Need info on UK job application process - please help

[andy2007]

Hi All,

I have EC and plannign to move to UK in feb.
I would like to know few things as I decide on what course to take.

What is the procedure followed by UK companies when selecting candidates for vacancies?
I hear it is diferrent compared to India and US. And they are particular about softskills. Generally how many rounds do they hav. Do they have written tests as well?

I have 5 years of IT experience , all in India and have MSc-Computer Science. What other things do the UK companies take into consideration before they hand over the appointment letter to you.

People who have successfully got UK job , kindly please share your experiences.

Screening process related information will be useful. Like first we send CV, call recruiters and they fix interviews. How they take it forward next?

Sorry the question may be too silly. I am just working out a plan to switch jobs from India to UK and I have never been out of India before.

Thanks in advance,
Andy

[HSMPinit]

adding to what andy has asked...

It will also be greatful if someone can tell us how actually the recruitment process happens in case of Contract and Permanent jobs when applied through job sites

Thanks...

[dps]

me to awaiting to see reply to above questions....

it may be very common yet very useful to us who are flying to UK and looking forward to have a good job...

please reply asap..

thanks
DPS

[kmehta]

better if experienced ppl share it, as we all r going to fly within 3-4 months and start searching job right from EC issued.

[venkatesh.balakumar]

For all of your information folks, I had been to UK on work permit once before..and let me tell you what i know..Those people ,even though they are very much interested in your CV ,They are not like the US based clients we face in our software life daily..These people love to see you first,interact with you and find out how they can get to gether with you before thinking to give you a permanent job..While contract job is easier to get,permanent job is always in demand ..It is very much advisable that you start applying for jobs after you have planned your definitive date of travel in your hand ..So that they may fix up face to face interviews,though initial skype/phone interviews are not uncommon..They need you to be there and how much they interview you depends on the company and the skills and experience you hold..Hope this helps

[ashishashah]

Remember, UK operates very much differently then India and US..And ppl. in India know abt. US trends as they normally work for US clients (most of them)...IN UK employers look at soft skills /communication etc beside then technical skills..Also how u present your self etc..While in US they r just intrested that u can do the job or not..But in UK you also need to show that you will get along with them in office/get used to office culture..There will be very subtle hints,nothing will be mentioned but you need to take all this things in account as well..
So please remove your perception abt. Indian/US companies while coming to UK...e.g After an interview you will think that it went off well and u shd. get that job, but that might be your perception..They not only look at technical skills..And this is very true for Permanent jobs...For contracting you MIGHT get away with soft skills ,but for permanent ,you will have 3-4 rounds of interview where your soft skills will be accessed.
This is my exp after working in all 3 countries and after i have interacted with friends/collegues and clients

[drjabberwocky23]

I think ashish makes some very good points. I don't work in the same field as some of you guys, but employers here do look at your communication and personal skills as well as your ability to do the job. To a certain extent, the interview process can also be a little bit more formal, e.g. panel based interviews, etc.

[rahul_stb]

I like to share my experience of getting a job here - I have six years of experience in embedded software. Given around 4/5 face to face interviews here in u.k.

There will be a telephonic interview before face to face most probabily so you can give telephonic from india as well. Only thing you need to provide them with your expected arrival in uk.

There are no special difference that I have found other than here you will be interviewed by a technical guy/s rather than by so called project leader or manager in India :-)

95 % times I have been asked genuine technical question, Since they are require only a software engineer. (from basic c language test to design)

Be clear about this : - you are here to develop software, even if you have 15 years of experience, not talking about exceptional individuals here :)

Don't tell them you are leading a team of five engineers or more :) it won't do any good here :(

Communication skills should not be seen as another skill set you should have in resume, It should be a part of personality anyway. To me, if you able to understand what they are asking and you are able to explain them what you wants to say that should be enough to get a job.

But, there is life outside your job as well, So it is good to have good english in all cases. This is exactly why there will be a telephonic before face to face.

Best of Luck.

[ashishashah]

Perfect..You wont be leading any team here..Even if u r a Team lead/PM in India, you will 99% be a developer (unless u have 10-15 years of genuine exp)...So be ready to get your hand dirty....Interview will be technical as mentioned,followed by HR

[andy2007]

Thanks guys

This feedback is as good as it gets

Experienced guys , Please do continue sharing your thoughts...

[gotcha]

Refer http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... ht=#137757 for my experience.

And, again I will like to agree Rahul that, you should have done technical work rather than simply 'leading' and 'managing' team. Which is very bad trend in India.

I saw many people don't want to see technical things, after two years in industry. For them, it's going to be very difficult in this market.

