FAQs

Yes, there are two types of application – in country and out of country. Companies almost always prefer to employ graduates using an in-country visa. Out-of-country visas are limited to 20,700 places a year and are generally allocated to skilled professionals who already have significant work experience.

Referencing the question above, the limited number of out-of-country Tier 2 visas (20,700) makes this route highly competitive and, as a result, it’s unlikely that a company would use such a process for an international student.

Based on our experience, it would be almost impossible to secure a job from outside of the UK as a student with little work experience. This route would most often be used for professionals aged 30+.

No. Buying a Tier 2 Visa is illegal, and we have had students and professionals contact us who have been defrauded out of up to £50,000.

If anyone tells you, you can buy a Tier 2 Visa they are everything that your parents warned you about when they said you shouldn’t talk to strangers.

More on that in this video:

You can convert a Tier 5 to a Tier 2 visa, just not while remaining in the UK. Once the two years are up on your Tier 5 visa, your employer would need to make a separate application for a Tier 2 visa.

For full details, here’s an in-depth post from the professional service firm Sable International on switching from a Tier 5 visa.

Yes – they will need a UK spouse visa, also known as a Tier 2 general dependent visa.

A ‘dependant’ is any of the following:

• your husband, wife, or partner
• your child under 18
• your child over 18 if they’re currently in the UK as a dependant

If you’re sponsored by a large company, almost certainly not. However, some SMEs have been known to pass on part or even all the costs to international students.

What tends to be more common is that companies will pay for the Tier 2 visa, but may ask international students to pay for part or all of the immigration health surcharge, which could be as much as £1,200.

See the full list of costs associated with sponsoring international students for a Tier 2 visa.

We cover exactly how to this step by step in these videos:

Only seek advice from an OISC registered immigration adviser.

You can find a full explanation and a link to a list of advisers here.

More on that in this video:

The IHS be paid by anyone applying for a visa in the UK, unless they are a tourist applying for a visitor visa. Paying the IHS gives you access to the National Health Service (NHS).

The cost of the IHS is paid on a yearly basis for the duration of the visa. For Tier 4 and Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme visas, the total cost is £600 (£300 a year for two years). For all other visas, the yearly cost is £400. This means that the total cost for a five-year visa will be £2,000.

Large companies may pay for the immigration health surcharge on your behalf, but smaller companies will let international students pay their own fees.

A question to ask your University.

A question to ask your University.

No. 

If you are an immigration lawyer and agency and would like to work with us, we are always happy to receive speculative applications through our Contact Us Page.

A difficult place to be in. We made a video on this subject which can give you some ideas to think about:

The NHS is one of the largest employers in the UK and we often get asked why we don’t recommend them for non-medical graduate roles.

The short answer is our experience, is that the interviews are long drawn-out processes and we have had multiple candidates then be told they won’t be sponsored.

The NHS does of course sponsor international students, but these tend to be medical related roles.

This is quite a complex question, but the simplest answer in our experience is that the company has sponsored in the past or is sponsoring, just not for that role.

To explain, every year, any company that can sponsor Tier 2 Visas will submit for an allocation of CoS (Certificates of Sponsorship) this is given to employees to apply for a work Visa.

Say a company gets 10 per year and halfway through the year they have already given out 7.

They may then hold onto 3 for more senior candidates or a “just in case” scenario.

Any CoS not assigned expire on the 5th of April.

In short, it may not be that the company doesn’t want to, it’s just that they don’t have enough CoS.

The NHS does of course sponsor international students, but these tend to be medical related roles.

There are multiple ways of entering the UK if not through a Student Visa, but a Student Visa is in our experience the easiest route to work unless you pursue the Investor or Entrepreneur Route.

The best jobs will be reserved for students who easily transition from a student to a work visa.

No. Some students and professionals will come to the UK on a Visitor Visa thinking they can then apply for jobs because they are in the UK.

In our experience this rarely works and leads to a lot of frustration.

Employers who will willing allow you to work on a visitor visa would also be breaking the law.

Good enough to speak, listen, read and write in a business context, and by that we mean be understood and understand others.

