How to find a job in England for a Russian, work in England

England is a fairly developed and conservative country. Just a few years ago, it was quite difficult to go to work in this state due to the excessive liberalism of the British towards their citizens. Today, the situation in England has changed a little; more and more often in the vastness of this country you can meet our compatriots working.

Evening view of the business center of London Despite the fact that almost all the cities of England are very economically developed, it is London that takes precedence. This city has earned such popularity due to the large number of employment vacancies provided to foreigners. The second aspect is the fact that both a highly qualified employee and a person without higher education will be able to find a job in London in 2021.

Popular vacancies

There are jobs that can suit almost anyone and don't require a college degree. The most popular and accessible of these vacancies:

Babysitter (nanny). Suitable for Russian girl students. This kind of employment allows you to study and earn money at the same time. Not as much as we would like, but still: the average salary in the UK is about 7 pounds per hour.
Guide (tour guide, guide). This job involves a lot of communication, so you need to be a good communicator. You need to be well versed in the city and its attractions, know historical facts about them, etc. In the capital of Great Britain, Russian-speaking guides are in demand, but the competition here is off the charts. First, to gain experience, get a job at a travel agency, and after that you can safely start your private practice. By gaining honor and increasing your reputation, you will establish yourself and be known among tourists. The average salary in London is from 7 pounds per hour.
Shop assistant (salesperson, sales floor manager) in clothing stores (Zara, H&M, Topshop and others). Stores prefer to have Russian staff on their staff to facilitate communication with tourists from the countries of the former USSR, who often visit the showrooms. The average and minimum wage in England is 7.5 pounds per hour.

How to find work in England

Before you start applying for a British visa, you should look for a potential employer. Finding suitable vacancies and work for Russians in England in 2021 is quite possible. Even work in London is always available for Russian-speaking citizens. Job offers are also coming from regions remote from the capital.

Job search is available on the following sites:

Recruiting agencies.
Specialized Internet resources (including Russian-language ones). Among them: https://www.gov.uk/jobsearch.
https://www.adzuna.co.uk/.
https://www.totaljobs.com/.
https://www.monster.co.uk/.
https://www.reed.co.uk/.

Websites for finding jobs in specific areas of activity. For example:

https://www.computerweekly.com/resources/IT-jobs-and-recruitment (for IT specialists). https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/ (for doctors).
https://www.nannyjob.co.uk/ (for nannies).
https://www.caterer.com/ (for hotel and restaurant workers).
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/ (for students).

Electronic pages of British enterprises.
Forums, social networks.
Online versions of printed publications where job offers are published.
Newspapers with vacancies.
Employment centers in British territory. In a socially oriented island state, such centers operate everywhere.

“Out of a hundred, two will answer and zero will invite.” How to find a job in the UK today

Alexander Shulyak is a DevOps engineer with 7 years of experience in IT. A year and a half ago he moved to the UK. We asked him about how to build a career in the UK, what specialists are valued on the British market, and what intricacies of British life a person from the CIS has to get used to.

— You first moved from Minsk to Riga. How did this happen?

A recruiter from Accenture wrote to me. He said that they had a DevOps position and offered to go for an interview. Interviews are generally a great practice for maintaining professional development and practicing technical skills - sometimes they can be much more difficult than the day-to-day job. So I agreed. I passed both interviews and received an offer. In principle, the decision to move to Latvia was rather adventurous - why not try?

— How was the interview?

The interview with the first technical specialist went something like this: a huge Excel spreadsheet with a bunch of technologies. They were listed, and I said what I had experience in. If there was one, we tried to go deeper and deeper so that the interviewer understood how well I understood the topic. I gave examples of what I did, and he asked a bunch of clarifying questions - technical or general, if they related to soft skills. Then my answers were collected, then I talked to the lead, it was more of a team-fit interview.

— How did the company help you move to Riga?

At that time - it was 2021, so I can’t say what is now offered - the company covered all the costs of moving: visa costs, costs for opening bank accounts, fuel costs - if you are traveling by car - or on a plane. Then I found a local realtor who helped me rent my first apartment.

The company also helped with visa issues. But their typical case was Russian citizenship and visas for a Russian passport. Therefore, I talked more with the Latvian Embassy in Minsk. He asked how and what to fill out and how to submit documents.

