Job Search as an International Graduate in the UK

Hello friends/strangers, this piece is my humble attempt to put together some ideas and insights on job hunting in the UK as an international graduate. I am going to keep it light and silly, because that's the last thing looking for jobs in a different country feels like (*eyerolls*). Please expect sarcasm and fine self-deprecation along the way because that’s my mother tongue. From no angle or in any way should you take my insights as absolute. They are not based on research, nor am I an expert in the field. The goal here is simple: I wish I had known some important details as a young international graduate planning to start off in another country, and this is my way of documenting my own experience for anyone who might be on comparable/similar journeys.

Let us put the disclaimers away first:

• I read MSc Comparative and International Education at Teddy Hall and my previous works of all forms have been in the NGO/Social Impact space. I was hoping to continue in the same field, and hence my job search was specifically focused on these key sectors and specialties. That said, I am sure some of my learnings are universal in nature, and I hope you can derive some use from them, no matter your field or interests.

• I am going to repeatedly use sketches/frameworks in this article, as I consistently use different forms of visualisations in my daily decision-making. If you have any questions at all, please reach out to me personally.

• I have assumed that most of the job search would occur online. Hence, the examples and suggestions are framed around the digital environment. However, most of what I have mentioned can also be relevant to offline spaces, such as a networking event or career fairs.

• It is important to understand that, despite planning and clarity, job hunting (like the rest of life) is anything but linear. It is the most iterative experiment you will do immediately after your course in Oxford, so the first tip for your sanity is to accept that this is going to be an extremely maddening rollercoaster ride. If you were crippled by impostor syndrome in Oxford, welcome to the next level! In some scenarios and on some days, your self-esteem will drop to a level that you had no idea existed in the book of levels.

None of this is to say that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. All our stories affirm the opposite: most of my WHT counterparts who wanted to stay in the country have managed to do so and have been reasonably happy with their lives so far. The process is intense, for sure. But the reward is worth it as well.  

Note: I have gone on waffling for pages without even remotely discussing anything about interviews. Yes, it is a long TED talk. Give me a shout if you find this piece useful, in which case I will aim to write one on interviews in a month or so. Before I begin, I also want to give a big hearty thanks to my very dear friend @Nalin Singh for his super useful feedback.

1. Early bird catches the worm (Sayings are sayings for a reason, apparently!)

I can confidently say that this is the most important step in the process, as I did not start early for many reasons and suffered as a result for months to come. Even if you have experience spanning 3 or 5 or 10 years, remember that this is going to be a blank slate in so many ways. The processes are new. The tools are new. The culture around the processes is different. It will easily take you a few rejections to understand what works and what does not.  This is not helped by the fact that immigration policies and the job market are generally getting tougher and increasingly competitive in many countries, including the UK. It is therefore important to buy that time early on in the process. If possible, do some scoping during the Hilary term. Of course, it will have a certain impact on your dissertation work because we are all constrained by finite resources. But you can strategise and manage these timelines to your benefit. In some cases, your dissertation and job search can also complement each other. As my friend and fellow WHT scholar Nalin pointed out, “Your dissertation/research can be a good gateway to meet and network with people/institutions in your field.” The bottom line is that it is always better to look for jobs with the safety of another institution and community than without them. If you are planning to stay in the UK, I would strongly recommend sending out applications no later than June/July.

2. Scoping: How to get a sense of the space?

I began by understanding the job market very broadly. I used the following as a guiding bird’s-eye view of the space and asked myself the following questions:

1. Which are the best organisations in your preferred sector?

2. What are their key products and services? Why are they the best?

3. What are the different departments in these organisations? Skim through their annual reports and understand what success means to them.

4. How old are these organisations? Have there been recent trends in the sector that stand out to you?

5. What job roles do they have? What does the work entail? Who will be the consumers/recipients of your work?

6. Who are the staff? Which fields do they predominantly come from? Anything striking about the organisational structure?

The goal at this stage is to understand the landscape in general and the potential roles in particular so that:

1. You can gauge your compatibility with a specific option.

2. You can prepare yourselves and tailor your application based on the market need and your strengths.

3. You can understand what it doesn't entail and therefore, save time by easily filtering out irrelevant roles/profiles.

Once you have roughly mapped the sector and potential roles, make sure to save and engage with this online information. The algorithms can help you from here.

I have noticed that some designations may seem straightforward but may mean something entirely different. For instance, ‘Education Officer’ came up in a lot of my LinkedIn searches. However, I realised later on that it could sit with HR/Learning & Development, Product Development, and Engagement/Community Building depending on the context and organisation. Please go through JDs in detail, as that could help you differentiate these nuances.

3. Manage, Manage, Manage.

Once you have broadly gotten an idea of the space—the main organisations, the typical roles, etc.—the next thing to do is to document such learnings systematically. As discussed earlier, remember to like, save, and bookmark any and all information you come across. It’d be a good idea to set job alerts on the organisation’s websites and/or LinkedIn. Even after setting reminders, continue to check the websites regularly to stay on top of things.

If you are looking for a skilled worker visa, refer to this list to quickly filter out companies that offer sponsorship. It is possible that a company is a visa sponsor but only does so for certain roles. Usually, this would be clarified in the JD itself. Please do not hesitate to clarify these questions from the onset. As some of you might be aware, visa rules have been updated recently as part of the government’s effort to reduce immigration. Most of these updates are effective from this year, so do refer to this link for more details.

You will soon start noticing job openings popping up on your LinkedIn/E-Mail. I also used CharityJob and Applied as my primary search platforms, as I was keen on non-profit/NGO work. The process from here is easily a matter of focus, time management, and strategy.