In 2018, just over 6,000 Tier 4 visa holders switched over to a Tier 2 visa, though this number could be greater if we include out-of-country Tier 2 visa applications. As a percentage of all international students coming to study in the UK each year, that’s about 2.5%.

Check out a full-length presentation Mike gave to international students at the London College of Fashion on this subject:

Most students will know major cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester but truthfully most large companies have offices across the UK, and you may find there is less competition for roles outside of London.

But there is no “best” city.

More on that in this video:

There are so many, for us the biggest ones are:

• That you can buy one (you can’t. It’s illegal)
• That you must pay for one (though this can be true for small companies)
• That any company can give you one (Only Tier 2 Sponsors can)
• That you can get a Tier 2 Visa for any job (You can’t you need a minimum salary and can only get sponsored for certain roles)

More on that in this video:

Yes, but you will need to find an employer who is willing to sponsor you for an out of country Tier 2 Visa. 

Find out more here.

Ideally yes, and under a student Visa. Being in the UK under a student Visa is your best chance to find a job in the UK in our experience.

We highly recommend UK Hired as well as Student Circus.

More on that in this video:

There are a couple of sites out there like Arctic Shores (one of the early pioneers of Game Based Assessments) which give good explanations. We also highly recommend Debut, which is a great app and always has some live games to practise. 

It’s just finding the time and opportunity to practise in as realistic a way as possible.

A question that we are constantly trying to figure out ourselves.

You can do your homework, look up company on the Government Tier 2 and 5 Sponsor List or use our free web app Sponsor Tier 2. See that the company sponsors. Apply and still be told that they are not sponsoring work visas “right now”

The truth is that there is no way of telling as this is part of their internal procedures AND them saying they are not sponsoring “right now” doesn’t mean they won’t ever sponsor, it just means they may have run out of CoS (Certificates of Sponsorship) which they give to help you apply for a work visa) or those CoS are being saved for other positions.

Just keep trying.

More about that in this video:

For a short answer check out this video:

https://youtu.be/he6aKDtA4Q0

For a free course with templates and step by step videos that lasts a bit longer (26 minutes) but is VERY thorough, check out our “Cover Letters that get Interviews” course here: 

We answer that in this video:

This depends on a wide variety of factors:

• What type of job?
• Do you have a preference where you want to work?
• When do you need to start by?
• How successful have your applications been so far?
• What are your target companies?

These 5 questions form the basis for beginning to get an idea of a candidate’s background, when we first have a Discovery Call with them.

As of 2021, our premium clients take an average of 162 days from joining to getting a job offer.

If you want to find out more about that you can Contact Us

More on that in this video:

7 days then send a little chaser email. 

You can generally find a support email on the email sent to you when you applied or looking through their website.

Making a phone call and speaking to a human is even better, but most large companies don’t have a phone number you can call

An example chaser email

Dear <NAME/ Sir, Madam>

I recently applied for <XYZ JOB> on <DATE>

I know you guys must be super busy but just wanted to know if there was any news about this role.

Thanks for your time.

<NAME>

A better question is how many QUALITY applications can you submit every week. On average our clients will do 1-3 applications a week, but they are high quality.

Quantity in and of itself is not important at all.

After all you could endlessly one click apply for jobs on LinkedIn and Indeed every day and submit 100 applications.

See more in this video:

Think about what jobs you are applying to, the chances of success of getting a job at those companies and how good those applications are.

Instead of thinking how many jobs, instead think:

“How can I make this the best possible application in the time that I have”

Yes. See our answer for “How long should I wait to chase up my application?” for a more complete answer.

What it doesn’t mean is “Perfect English” a lot of international students and professional get caught up on being able to read complicated articles and understand rare words.

This is a bad route to fluency.

For us, fluency means speaking, being understood and listening.

So the route to professional fluency is spoken communication and written where needed (though most candidates who have studied in the UK have a good level of written fluency.

A good indicator of what you need to work on, will be the element of English that you avoid or makes you feel uncomfortable.

As soon as it’s ready and not a minute later. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Make sure the quality is good and that you stick to a time limit to submit an application say, “I will get this application submitted by the end of the day.”