About my background, I'm having 5 years experience in C++/MFC/COM. And worked exclusively on windows platforms. I never lead a team and managed it. But, I strongly involved in technical mentoring and trouble shooting in my area of expertise.

And don't show too many things as skills. Because, it's practically diffucult to have expertise in so many things in short duration of time. 5 years is short duration mind you.

And don't worry about English. Only thing as Rahul mentioned, be clear about what you are saying and listen carefully.You doesn't need to have convent accent. I have done my schooling in my native language and done graduation(BE) from small town. So I'm not great at English.

In one interview, I'd to make presentation in front of 4-5 people, ranging from director to developer. So remember one thing, try to have a laptop with you.I find them very supportive, they adjust with your accent, try to speak slowly , so that we can understand them. They made me comfortable. Though I didn't get their offer, but I didn't feel embarrassed.

In another interview, interviewer there had given assignment to complete in my area of expertise( a laptop needed again)(l doubt if leader of manager in India would complete such thing).

One thing I find very appealing here is , people are very professional here. Interviewer will not try to prove that, he/she is intellegent than us. Which I find in lot of interviews in India. In fact, I've very bad succes ratio in interviews in India.

So plan well.

All the best.

[ashishashah]

Yes,very true..I was in India working hands on for 11 years,I think that helped me a lot..While working in India i was told to lead a team but i refused..Infact people used to laugh at me that even after 11 years in IT i didnt become a 'manager' while ppl. having 2-3 years of exp. became project lead /team lead..Mind you ,hereyou need to know your stuff..If you know your stuff other things will take a back seat..Interviewer wont have ego problem and wont run you down even if u dont know some things(In India if u dont know some thing they will laugh at you and question your experience /autheticty)..So as long as u know your C/C++/VB/SQL (or what ever platform you work on) u r fine...

[UKbound]

I'm not sure how the market is in India.. But the UK is different from the US in the way that recruiters are used as well. In the US, recruiters often develop relationships with the candidates and with specific companies.. So I had several recruiters that would contact me regularly and keep in touch, while notifying me of new opportunities, etc..

In the UK, the recruiter industry is more transactional.. The job request can go to several recruiting companies in the UK, and you can be contacted multiple times for the same job. The first person that you speak to first is the one that will proceed on your behalf. It's kind of a race by the recruiters to see who can find the candidate first. There is less emphasis on relationships and more emphasis on getting as many cv's to the company in the fastest time possible. When I was job hunting, I had many situations where several recruiting companies contacted me for the same job.

This difference can be a good or bad thing. It means that you don't have someone constantly looking for a job for you, and letting you know of new opportunities. It also means that if something close to your background comes up new, you could be more likely to find out because so many recruiters are searching for candidates.

Also, it was quite hard for me to find a job at the same level as before. This was mentioend earlier in the post. I was speaking to our CFO (who is now my mentor), he's a Brit and his view was that one of the things different about the UK market is that they will generally try to hire someone that has done the exact same job somewhere else for many years, instead of someone that has the skills to do the job, but can also bring about positive changes or a new perspective to help them to improve.

In the US, it is about skills and experience as well, but more companies will look for basic skills from a similar role (even if it's in a different industry), believing this person can help them improve because they will ask why things get done and identify ways to change for the better based on what they've seen in other industries. In the UK, most companies will instead look for someone that has exact experience doing the same job somewhere else, and won't ask why but will just be able to do the job.

Obviously there are exceptions.. but I think that's why generally HSMP end up taking a long time to find a job, or we end up taking a step back initially..

[apply4hsmp]

Best is to be around london to get a break when u come from outside UK, then move from strength to strength. Remeber London is very costly, compared to other cities, primarily for housing but is a big hub of jobs and easy to get a job, but salaries are also better than other cities.

Also lots of good companies are outside london, in places like manchester, glasgow etc. but few and far and is difficult to break into them.

I personally prefer a non london job having worked in big cities in India for many years now...though london has its own charm, I must admit.

Unless you are an expert in what u do and have a market for that skill, dont go for contract jobs in beginning. In contract it is difficult to show proper salary slips and short duration of jobs will land you nowhere.

[gorajim]

Hiya,

As an aside, if one is interested and has the time, I would suggest reading the book "Watching the English" by Kate Fox. It is an interesting book and provides a good insight into English behaviour.

Cheers.

[kmehta]

Experience shared here is indeed of great help. My question is that I am not from IT field but from telecom hardware and networking side. Are there any consultant/job opportunities in this field? I have seen that IT guys have more offers and scope than any other field. So please help me in that question.