you get a skilled work visa, you’ll be able to legally move to the UK and start your job there. If you are already in the UK on a student visa, all you need to do to start working is move to a skilled work visa. If you have family abroad, you might be able to bring them with you as well.