Then whatever you “think” , you know you have to press “submit” at the end of the day.

More on that in this video: 

If the job you are applying to is too far to get to by public transport, or involves a lot of travelling then employers will want you to be able to drive.

More on that in this video:

Depends on the graduate scheme. In the UK it is illegal to discriminate against a candidate based on their age. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

In our experience we have had candidates up to the age of 37 interviewed for graduate schemes, but experience tells us candidates over the age of 30 are unlikely to progress.

Some schemes will specifically ask for PhD’s where possible, technical roles, others won’t.

Always check the eligibility requirements in the job description, as other schemes may only be targeted at particular year groups in Universities.

Though you are eligible, it may not always be preferrable.

First, everyone gets stuck at some point. As professionals who have guided hundreds of candidates, we see it all the time.

Take a break.

Whether that be an evening off, a weekend out or just a week away. Time will give you perspective.

When you return to the issues, try to identify the root of the problem why you don’t seem to be making progress.

• Are you applying and getting no responses?
• Are you sitting tests and failing them?
• Are you not getting past the interview stage

Once you begin to zero in on the issue then you can start to identify the cause and put together a solution.

If you want a professional opinion, get in touch through our Contact Us page to see what help we can provide.

More on that in this video:

Check out these two great videos from our YouTube Channel with a personal statement expert:

Full video here:

Rejections are inevitable. We have seen the best candidates with almost perfect grades from the highest ranked Universities still get rejected.

A few important things to think about:

• It’s not about you
• You are still awesome
• You are one step closer to a Yes
• You only need one yes

The first couple of rejections will sting, but honestly after a while you just accept it and move on. If you find yourself getting frustrated, angry, or depressed that’s a sign to take some time off.

Also don’t wrap up your sense of self-worth in applying for jobs. You are still amazing regardless. Lower your expectations, recharge, and then come back again stronger.

More on that in this video:

Check out this full-length video explaining exactly how to write a CV here:

Alternatively, you can download free instructions and a CV template here:

Understanding the territory. We recommend you read these 2 pages first

• UK’s Biggest Tier 2 Sponsors
• Companies Sponsoring International Students

More on that in this video:

Finally if you want a jumbo 9 part video guide you can watch that here:

Yes , we do!

Actually, we made a long video where we cover do’s and don’ts using live examples from HSBC, Amazon and BDO.

In this video:

As soon as you can. Arrive in the UK. Unpack. Start applying.

More on that in this video:

We find roles, but we do not have a pre-existing relationship with any employers.

Our current average completion rate is 162 days, but the service lasts 365 days in most cases. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

Our Terms and  Conditions are standard, if a client pays the full fee up front then they have 30 days to claim their money back, less a 5% administration fee. If a client pays a 50% deposit upfront there is no refund period outside of the standard 14 day cooling off period for online goods and services. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case. We do ask for a minimum of 50% fee upfront. We are unable to accept payment plans.

Yes. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

No

A job from your nominated industry preference which can sponsor you for a Tier 2/ Skilled Worker Visa.

365 days in most cases.

In most cases yes. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

No. We do have candidates join us from abroad prior to them coming to the UK.

We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

Yes. University rankings are largely irrelevant in our experience.

Yes. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case. We do ask candidates have a minimum of 6 months on their Tier 4 Visa.

Mike will coach you himself and provide you tasks to complete by yourself

Yes. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

A wide variety. Well over 200 at last count, depending on your chosen industry. We are constantly initiating coverage on new companies based upon opportunities which we check daily.

That depends on the amount of time needed to get that result. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

Yes. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

Yes. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

That depends. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

Possibly. Our experience is that the narrower the focus the harder it can be. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

Primarily we concentrate on Professional Services, Finance, Banking and Technology, but we have a wide range of experience. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

Probably Not. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

Possibly. We have had successes in Engineering, but it depends on the role and targets. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.

That depends, in these cases we would recommend you book an hour with us, or you can watch our free content on YouTube or Skillshare. We advise you contact us so we can look at your specific case.