How to find an IT job with Visa Sponsorship in the UK
This article will give you an idea of how to find a visa sponsored IT job in the UK. Please note that this mainly targets finding a Software Engineer or related jobs. And this is based on my experience, so your journey could differ. Feel free to comment if you have anything to add to this. I will break this journey into a few steps. Even though I have ordered them, there’s no “rule” to follow them in the given order. Plan your journey and use this article as a resource to help you build it up.
Step 1 : Build Up Skills
Getting a visa sponsorship job is a challenge and a competition. Lots of highly talented and motivated people from all over the world are competing for these jobs. To make yourself highlighted from other candidates, you must have some skills listed on your profile.
This will start from a formal education qualification like a BSc or MSc. Usually, a BSc degree in the relevant field is more than enough, but an MSc is a plus point.
Other certifications like AWS and Kubernetes will put you at the top. These won’t just fill up your CV but also will come in handy when you’re facing interviews because studying for them will give you a good knowledge of those systems and, in general, about software development and dev ops best practices.
And if you’re passionate about writing a blog, doing a YouTube channel, contributing to open-source projects and forums such as StackOverflow will be massive plus points. But don’t do them because everyone else is doing them, do them only if you love to do them. I have met great software engineers who don’t have any of these, but they don’t have any trouble finding a good job.
Step 2 : Create a CV
CV is the document that will give the first impression of you to the recruiters. It must be brief and organised. Since almost all companies use software to read CVs, your CV has to be well organised. That doesn’t mean you must spend money on a professional person or software to create your CV. Just using a well-designed free template will do the trick. And regarding templates, although many people say to use a “UK CV template”, I don’t think it’s essential. If your CV is well structured, that would be enough. I encourage you to have a shorter CV (around 2 to 3 pages), but again it’s your choice. And make sure to keep your CV up to date and order the points in a section according to the most important or most recent one first. That may not affect the software, but when a recruiter reads it, it’s essential to give them an accurate picture of you.
Step 3 : Prepare for Interviews
This is a crucial step that most of us don’t spend much time on. It could be boring, but you must do this before applying for any job.
Cracking the Coding Interview is a highly recommended book for interview preparations. This book covers some theories and questions you will need in the interview.
HackerRank Interview Preparation Kit is very helpful in preparing for coding interviews. You might only have time to complete a few questions, but finishing at least a few questions in each section will be extremely valuable for the coding interview.
System design questions are also very common in these interviews. Refer to YouTube videos and articles about system design interviews and practice to design some of those systems yourself.
Step 4 : Search and Apply for Jobs
This is the most fun part of the process for most of us. Isn’t that to you? In searching for jobs, our question is where to find job postings. Following are some of the resources that I found effective. Please comment if you know more resources so the others can use them.
Companyjobs search engine — This is a search engine to find UK jobs with visa sponsorships. A recommended place to start your job search.
Indeed UK — Indeed is one of the most popular job posting websites in the UK. However, most of the jobs here do not provide a visa sponsorship. Therefore, when searching, using terms like “Software Engineer visa sponsorship” will help you filter the jobs with visa sponsorship.
Your Knowledge Buddy YouTube channel — This YouTube channel posts updates about companies providing visa sponsorships these days. And it has much valuable content about finding a visa sponsorship job (not just in the UK). I highly recommend watching videos on this channel.
Apart from these, most common job listing websites such as LinkedIn and Glassdoor will also help. Remember, don’t apply if the job description doesn’t say that the company provides visa sponsorship for this position. If it doesn’t say, there’s a high chance they are looking for candidates with the right to work in the UK.
Step 5 : Improve and Re-Apply
I highly discourage applying to a high number of jobs at once. I recommend applying for two or three jobs at once. Then, maintain a spreadsheet of the jobs you applied for and the application status. If you get a rejection email, don’t worry. That is a learning opportunity. You may have reached the wrong job (which doesn’t match your profile or visa status). Or you have a problem with your CV. If you feel like it’s the CV, then update it before applying to any other job.
If you get an interview, excellent, prepare for it again. Most probably you’ll get the first interview with a recruiter. At this point, research a bit about the company. And prepare answers to common recruiter questions. Questions like “Why do you like to work with us?”. You may get a rejection email after the first interview. Don’t worry; and this is another learning opportunity. This time, it should be either your answers to the recruiters’ questions or something like the first impression. Try to improve in those areas. And keep applying for jobs. Just remember, be slow and improve yourself.
And a final note about job search. There are many scams in this area. If it’s a genuine job posting, they won’t ask you to pay any money at any stage of the application process. Not even to provide the COS (Certificate of Sponsorship). If they ask for money, there’s an extremely high chance it’s a scam.
Step 6: Book Your Tickets
If your hard work has finally paid off and you secured a visa sponsorship job in the UK, the next step is to move to the UK. The most exciting part 😃. The visa application process changes from time to time. Therefore, I’m not going to discuss that in this article. But most of the companies will help you with the visa process. Most companies will reimburse you all the money you have to spend on the relocation process, and most will provide you with air tickets, accommodation for the first month and a relocation allowance.
I hope this article will help you in your job hunting. Please leave a comment if you have anything else to add.