— Why did you move to the UK?

Riga is very similar to Minsk, only smaller and no friends. So why live in Riga if you can live in Minsk under better conditions?

I wanted to try something else, to see how things are going in the West. I started looking at different countries and ended up choosing the UK because I had developed my English quite well during my time at Accenture. And in principle, it’s easier to live in a country where you understand all everyday issues.

— Is it easier to deal with everyday issues in the UK than in Riga?

Firstly, the language in Riga is Latvian, and if any documentation is needed, this can become a problem. There are translations, civil servants speak Russian and can help you, but still this is a stop. Plus, Latvia is less suitable for an immigrant, because here you have to wait five years to receive a residence permit and ten years to receive a passport. While in the UK it’s five years before a residence permit and six years before a passport. That is, almost instantly after obtaining a residence permit, you can receive a passport. For a migrant, this makes more sense.

— How was your job search in the UK?

Finding a job in the UK is significantly different from finding a job in the CIS. Firstly, here you are looking for a job, because the competition is high - and not the job is looking for you.

The first thing to do is fill out your LinkedIn profile, open yourself up to recruiters and set your region to “UK”. Then you start going to specialized sites like Indeed, Glassdoor or LinkedIn Jobs, look for companies in the UK with positions that interest you, and start sending out your resume. The conversion is something like this: for every hundred responses sent, ten [employers] will respond and, at best, one will invite you for an interview. This is a pretty good conversion. Most likely, out of a hundred, two will answer and zero will be invited.

We need to send out a fan and a lot. First, they have standard resume filters. That is, if your resume does not contain keywords, it can be dropped before a person looks at it. Perhaps you suit them, but so, on the primary filters you can very easily slip off.

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Then, after your resume has been accepted, they will most likely call you. In Britain there is always a phone call. Any service or support is a phone call, not a letter or chat message. In the same way, the recruiter will call you - perhaps a month and a half after the response - and ask if you are still interested, if you are ready to apply, what experience you have. It is advisable to remember which company you applied for.

Communication can be of disgusting quality, so you need to be prepared to understand British speech, which has its own accent, difficult to understand, unlike the American one. And, God forbid, an Irishman calls you. Most likely, you won't understand anything. Literally. For example, the CEO of my company is Irish, and the British do not understand him.

After the first phone call, there are two options: either they send you a test task - you can take it or refuse it - or they call you for a technical interview. If after that everything is ok, then there is an interview with the hiring manager. Here they often check whether you are suitable for the soft skills of the company, what your views on life are, whether you are a toxic person and whether you can suddenly send someone somewhere.

A technical interview is a little different from ours, especially in DevOps. In our country, DevOps is usually a Swiss knife man who does everything at once and, to some extent, knows all the technologies. And he starts mentioning them at all interviews. The further west you go, the more people believe in narrow specialization. If you are a cloud specialist, then be so kind as to highlight the specific cloud in which you feel best.

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During the interview process, you build your own core stack, which you know best. And when they ask what technologies you have worked with, it is best to voice it. Because if they suddenly ask some deep technical questions, it will be easier to answer. If you list everything you’ve worked with, they might ask you an in-depth question about a tool that you configured once and helped maintain for a month or two.

Also [in the UK] there is no need to be embarrassed if the tech stack does not suit the company. You can calmly refuse, and that's okay. I once had an interview with an outsourcing company, and their entire stack was Microsoft. Despite the fact that I passed the technical interview, I realized that this was not for me: I don’t know this stack and it would be uncomfortable for me to relearn a bunch of things. I just refused because that's not it.

Look for your technology stack - it will be easier to work. There is no need to overpower yourself and learn something you don’t know at all.

— How many resumes have you sent out?

I sent out a lot of requests, probably more than two hundred. But I found my current company in the first two days of the search. Then it was just a matter of applying for a visa, during which I was looking for some kind of backup.

— What do you think was enough for you, but not enough for other applicants, to get this position?

I don’t want to praise myself) This applies not only to the UK: now, when people just enter IT and study or work until, for example, middle, they rarely understand anything beyond their tools. Simply put, a person knows how to run some scripts on Linux, run Jnux, but does not understand at all how everything works under the hood. I always go deep into the water and see how the systems work.

