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Applying for jobs in the UK from overseas

18 replies

Bugis · 29/04/2015 16:18

My DH and I met in Singapore and have lived all over the eastern hemisphere together. He is British, I'm American, and our kids are dual nationals. About 18 months ago we moved to the US. Where immigration is giving him a very hard time. A couple months ago they forced him to 'voluntarily deport' himself, and he has not seen us at all during that time. It is very fortunate for our family that he is senior enough in a foreign company that this did not cause him to lose his job.

He would like to look for a job in the UK, but has absolutely no contacts there. He completed university in the US, and he has worked there as well as Asia and Australia. He happens to be at a very senior level in his field (technology).

We don't know what organisations exist there to point him in the right direction, or if there are executive recruiters who specialise in his area. We do not even know if applying from overseas would put him at a disadvantage compared to other candidates.

Can any of you point us in the right direction? It feels as if we are lost without a map.

OP posts:

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QuintShhhhhh · 29/04/2015 16:21

Having a linkedIn profile will help!

There are lots of specialist recruitment companies that places "technology people"

Will this suit your dh? www.cwjobs.co.uk/

ragged · 29/04/2015 16:28

Have you tried searching for UK recruiters in his specialist area?

Why UK... why not back to Singapore or that region, why can't he get something like green card equivalent in USA?

Yes he will be at a big disadvantage for applying for UK jobs. The employer has to show that the job was advertised EU wide and not that he was the best candidate but that no other EU candidate was even qualified. But don't despair, I got in under those conditions, I know someone else who did recently and we aren't even that techy.

ragged · 29/04/2015 16:31

I'll take that back a little... Are his skills on this list?

More info here.

Bilberry · 29/04/2015 16:34

No, Ragged, if he is British then he is on a level playing field with others in the UK/EU.

ragged · 29/04/2015 18:50

oops, my Bad. Sorry didn't read properly, oops oops oops.

LIZS · 29/04/2015 18:54

There are lots of specialist recruitment agencies, what is his line of work? LinkedIn would be worth joining.

LIZS · 29/04/2015 19:09

If he can access the professional magazines online they will carry ads for the relevant agencies.

Nolim · 29/04/2015 19:12

There are companies who consider expats just as good as eu ppl and there are recruiters who get those candidates.

Does hi have a degree in a stram field?

Nolim · 29/04/2015 19:13

Stem not stram.

tomatodizzymum · 29/04/2015 19:20

Can he not go to the US embassy and get a visa? The exact same thing happened to us, my husband is a highly qualified professional and I'm British (he's not) he had to voluntarily deport himself and reapply for his UK visa in his home country. It was sorted out very quickly.

AgentProvocateur · 29/04/2015 19:31

Would his salary be high enough for you to get into the UK, OP?

Bugis · 30/04/2015 00:55

Thank you all of you for replying.

He had an American green card for over twenty years, but was forced to give it up a few years ago by an immigration official when he should not have had to. Once he realised this he started fighting to get it reinstated, and their response was to take away both of his British passports (frequent travelers can have more than one), and refused to give them back when the British consulate asked for them. He had a valid visa to come in and out of the country in the meantime, but they cancelled it due to the fact that he is trying to get his permanent residence back and told him to apply for a different visa. He sent all his paperwork to the processing centre he was supposed to send it to, but they sent it back to his office in Australia and told him to send it to a different processing centre. In theory with the way the laws are written he should be able to get a visa to live and work here again, but they have not been acting reasonably. Exploring opportunities in the UK seems like a sensible thing to be doing right now.

His degree is in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Berkeley. He also earns enough for me to be able to get a visa to live in the UK.

What makes it tricky for us is that he is in senior management, which makes him less able to apply for advertised positions and a lot more dependent on contacts for introductions to executive recruiters in his area or possible job opportunities. With the work he has done in the past all of his contacts are in Silicon Valley, and Asian manufacturing. He doesn't have the right to live and work in the places he has contacts, and he doesn't have contacts in the places he can live and work.

OP posts:

Smidge001 · 30/04/2015 01:51

I really don't think the UK operates as much on a contacts/who you know type basis as other countries. I've lived and worked in Australia - where it is completely on a networking/which school you went to basis and I couldn't believe it. In the UK though I've never had such experiences, and worked in a senior role myself, and dealt a lot with other senior people so echo their approach too. They are more interested in which companies/industry experience and positions the person has worked in before, and are very open to overseas experience (assuming the CV includes some companies that are well known).

Definitely find an industry-specific recruitment agency/search engine (eg GAAPWeb for finance roles), rather than one of the generic websites that tend to do just more junior roles.

Look up the FTSE 250 and check out the websites of any firm that ties in with his industry. They will have a careers contact and he could call them up to discuss his experience, and if nothing else fish for info on which agencies they would go to when a vacancy at his level pops up.

Smidge001 · 30/04/2015 01:52

Oh my - sorry for the massive overuse of the word 'experience'

tomatodizzymum · 30/04/2015 14:00

Just out of interest is he in telecommunications? I only ask because my husband is/was, he too used to work a lot of contracts, which was one of the issues surrounding immigration. If he is, linked in is his best bet but also the US are crying out for engineers, DH had several in the US in the last 4 years. He could at get a job for now on an H1 visa, its that a possibility? I think you might also need an immigration lawyer. We've been through hell with UK immigration due to DH's contacts and work placements.

BananaramaLlama · 30/04/2015 14:05

If he has a lot of contacts around the worlds at least some of those must have UK contacts. If he really wants to move to UK to work, he should spend time working out who he knows who have those contacts and asking them for their advice on what he should do - he possibly only needs one good lead, so spending the time to find that would be worth it.

Nolim · 30/04/2015 14:05

Has the cap for h1-b visas been reached already? It usually fills up quickly.

QuintShhhhhh · 30/04/2015 18:30

Agree with Smidge here, the UK is not so contact focused as you describe. I have not really heard contacts being a route to finding work.

DH is also senior management in a technology field. No problems finding work, never relied on contacts. It is just a question of researching the job market a little, brush up the cv, and send it off to a few recruitment agencies.

It is easier if your dh is physically in Britain. If he is English, it is just a question of coming home and look for work.

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