Finding a job in the UK for
PGT International Students
David Levinson, Careers Adviser
Aims of the session:
 To provide information and advice on UK job hunting
 To be informal, interactive and provide an opportunity
for questions to be asked and answered
 To highlight support available from the Careers Service
and additional resources
 To answer many, but perhaps not all of your questions
These slides are available on our blog:
http://edinburghinternationalcareers.wordpress.com/
We won’t go into detail on
 Looking for part-time jobs
 Visa regulations
 CVs, application forms, interviews
We run regular workshops on all of these
In pairs…………
 Where are you from?
 What are you studying?
 What would like to get from this talk?
“I just got here, why think
about careers now?”
Some deadlines are
as early as October
Don’t wait until
it’s too late
 It’s not too early to think about what you want to
do after University and to plan how to get there
 The UK graduate job market is very competitive
– you need to stand out from the crowd
How do we work?
 Can the Careers Service find me a job?
 Will the Careers Service write my CV?
 Is the information only for UK students?
A quick quiz….
 TRUE / FALSE - In the UK all jobs must be advertised FALSE
 TRUE / FALSE – Most graduate jobs in the UK are either targeting
only undergraduates or only postgraduates FALSE
 TRUE / FALSE – It’s possible for a Tier 4 international masters
student to do a full-time internship next summer FALSE
 CVs in the UK should be no longer than 2 pages
Am I eligible to work part-time?
 Most (non-EU) international students will be eligible but to be
completely sure you should check your passport
 You can also visit The International Office, 33 Buccleuch
Place, where staff are trained to advise on permission to work
 If you are eligible to work then you are permitted to work up to
20 hours per week. The University however recommends that
you work no more than 15 hours per week
 Bulgarian and Romanian students will need to obtain form
BR1 for their Registration Certificate (until Jan 2014)
Come to one of our “Finding a part time job”
workshops for more information
What are my first steps?
 Log in to SAGE at www.ed.ac.uk/careers/sage
 You should use your Myed/EASE user name and password
 SAGE gives you access to:
Vacancies, Employer details and Latest news items
National Insurance processing days:
Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 25 September 09.30-16.30
at the Careers Service in the MLB
 Jobcentre Plus is coming into the Careers Service to
process National Insurance Numbers for students.
Appointments are not bookable, please just come
along and wait your turn. The session opens at
9.30am; the last appointment will be determined by
demand on the day and is likely to be around 3.30pm.
Graduate jobs in the UK.….
Helping you to stand out from the crowd
The UK graduate job market…
 Graduate training schemes ( large blue chip companies)
 Graduate jobs with small & medium sized enterprises
(SMEs), not-for profit sector (but salaries may not meet
visa criteria)
 Graduate schemes are not your only option – many
employers do not recruit in this way
Before applying for graduate jobs, you
should ...
 Assess your own skills and experience
 Research suitable opportunities and organisations
 Find out what they want for that role
 Match yourself to their needs and identify sources of
evidence
Applying for graduate jobs in the UK
When should I start....?
NOW!
Many UK
graduate
jobs close
by the end of
November
What do employers want?
 Do you want the job?
 Can you do the job?
 Do you want to work with us?
WANT-CAN-FIT
This is more important than
what degree you have
It’s competitive....
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Make a good application – get feedback
Think about your USP – what makes you stand out?
Build your skills (and evidence of them) outside study
Make use of the Careers Service
Top tips….

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Be clear about what you want to do and why
Ensure your CV / application is targeted and relevant
Use the best examples you’ve got
Review – ask yourself “so what”
Ask for feedback - first impressions
Visible job market
Responding to advertised vacancies = reactive job hunting

To do this you need to know where (and if!) the jobs you
want are usually advertised

Sources of vacancies include:
Websites
Campus activities
Newspapers
Industry magazines
Recruitment agencies
Visible Graduate recruitment process
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On-line application forms
On-line tests
Telephone interviews
Assessment centres
Face-to-face interviews
Competency-based questions
Hidden job market proactive job hunting
Opportunities exist – but are not advertised
 Why should you consider doing it?
 Where does this approach work?
Employers prefer to recruit in ways
which minimise costs and risk!
Websites
 SAGE - our vacancy and employer database:
www.ed.ac.uk/careers/sage
 Other graduate vacancy websites examples:
www.prospects.ac.uk
www.targetjobs.co.uk
 Directories – e.g. GET, Prospects, Top100,
The Best 600 Companies to work for
International (non-EU) students:
Come to one of our workshops on “Working in
the UK - a guide to employment and work visa
routes” for full information on:
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Tier 2 ‘Graduate’ Skilled Worker
Tier 1 ‘Graduate’ Entrepreneur
Tier 5 Youth Mobility
UK Ancestry
Working after a PhD
International (non-EU) students:
Applying for graduate jobs in the UK
 NO resident labour market test under Tier 2
 Minimum salary criteria form most roles is £20,300 – but varies
e.g. £23,600 for electrical engineers and £16,700 for some
“creative roles”- check the Home Office SOC codes
 Must switch within expiry date of T4 visa and from within UK
 You must have been awarded your qualification
“How will I know if an employer is a sponsor?”
Home Office register of sponsors
Much more
information is
available in
workshops
throughout the
year – but get
clued up
early….
What do the regulations mean in practice?

If you want to work in the UK after graduating, you
have to secure a job with a sponsoring employer
before your visa expires

You must check that the employer is a registered
sponsor and that the job meets the salary criteria

Other routes may be possible – come to a visa
workshop to find out more
Resources for international students
 International students web pages
 International employer and vacancy information
 Information on visas
How do I get help with my CV?
 Appointments available every day, both centres
 Resources in our careers information rooms
 Talks on how to write a winning CV
 Talks on application forms/interviews
Check out our events on the website
Some events to look out for:
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Careers workshops start 12 September
International talks
China & SE Asia Virtual Careers Fairs
Employer presentations start 16 September
Careers Fair 8-10 October, Adam House
and much more….
Have a great year, build your CV and
use your Careers Service!!
King’s Buildings
Weir Building
0131 650 5773
Central
3rd Floor, Main Library
0131 650 4670