International Students Guide to Work

Transcription

1 International Students Guide to Work

2 What we can do for you The Careers and Employability Centre gives advice to students and people who have graduated within the last three years. We can help with: job applications and interviews thinking about what you want to do after university we also advertise jobs on our website We cannot place you into a job. You will need to apply for each role yourself. Over the year, we run a range of events to help you meet employers, develop your skills and answer your questions about working in the UK and in other countries. You can find more information on our website Our information for international students is at

3 Your right to work in the UK To work in the UK you will need a National Insurance Number for tax reasons. You can get it by calling the Job Centre Plus on National Insurance Numbers are free and can take around three weeks to arrive. More information on tax: Under UK law there is a minimum wage of 6.70 an hour if you are over 21, and 5.30 if you are aged 18 to 20. We suggest that full time undergraduates do not work more than 15 hours a week in term time. If you are from the European Economic Area (EEA) then you can work in the UK without any restrictions. Most international students from outside of the EEA are on Tier 4 Visas. There are some limits on how many hours you can work on this Visa: undergraduate students can work up to 20 hours a week during term time and full time during vacations postgraduate students cannot work more than 20 hours a week during their studies you are not allowed to be self-employed or freelance you are not allowed to be employed as a doctor in training (other than a vacancy on a recognised Foundation Programme), a professional sports person (including a sports coach), as an entertainer or fill a permanent full time role. There is more information about your right to work during your studies at: Careers and Employability Centre staff can help you understand your passport stamps if your right to work is unclear to you, but we cannot give immigration advice. For more help immigration@sussex.ac.uk

4 Finding Part Time Work Many employers advertise jobs for students on our jobs database, which can be found at You also can sign up to get updates by . Other useful job sites are listed at Volunteering Volunteering can be a good way to get work experience, participate in the community, and practice English in a work setting. The Students Union volunteering page advertises voluntary work in the Students Union and in Brighton & Hove. Local volunteering with Community Base or visit them on Queens Road, Brighton. Opportunities in the UK on Do-it Paid placements abroad with VSO You can find more links on our website

5 After Your Studies: Your right to work in the UK To work in the UK after your studies you will need a new Visa. The most common Visa for graduates is the Tier 2 General Visa: Employers wishing to recruit graduates from outside the EEA have to be licensed as a Visa sponsor. You can find the list of organisations licensed as sponsors at: You can contact immigration@sussex.ac.uk with questions about Visa and immigration. For more information look at our leaflet International Students Guide to Visas and Immigration Applying for Work Most UK employers list the abilities, skills and personal qualities required for the role in their job advertisements. Your job application needs to match your skills and experience with what the employer is looking for. Our advice on making good applications is at List your qualifications and grades briefly but provide context where needed. You can find information about what your qualifications are worth in the UK at You can provide context on qualifications in the following ways: if full marks were out of 100, list your grades as a percentage if the scale was 1-5 & you gained the top grade, list that as Achieved top grade 1 on scale of 1-5.

6 Useful terms Some common terms you might hear while looking for work in the UK: Graduate schemes Paid training schemes offered in larger organisations. Some schemes may also include Visa sponsorships or professional qualifications. It is important to start applying early. Internships These are short work experience opportunities offered by companies to students. They usually include work and training, and should be paid. Many internships are offered in the summer to students in their final year or in the year before. Larger companies sometimes offer shorter internships for first years. These are sometimes called spring internships or insight weeks. They are often advertised early in the academic year. Placements A placement is a paid year long period of work experience done in a company. Undergraduates can take a year out during their studies to do these. To find out if you can do a placement, talk to your School. Other work There are a wide range of entry level jobs available to graduates. Before applying for permanent work, try to make sure that you will be able to get a Visa with the job.

7 Global Jobseeking There are a number of routes into jobs abroad: international organisations sometimes recruit people to their headquarters, train them, then give them an opportunity to work in a different country big, multinational organisations often have separate graduate schemes for different parts of the world there are specialist websites for international vacancies and the main graduate recruitment websites have sections for global jobs. See for examples It is important to note that there may be differences in local recruitment policies and customs such as CV formats, the use of covering letters and in the interview process. Going Global is a website that provides information about working in other countries, including tips on applying for jobs, and information on immigration rules

8 Dilanka Tyrer Founder & CEO ucompareplans.com As an international student, it was really important to get an objective view of the UK labour market and the strategies I would need to find work after graduation. I used the Careers and Employability Centre (CEC) from day one at Sussex including attending employer seminars and speaking with advisors. I received a lot of valuable advice about writing my CV and cover letters, with specific directions regarding the skills British employers look for when recruiting graduates. I actually got my first opportunity to gain work-experience for a start-up through CEC, where I developed a GPS based Telecom product. I am currently the Founder & CEO of ucompareplans, an online cell phones plans comparison website, which assists users in finding the best options available and enables them to interact with service providers in real-time to make informed purchasing decisions. I hope to empower consumers by giving them a voice and saving them precious time and money. CEC helped me hone my talents, improve my career prospects and, most importantly, discover my true passion entrepreneurship! Upon completing studies I returned to Canada and worked as a Business Consultant at Contax Inc, an information-management consultancy. At the same time, a group of young professionals and I started a non-profit organization called Mentor Partnership Inc. As its Executive Director, I set a clear vision to make a difference in the lives of high school students in the inner-city communities of Toronto. I led the organization to become a recognized charity within Canada. Later, I joined Wind Mobile as the Manager of Customer Operations to help launch the business into the Canadian market. I love the freedom to express myself and be creative while helping others. I can confidently say that my experiences at Sussex, especially the advice I received at the Careers and Employability Centre, enabled me to follow my dream!

9 Yan Shao Europe Purchasing Coordinator Cong Tian New Technology Ltd. I chose to study Product Design at Sussex because I was interested in engineering design and wanted to develop the technical knowledge that would one day enable me to start up my own manufacturing and trading company. I developed strong technical knowledge and creative thinking skills on the degree as well as the business and marketing skills to focus on customer requirements on every project. My studies helped me to appreciate the importance of team working and effective communication. I spent a year on an industrial placement at RKS Laboratory in Sussex redesigning a project for clients in the aerospace industry. This work experience was very valuable especially the opportunity to make presentations. During my studies I undertook independent consultancy projects at various locations in the UK to implement LEAN manufacturing strategy improvements and used a variety of skills developed through my education: planning, interviewing, collecting and analysing data and giving presentations. After graduating from Sussex I successfully studied at the University of Cambridge for a Master s degree in Design, Manufacturing and Management. I would not have had this opportunity without studying first at Sussex. I am now working as the Europe Purchasing Co-ordinator for Chong Tian New Technology Ltd in China.

10 Further Resources Resources at the Careers and Employability Centre Our International Students website contains more information about working as an international student The International Students Guide to Visas and Immigration hand-out has more information about UK visas The Looking for Part Time Work booklet has more information about where to find jobs while you study Find out about our news and our programme of events at You can find more help and advice from International Student Support at You can book appointments online using our CareerHub system at careehub.sussex.ac.uk if you have difficulty accessing this system you can get help by calling us at