What steps should I take to find a job?

[triangleblackcat]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the board, having stumbled upon it today during a massive Google session. I need basic information and advice on how to find a job in the UK and hope I've come to the right place.

Some background: my husband's company has offered him a position in London, and we'd love to take advantage of this phenomenal opportunity to leave the United States and explore Europe for a few years. Our biggest obstacle to making the move is my employment - I'm not willing to sign on to the move without a job or at least some assurance that I will indeed be able to find one! I hold a PhD from an American Ivy-League university and consider my skills (I'm a demographer) to be fairly marketable. I've just started the process of looking for work in the UK (e.g. trolling the internet) and have a few questions:

- Are employers generally open to hiring US citizens? What kinds of organizations (other than American companies in the UK) will I have better luck with?
- How important is it for me to apply for a HSMP visa before submitting my CV to prospective employers?
- Can I apply for government jobs, or are those reserved for UK citizens?
- What are the most comprehensive job listing sites? I've been on the Guardian site - are there any others?

Thanks so much for your help

[MichelleAlison]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Your first step really is to check out the visa situation before even looking for work - you might not even be able to get a visa. I am sure if you read past posts on the UK forum, you might be able to find information regarding working visas etc.

Good luck with your plans and I am sure someone will come along and give you more advice.

Regards

Michelle

[chinglish]

Hello, I was a corporate recruiter in London for several years and I relocated out to Asia last year. I think you will find that getting a job in London is not too traumatic as long as you have good interview technique - personality counts hugely and in my experience, that is where Americans with their natural language fluency and more forthright personality than some other nationalities have often had the advantage.

1. Yes, I would say that generally all MNC employers are open to hiring international employees, esp if you get there first or show you have a confirmed date of arrival to show your commitment. The biggest barriers to hiring foreigners is not the Visa, but costs, timeline and stability. Many firms will not pay relocation costs now, or expat salaries, Hiring Managers are nervous about waiting for a person to relocate since it could take 2-3 months and that person could pull out at any time. Since you would already be settled in the UK, you would be in a much better situation.
I think the HSMP is not that important as you'd already be in the UK, sure it is beneficial but many people apply for it so they can come to UK to get a job but need a way to get in the country first - your husband's visa would already allow you to do that. If you're in the UK, you'd get a much better chance of scoring interviews, and if employers like you then the work permit is quite easy to get. Government jobs are not reserved, but you might have lower priority due to the work permit issue.

Look at London Evening Standard and The Times and The Sunday times newspapers, Monster website, and sign up with as many agencies as possible both Contingent and Retained Exec Search. I'd guess 3-6 months search depending on your luck, profile and how hard you market yourself. Now is a slow time as you're approaching summer hols though so don't be discouraged during the summer.

[triangleblackcat]

Thanks so much for your helpful response! I feel a little bit better now about the potential relocation. I am still hoping to find a position before leaving the US, but it sounds like my chances are good even if I can't do so. Thanks again!