Working in the UK

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Working in the UK

• Know what is in your reach

Careers Service Valerie Matthews-Lane
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AIMS

• Role of the Careers Service
• Working during your studies
• Working after your studies
• Understanding employers

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Role of Careers Service

• Not an employment agency
• Information
• Free resources
• Advice
• Careers adviser

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Working in the UK Options

• Working as a Student
• Part-time Employment
• Vacation Placements
• Volunteering
• Working as a Graduate
• Most international students return to home
  country
• Some stay in the UK or move to another country

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Degree related work experience and international
students
Views from Employers in Leicester
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Opportunities

• 52 of employers do not offer any type of work
  experience to either UK/EEA or non EEA nationals.
• Almost 40 of employers have either recruited or
  would recruit international students for work
  experience or placements.
• Almost 10 of employers would only consider UK
  and EEA nationals for work experience
  opportunities.
• Only 20 of all work experience opportunities are
  advertised!!!

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Employers views on the benefits of taking
international students on work experience

• their technical skills
• foreign language skills
• their awareness of economic / cultural factors in
  home country
• their potential business contacts abroad

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When should students apply for work experience?

• Most employers said that 1-3 months before is the
  best time to apply (54)

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A more personal approach

• Most employers prefer a personal approach and for
  students to introduce themselves prior to
  submitting their formal application

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Graduate Schemes

• Most large employers (1-4 yrs training)
• Applications From September
• Find policy regarding non EEA applicants
• Applications (1-4 hrs)
• Academic requirements find equivalences
• Grammar and spelling
• Career objectives
• Focused applications

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Finding jobs on the net

• Prospects.ac.uk
• Insidecareers.co.uk
• Grb.uk.com
• Doctorjob.com
• Milkround.com

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Finding jobs in the press

• Midlands Most newspapers in the Midlands have
  job vacancies online (mostly the Leicester
  Mercury)
• National press e.g. Guardian, Times, Independent,
  Daily Telegraph Financial Times (also online)

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Finding Casual Work

• Workbank
• JobsBoard
• U of L website
• Student Union Website
• Leicester Mercury
• Local Job Centre

• Local Employment Agencies
• Speculative applications
• Shop windows
• Prospects Website
• Seasonal Work

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Introduction to Job Applications

• CV
• Covering Letter
• Application form
• Print
• Online

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October
November
December
February
May
Summer

• Finalise models for
• CV
• Covering letter
• Application forms

• Making and sending applications
• Many large and mid size employers with Dec-Jan
  deadlines!

Some companies will have later application
deadlines and many will have ongoing recruitment.
Make speculative applications with your targeted
CV and covering letter

• Book appointment with careers adviser
• Tips on CV, covering letters, draft application
  forms
• Employers and vacancies
• Practice interviews

JOB!
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Do employers know the rules?
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Telling employers what your situation is?
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Would you employ an international student for a
year after graduation if no work permit was
required?
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(No Transcript)
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Conclusions
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Take the Initiative!

• Employers (78) willing to take IS on work
  placements said that they do not advertise their
  work experience opportunities externally
• When surveyed, many employers from this group
  said that they had never seen an application from
  an international student

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Case Study Making a difference

• Santashree Mitra, MSc in Clinical Criminology at
  Leicester, Applied Psychology from the University
  of Delhi
• I did not do anything out of the ordinaryI was
  proactive. I sent my (speculative) application
  from India and added extra information about the
  amount and type of work I could do in the UK. I
  was their first ever non British employee in
  Leicester!

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Reminders

• LSGF 5th November
• Careers for Scientists Engineers 15 22
  October
• Work Experience Fair Spring Term
• Management, Business Finance Fair Spring Term
• The Leicester Award
• International Students mailing list
• www.le.ac.uk/careers/international

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Questions?

• Thank you
• To sign up with us
• e mail careers_at_le.ac.uk with your degree and
  nationality