Experiencing the UK Graduate route: Taiwan, master’s degree

The Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), a member of UKCISA’s International Student Employability Group (ISEG), has captured the experiences of international graduates seeking employment in the UK after graduation in a series of case studies.

Who are you?

Where do you work?

Thoughts on your visa

I didn’t have very clear expectations when applying. In terms of processing time, the application is quite fast and efficient, which is amazing. Some people might think it would be easier to get a job with this visa. I'm not sure about this as I was using my Tier 4 student visa most of time when finding a job. But overall, the visa helped me a lot during the hiring and onboarding process.

“Overall, the visa helped me a lot during the hiring and onboarding process.”

The application requires you to answer many questions, mostly personal details related to your nationality, your course in the UK, travel history, addresses etc. They were not hard to answer. The only difficult thing during the application was using a phone to scan the chip inside the old biometric residence permit (BRP). Lots of iPhone users found it difficult to scan and make the phone read the information inside the chip, so we had to borrow Android phones from friends to complete this process. There was no need to book an in-person appointment to complete my ID check.

The cost is a little bit high (almost £2000), but I think this is for 2 years and it is very flexible in terms of finding a job (compared to Tier 2 working visa which has several criteria to meet), so I would say it is worth it.

It took around 10 days to get the decision letter after completing the application online, and around 2-3 days to get the new BRP after receiving the decision letter. So it's about 13 working days in total, which I think is acceptable and efficient. However, the time spent on waiting for the result really depends, since some people get the letter within a few days but for some it might take more than a month.

Support and development

While at university, I had a one-to-one appointment with a careers adviser, received CV feedback, practised recruitment activities, such as interviews and assessment centres and attended a careers fair.

Since university, I first tried to apply for data-related jobs, so did some online training and courses such as Excel and SQL, but then I changed my mind and started applying for positions in the language service industry. I realised the most important thing to be a translator is to gain lots of experience, so I started finding some freelance jobs or volunteering tasks in this field. Before I started my current position, I also did some project management and communication courses for preparation, as my current position requires these skills.

Employer knowledge and attitudes

As I applied for my visa quite late, I couldn't have a full picture of many employers' understanding and knowledge of post-study work visas. I think my current company know it well, as everything went smoothly when checking my right to work in the UK and all my documents. There was no confusion or doubt from the company.

I think many companies would prefer someone who doesn't require a visa to work in the UK. There's a frequently asked question like ‘Do you require a visa to work in the UK?’, and it might be one of the reasons for employers to decline my previous applications (but there might be other reasons for sure).

Some companies would be concerned about whether they should recruit someone with a Tier 4 student visa if the expiration date is close, even when they are eligible to work full time. I had the experience of a company contacting me for further discussion, but later on they didn't move on due to the expiration date of my visa and request for a new visa to work. That's very understandable as they have to ensure how long the graduate could contribute to the company and confirm whether additional processes are required (e.g. visa sponsorship).

However, some companies do consider recruiting international graduates who require a visa and they are interested in knowing more about us first. A few companies invited me to assessments/interviews and also went through many stages when I was still using my student visa.

What advice would you give to current international students seeking graduate employment in the UK?

“Prepare for your job search while still at university.”

First of all, start preparing for your job search as soon as possible when you arrive in the UK. Support and useful resources will be relatively easy to access when you are still in the university. From my personal experience, it is a struggle to do preparation and search for jobs simultaneously when you start living on your own outside the university, especially in places like London. Finding your dream job can be very time-consuming and you might spend ages browsing through every job website. It is better to finish all the preparation such as building a CV/cover letter/creating a LinkedIn profile and developing the skills required in your industry early, when you are still in the university. But don't worry if you don't manage to finish the preparation before leaving, as you can still find the support from the university's career centre or even some relevant seminars online.

“Expand your network.”

The other advice I would offer is expand your network. It was not until I started searching for jobs in the UK that I realised the importance of connecting to people working in the industry that you're interested in. Aside from employers' concern about visas, sometimes it would be difficult for international graduates to find their first job in the UK as we might not be able to capture all the opportunities and job information on many different websites/career exhibitions/webinars.

Having a friend already working in the industry is very helpful as they have access to the first-hand recruiting information. For example, I learned the recruiting information of my current position from someone I knew. Without him, I wouldn't have known this valuable information and would have probably missed this chance. In addition to sharing information, your network can also refer or introduce you to companies and prove your skill set and experience to the employer. As a result, it is definitely a very good idea to make more friends or talk to more people in the industry during your job searching journey.