The more cases you collect: with real problems or when you delved deeply into systems, the easier it is to pass the interview. Because even if you don’t know how [the system] works, based on your experience, you can guess how to detect the problem. This is often missing from interviewees.

— What else can give you an advantage when interviewing for a foreign company?

English language. If you work somewhere outside the CIS, then it is vital. And at a pretty good level. Because all communication takes place, at best, in writing, and at worst, orally. And everything needs to be understood. And if more than two native speakers speak at the same time, it is very difficult to understand something. I’ve been here for 1.5 years now, I’ve adapted normally and, in principle, I understand any British speech. There are still problems though.

Soft skills are also highly valued here: communication skills, the ability to calmly solve problems and conflicts. A specific example that is asked in an interview: you have an opinion on which technology needs to be changed, and someone contradicts you, saying that another one needs to be changed. How to resolve this conflict? One option: you listen to your opponent and express your opinion with reason. If a person does not agree, and you consider yourself right, then: if this is your authority, then take responsibility, if someone else decides, then both, without arguing, give him reasoned opinions. There is no point in leading to personal conflict. What's the point?

You also need to be able to admit your mistakes or lack of experience. Someone is working with a different technology and has more experience than you. And either you will study the topic in order to defend your point of view, or you will have to agree.

You need to prepare for a specific interview with a specific company, because they vary greatly. But there are always questions about soft skills. Give an example of when you screwed up, how you presented it to the client, how you resolved this situation, what you did, in what order, how you could have improved the situation - there can be a lot of such questions. Or maybe not - it all depends on the company. If they hire a technical specialist, then there will be fewer questions; if they hire someone who will communicate with the company’s clients, there can be a lot of questions. When the work is related to consulting and you have to present some solutions, you will answer questions about soft skills and management rather than technical ones.

— In your opinion, who is more in demand in the UK?

I don’t know the statistics, but, in my opinion, there is always a shortage of good specialists. And if you are a good middle manager and know how to sell yourself, then you will find a job here. But if you are a senior and you don’t know how to sell yourself, then most likely you won’t find a job, because in addition to good technical knowledge, you need soft skills and the ability to sell yourself.

- What if I’m a junior?

Most likely, it’s impossible [to move] because the salary won’t work. The visa requirements include a minimum salary. As a June, you can get an internship at a FAANG company: Facebook, Google, Amazon, and so on - but you need serious preparation for the interview. Only such companies will transport Junes, because it is expensive. Rather, they are looking for middles here.

— What has the British company done for you as a foreign employee??

The company fully paid for the visa costs, rented housing for the first five weeks, and thus gave me time to find something to rent. But time is needed here. Plus, I paid for air tickets and, since the company and employees here are very friendly, they helped with all everyday issues.

Plus, the company helped with opening a bank account. There is a vicious circle here: to open a bank account, you need proof of address, that is, confirmation of the address where you live. And in order to rent a house and get a proof of address, you need a bank account to pay the housing fee.

In fact, depending on the bank and its rules, there may be a way out. In my case, the company sent a letter on a stamped paper: “So and so lives at such and such an address, and we, the company of such and such, subscribe to this.” I brought this form, and the bank opened an account for me based on this document with a temporary address. This way I was able to pay the rent. And then I got a proof of address.

— What was unusual for you about your work at first?

There is a work-life balance here: everyone works from nine to five with a lunch break. After five in the first week they kicked me out of the office so that I wouldn’t overwork a single minute. The company's charter even states that in the first week you must leave the office at five o'clock sharp. Like: “don’t overwork, enjoy life, see the city.”

Processes are also slower here. In the CIS, development is fast, perhaps even with some mistakes that are easier to fix later, but to roll out the finished product as early as possible. Here everything is additionally planned, planned and planned. This is a little annoying because I can come up with an idea that makes sense and fits a specific moment, and we will implement it in a year and a half.

All communication is in English, and this can be a problem in the first two or three or four weeks because you are adapting to British speech.

The main difference here comes at the job search stage. Plus, the hiring process itself is very slow here and if, as some recruiters recommend, you only apply to one company at a time, then you can look for a job for ten years. Because the company can respond in a month and a half. They have such a process here - they are not in a hurry. They responded, scheduled an interview three weeks later, you didn’t get through, two weeks later they refused - it’s easier to apply as a fan. And faster.