4. Building a cohesive, brilliant application 

It is possible that you are in-between coursework or other life admin while you are at this phase of the search. This is where your organisation and management skills will come in handy. These are some standard steps I have practised to effectively build robust applications.

Managing time

• As soon as you see an interesting vacancy, bookmark it and move the key dates to your calendar. I’d recommend making a separate calendar for job search so that it is maintained outside of your other priorities.

• It is best to allot a certain hour/slot every week for the application process. Otherwise, it might get too messy and intertwined with the rest of your life.

• Note if the vacancies have a deadline or can be closed early upon receipt of sufficient applications. This is key as it will help you prioritise, especially during peak hiring periods or if you are applying for graduate/early career positions (such roles would see a high demand at certain points in the academic year).

Managing tasks

• Classify the roles by their functions. For instance, some could be research roles, some communication-oriented, others consultancy roles, and so on. This is super useful if you are interested in a variety of responsibilities and are open to pursuing options. It is ideal to have a base CV and cover letter for each of these ready so that you can easily adapt them to different contexts and needs when the time comes.

Ensuring quality

• Make sure the CV and cover letter are up-to-date with the most recent milestones. Be as concise and sharp as possible. Looking back at it, my first CV was a joke. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and used fonts and formatting to compensate for my ignorance. I have learned the hard way that a CV is for an employer, not for your Pinterest board. Keep it simple (both presentation and language-wise), point the employer in the right direction, and do not overdo it. A golden rule here: Your application gets a better chance when you help the recruiter/panel do their job faster. So instead of beating around the bush, cover the following in accessible and straightforward English.

o What was your role in the XXX time period/ What did you do/create/achieve/perform?

o What is the evidence of the above - use your mixed-methods research skills here. The idea is to communicate to them very directly why YOU think YOU did a good job in a particular role. Don't bluff it, please.

o Anything else central about that experience that the employer should know.

• Proofread and edit all the documents multiple times. Insert the page number, date, name, and e-mail address on all pages. I also always include a header with the role and name of the organisation.

• There are different ways of organising a CV: by time, by skills, or a mix of both. Adopt a format that best fits you, and ensure there is consistency and flow across the document.

5. Tailoring your application for a role

It is essential to do your research on the organisation and the role in order to tailor your CV skilfully. Study the organisation’s websites, reports, and social media handles and have a clear idea of the following:

• What is the organisation's purpose?

• How are they achieving it? Do they stand out from other players? If yes, how?

• How does this role contribute to the mission/vision of the organisation?

• What key hard and soft skills are needed to perform this role well?

• According to you, how fit are you for this role? Can you spot any gaps in your resume that would negatively impact your ability to perform this role well? These are important questions for reflection as they help you highlight your strengths and present the potential challenges for both parties. Needless to say, the way you navigate this will be crucial if you clear the interview and are in a position to negotiate with the employer.

Consider the recruitment process as a triangle involving three entities. It is then a conversation/negotiation between the three to arrive at an optimum solution.

The next step in the process is to make minor updates/edits to your CV based on the above learnings. As I have mentioned earlier, your job is to make the job of the employer easier in finding you. Once there is a basic compatibility established, you will have many more opportunities to talk about your experiences in detail. So, keep it sharp and to the point. Attempt to mirror the language and philosophy of the organisation; study them well, and be confident that you have done your groundwork. This also offers you a direct advantage, as many organisations use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) for their preliminary screenings. Some applications would also include competency tests and assessments. Make sure you leave enough time on your calendar to prepare for that.

Please check out Applied, a wonderful skills-based recruitment platform used by many organisations for debiased hiring. I have found plenty of relevant jobs here and found the experience very rewarding. Not only would you receive feedback on the assessments/application (depending on which stage you are in), but you would also get to leave the table having learned a thing or two about the application process in general. After having been ghosted by a countable number of employers, Applied was a breath of fresh air.

Reading list/ references for building CVs and cover letters

1. How to Write an Impressive CV and Cover Letter: A Comprehensive Guide for Jobseekers by Tracey Whitmore

2. Top Tips for Writing a Good Cover Letter by University of Oxford Careers Service  

3. Resume Tips: 3 Steps to a Perfect Resume by Andrew LaCivita

6. Documenting and Organising the process

You might disagree with me now, but there have been more than a few occasions where I received an interview call and struggled to find the copy of my cover letter for that role. It is only natural that things get too overwhelming too fast. I would suggest approaching this a bit like your coursework. A few things that worked for me:

1. Label your documents clearly. When I say ‘clearly’, I mean with date/designation/organisation etc., so you can find it in seconds if you need it.

2. Organise them in neat folders on your desktop as PDF and DOCX documents. Additionally, upload them to the cloud because they will most definitely be valuable later, even if the application itself is unsuccessful.  

3. If possible, maintain a separate calendar for job search and track the progress of your applications. This will help you adapt your strategy and adjust the pace of the process.

4. Have some sense of the success rate, even if you are not meticulously monitoring it. What % of applications received any response at all? How many applications proceeded to the next stage? How many interview invites have you received so far? Any crucial learnings from the feedback so far?

A key point to keep in mind is that a lot of the job search preparation is repetitive in nature. The aim then should be to do it as efficiently as possible, with a confident and optimistic mindset. As someone who loves planning and organising immensely, I have noticed that transforming the job search into a job of its own has helped me maintain a certain calm throughout it all.

As I have mentioned earlier, I have used this piece to articulate insights on the initial process of job hunting. I hope it was useful, and if it was, please let me know so I can make sure to write the next part soon. I am also always open for constructive feedback. So, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Thank You!