For the previous posts in this series, please see So You Want to Live and Work in the UK: The Visa and So You Want to Live and Work in the UK: Circular Finances.

If you’re not a student, one of the fundamental problems as you’re considering your move to London is finding work. When I was mulling over this problem, I saw a few different paths forward. Essentially, you may be able to apply for an Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer Visa with your current company, apply for work from abroad and secure sponsorship through the Tier 2 General Visa, or look for work locally once you’re here on the Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa. Each of these options has its own benefits and downsides; I am going to focus on finding work on the Tier 5 visa in this post.

If you’ve successfully been approved for the Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa, you’ll be able to look for work / start working as soon as your visa is valid. My visa was activated on 3 September 2014, so I landed here that day and immediately started my job hunt. However, I’d recommend that you also do some preparation work beforehand to make this process as easy as possible as it certainly expedited my job search to maximise the amount of time on my visa.

1. Prepare your CV
   
   Part of the localisation process is getting into the lingo, spelling, and terminology. Prior to my arrival in the UK, I researched and spoke with people who had been through the process to ensure that my curriculum vitae (CV) – or resume as it is known in North America – was in a locally accepted format. I ensured that my spelling was converted from North American English to UK English (e.g. specialized to specialised), highlighted my language skills (being bilingual / multilingual is an advantage here), and used my family / friend’s local mailing address on the CV to give the illusion that I was already locally settled. I also put “Authorised to Work in the United Kingdom” near my namesake, as right to work will be a common question that comes up as you look for work. I also changed my LinkedIn link from ca to uk.
2. Research Jobs and Agencies
   
   A couple of things to note on the local job market, at least in London: the market moves quickly and it is a recruiter-driven market. On the first point, vacancies come in and are filled in a matter of days, which I found quite different from the lethargic pace of the job market back in Toronto when I was interviewing for some managerial roles. As such, it’s not worth applying to jobs weeks in advance of your move to the UK as the vacancy will be filled before you get there, unless your application was facilitated through your network. On the second point, my advice is to focus in and research the types of roles for which you’re seeking on the popular job search sites (reed.co.uk, fish4jobs.co.uk, indeed, monster, The Guardian) and then document which agencies tend to have the types of roles that you’re seeking (the logo/contact information for the agency will become apparent in the job posting). Identifying the agencies of interest to you early on will make your recruitment targeting much easier.A note on salaries: It was difficult for me to gauge my market value initially, as I wasn’t entirely sure how my worth converted over from the North American market to the UK. Ultimately, I’m nominally earning the same as I would expect to earn in Canada, but my buying power is significantly weakened here due to the cost of living – this seems to be generally the right range that you should expect, but could vary based on industry / niche due to supply and demand. I would recommend speaking with your recruiters to get a sense of what level you’d come in at given your experience (they’re incentivised to get you working in your highest possible bracket given that their agency fees are likely tied to your compensation). You might also be able to speak with people in the industry / university alumni working locally – I asked an ex-colleague at my level working locally to see what kinds of roles and offers he’d been getting from headhunters enticing him to leave. Finally, you can always give the local Glassdoor a try.
3. Call the Agencies
   
   The week I landed, I got a local UK number on a pay-as-you-go plan, and I started calling the agencies on my target list. I stated my 30-second headline upfront to describe a) my background / experience and b) what I was looking for in terms of roles (sometimes referencing previous job vacancies they had filled), and asked if they had any vacancies in the areas which I was looking. Usually, following this, they asked me to send my CV to either their personal e-mail or to the generic agency inbox but requested that I put their name in the subject line so that he / she could look out for it. I also asked for their name and number should I need to follow up on my CV, and called recruiters back if I hadn’t heard from them after 24 to 36 hours. I recommend the calling approach over simply blanket e-mailing your CV to agency accounts as calling someone at the agency makes them immediately accountable to you, and this guarantees that your CV will be reviewed.
4. Ace Your InterviewsWithin two weeks, I had four interviews lined up. Within 3.5 weeks, I had two job offers while interview interest continued to trickle in. I started work exactly one month after I had landed in London. When I said that the job market moves quickly, I meant it. Most of my friends here have had similar experiences, usually settling into their new positions within 4-6 weeks of landing in the country, though there likely is variance depending on your industry and level. Of course, don’t forget to do your due diligence on the target company and to prepare for your interview as you would back at home. I found the behavioural interviews to be quite similar to North American interviews. Additionally, I would recommend coming up with a tight narrative on why you left your last role, why you moved to the UK for work, and prepare a response for the time horizon that you intend on staying here as appropriate for the role / industry in which you’re seeking employment as these are likely topics of discussion over the course of your interviews.

I’ve attempted to condense my advice into the tips in this post, and I hope that you’ll find this information easily digestible and actionable. Feel free to leave any questions you may have or share your own experiences and tips in the comments below.