— What helped or is helping you adapt to life in the UK? And how comfortable is it for a person from the CIS?

It’s hard to say, because now everything is closed here due to the coronavirus. And you don’t really get a sense of Britain. You just sit at home and ask in English to pour you some coffee at a takeaway coffee shop.

But there are things here that can freeze out. For example, the quality of service here is disgusting. If you go somewhere on business, you will have to come there again. Let's say you want to open a Euro account. You come to the bank and say: “I want to open a Euro account.” They write something down and say, “Okay, we’ve opened it. You will receive the paper in three days.” Ten days later nothing comes, you go to the bank, and they say: “Oh, we made a mistake. Now we will open a euro account for you.” And this time they really open it.

And this will have to be done almost everywhere. You will have to go to any service twice. And it's annoying. The quality of service and support here is simply disgusting. Internet provider support is made so that you cannot reach it. It’s designed so that you won’t wait to talk to the operator by all means: they will redirect you, they will cut your line - you won’t wait for the operator. That is, you will have to spend about four hours on the phone to get to it.

Plus, there is such a thing as contracts: a telephone contract, a gas and water contract, a rental contract. You can't break it, no matter what happens. If you want, you will have to pay the cost for all subsequent months or a softer exit fee - a fine for breaking the contract. And that's the problem. You don’t have to pay, but then your credit history will be ruined. And you will never lift it from the bottom: you will not be given a mortgage, no loans for a car, and so on.

Now let's talk about the good stuff. The banking system is well developed here. There is a mortgage with formal interest - that is, 2%. In Minsk, housing loans are 20%+. Car loans and leases are the same - about 2-3%. You can take a car from a dealership on a financial lease and change it after three years, because you’re tired of driving this one - give me another one. In this regard, it's very cool here.

And there's a great pub and beer culture here. The problem is that everything is closed. The pubs that make up 70% of the British experience are closed. Fortunately, I managed to visit them, because I arrived in September 2021. The atmosphere there is great. The ancient tables - some pubs are 500 years old - are all soaked in spilled beer, and the beer itself is great. Wonderful, sincere people work there... And, unfortunately, everything is closed. And many of the pubs closed for good. When everything opens up, there will be a culture of pubs, get-togethers and “stay-ups” again.

DevOpsCareer

To legally get a job in London you need to have two things

Work permit in England.
An employment contract with the employer.

There are two ways to enter the country

By invitation from the employer.
On one's own.

International airport in London

The second method involves passing tests to assess qualifications. Testing is carried out directly at the consulate in the country of actual residence. It is worth noting that this method is suitable only for highly qualified employees with higher education.

The government of England developed this system with the aim of attracting professionals to their country. In order to be able to travel to London without an invitation from an employer, a person must score a minimum number of points, which is 75 points.

Basically, to carry out work legally, a work permit is required.

Category of people who do not need permission

It includes:

Representatives of student organizations who came to work in London through the exchange system.
People working in the service industry.
Business workers.
Representatives of art.
Teachers.
Educators.
People interning in London for in-depth study of the English language.

An invitation is not required for investors, trainees and business partners. To get a job in London in 2020, you must initially have a very convincing resume in your qualifications.

Londoners research previous jobs and pay attention to recommendations from past employers in vain. Without this document, it is almost impossible to get a decent job. To search for work in London on your own, it is better to use the services of recruiting agencies. Employees of this organization will help you choose the most suitable vacancies based on your specialty and work experience.

Recruitment agency office in London

They send a person directly to an interview with an employer and accompany him until he is fully employed in one of the proposed vacancies. Recruitment organizations exist both in London and beyond. Even if a person is in his home country, he can contact such a company with a request for employment.

Where can a Ukrainian look for work?

You've decided what you want to do, now it's time to find a job. The option is to come to the country and only after that look for work. The latter method is safer, so first you need to register on the website . Look for them by entering the query “ jobs in England vacancies ” or by going to the most popular web resources, among which Monster and TotalJobs stand out.

Create several resumes if you plan to get a temporary job. Be sure to write an accompanying letter, it will be beneficial for you. Don't forget about social media: let them know you need a job.

Finding a job in England takes a lot of time, so prepare in advance. Register on two popular sites, add your resume and start sending them to companies. This is much more effective than coming to the country and only starting looking at advertisements .

To work only with a visa

As in all Western countries, Foggy Albion has strict rules for foreign workers. It is not prohibited to enter Britain for work. However, you must first obtain a work visa. Such documents are issued to Russian residents only if there are compelling reasons. And without them it will not be possible to get a job in the former empire.

Key requirements for employees from the Russian Federation

Availability of a work visa and work permit.
Proficiency in English. Language skills are tested according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Level B1 or higher required. Knowledge of the language is confirmed by an appropriate certificate.
Qualification (in cases where work is sought under programs for qualified specialists).

Main requirements for a British employer

Post a vacancy for which a Russian employee is applying on the local labor market.
Confirm that there are no responses to the vacancy from suitable local specialists.
Obtain a special license or sponsorship certificate to hire a foreigner

Notes from a London Chipmunk

My blog is about freelancing and Britain (I need to take a break from freelance topics). But having received several almost identical letters with the same question, I decided to write a short post on an abstract topic - how to go to work in the UK.

For a non-European Community citizen and non-spouse of a British citizen, there are 2 main legal ways to go to work in the UK:

1. Get a work permit.

To do this, you must find an employer who agrees to issue a Work Permit for you. In this case, you will receive a visa almost automatically (unless, of course, you have previously engaged in car theft in some European country).

Your employer will have to prove that he cannot find a professional of your class or specialty in Britain . Thus, it shows that if you come to work in Britain, you will not take the job of a local resident.

It will not be difficult for an employer to obtain a work permit if you are applying for a highly qualified job - a researcher, an IT specialist, a creative worker. Low-skilled specialists - nurses, workers, salespeople, etc. - there is enough in Britain, so it’s almost impossible to get a work permit in this specialty.

A Work Permit imposes certain conditions:

You can only work for the employer who issued your WorkPermit.
You must approve any part-time work with your employer.
If your employer terminates your contract, you are required to leave the country.

2. There is another way to come to work in the UK - to become a qualified specialist in your country and obtain permission to enter and work in the UK under the HSMP - Skilled Professionals . This program is similar to collecting points for emigration to Canada or Australia.

You must fill out the appropriate form and score a certain number of points (Point Based System (PBS)). If you recruit them, you will be given a visa with a work permit for a period of one year. You must look for an employer yourself. In addition, you must have sufficient funds to live in Britain until you find a job. If you successfully work for a year, your visa is automatically extended to 5 years, after which you can apply for permanent residence in the UK.

Disadvantages of HSMP. If you haven’t found an employer in advance, you are almost free to swim - you don’t know how quickly you can find a job, how well this work will pay, etc. You need to have a means of subsistence during the period of settlement.

Pros of HSMP . You are not tied to a specific employer. You can easily change jobs. You can work in several places at the same time and are not required to ask your employer's permission to take a second job. Your spouse (partner) also receives a work permit. You can also run your own business.

And most importantly, getting an HSMP is not as difficult as finding an employer while in another country.

To obtain a visa under the HSMP program, you must score at least 75 points . Points are awarded for:

Candidate's age

20 points - up to 27 years old
10 points - from 28 to 29 years old
5 points - from 30 to 31 years old

Candidate's education

30 points – Higher education
35 points – Candidate of Sciences
50 points – Doctor of Science

Earnings level in Russia over the last 12 months

* 5 points - £5000 * 10 points - £5600 * 15 points - £6300 * 20 points - £7200 * 25 points - £8100 * 30 points - £9100 * 35 points - £10000 * 40 points - £11000 * 45 points - £12,500 *

Work experience or education obtained in the UK

* +5 points

English Language Certificate IELTS 6.0 level

Student employment

The UK student population also has employment opportunities, but this only applies to students studying at local institutions. In addition, the years of study will be a significant advantage if you decide to become a British citizen. Many of our compatriots chose this city due to its high-quality teaching methods.

This city offers several available vacancies to Russian and Ukrainian students:

dishwasher;
cleaning woman;
head waiter;
distributor of leaflets, brochures;
daytime nanny.

The listed vacancies do not require any special skills. At the same time, students at local universities are allowed to devote a maximum of 10 hours to work each week. A work permit is not required for employment.