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I came to the United Kingdom as an international student to study for an MSc in engineering last year. I am now a Graduate Engineer at BAE Systems and on reflection, I realised the journey towards getting a visa-sponsored job wasn’t easy or smooth.
It dawned on me that some people are currently going through a similar experience right now trying to secure a visa-sponsored job, and sharing advice, some tips I got from others, and my experiences might be useful.
First, knowing how tough applying for jobs can be, I’d like to say if you are actively involved in a job search and you find it tough, take heart, you are not alone. A good number of people applying are feeling the same roller coaster of emotions you are probably feeling. It can often take time to find a job but everyone gets one in the end. Hopefully, this write-up helps take off some of the stress, if any.
In this article, I will share everything I know about the application process, from writing a CV to attending interviews and assessment centers. My experience and advice might be slightly inclined toward graduate schemes and engineering-related roles but will be very useful regardless. To round things off, I will share some advice on choosing a job and some words of encouragement. Shown below is a table of contents highlighting the main aspects of this write-up.
Application Process
This would typically involve five or fewer steps depending on the company. These steps include a CV application, a Psychometric Assessment test, a Prerecorded Video Interview, and a Video/Physical interview or Assessment Center.
How to create or update your CV.
This is the first and an important stage. The key detail here is to make sure your CV is structured for the job you are applying to. There are many CV templates online for how to structure your CV. Further, your school’s career services would also have a template they can share with you. Via this link, you can find the CV template from Loughborough University which I used for mine.
Your CV should usually contain the following sections:
- Your name, written clearly, with your contact information — address, phone number, and email.
- A one or two-line bio summarising your experience, skills, and motivations. Below is an example.
3. Next, your educational details should follow. In this section, you should include some key modules relevant to the job you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a job in Electrical/Electronics Engineering. Modules like Electronics take priority over modules like Entrepreneurship. Similarly, if applying for a job in finance, include some relevant modules like Accounting.
4. Your Work Experience and Internships should come next. Make sure you use action verbs to describe your work experience and include any impact you made or learnings you gained. Make sure these experiences link back to what is required in the job description. To seamlessly do this, highlight keywords relating to behavioral or work experience in the job description. Then, write out work or internship experiences you have that are in line with them. Here is an example.
5. Volunteer experience is next. They can include society activities, church activities, community development activities, etc. Try to remember when you volunteered your time for free and include this. Interviewers want to see you are involved in activities outside of school. Remember to use action verbs at the beginning of your sentences.
6. Skills: In this portion of your CV, highlight any skills, awards, courses you have taken, or recognitions you have received.
As a general tip, if you do not have enough relevant work experience, you can include your thesis or any group project work from school and go into detail about what YOU did and achieved.
Further tips regarding CVs include keeping your CV to a maximum of 2 pages. Make sure it is easy to read, to do this, use “bold” to highlight any keyword you want to bring attention to — just like I have been doing in this article. Lastly, instead of crafting a new CV from scratch, feel free to make things simpler, by modifying a proven CV template with your own experiences.
To-knows about the CV stage.
When you initially start applying, you will likely face a lot of rejections at this stage, before you get to the next stage. Do not be fazed by it, instead, A/B test your CVs, keep tweaking it, and apply to as many jobs as you can with different CVs. This way, you can figure out which CV has the highest conversion rate. Regardless, it takes some time but eventually, you will stop getting rejections at this stage and move to the stage — psychometric assessment — which will have a similar start. This is completely normal.
Psychometric assessment
These are tests used by employers to assess your abilities, personality, and potential for a job. Different companies have different formats of psychometric testing. However, for graduate roles/schemes, many are standardised and are commonly gamified tests.
The key to-know about these tests is that the more you do them the best you will get at them. So after completing one, reflect on how you could have done better as this could help you in the next one. You can keep a journal to write these reflections, so you can always go back to it when preparing for the next one.
Based on my experience, here are some good YouTube videos that explain some common tests and how to pass them.
Game-Based Tests
Numerical, Logical, Situational Judgement Tests
Personality Tests
Abstract Reasoning Tests
Other psychometric tests may involve verbal reasoning questions, where you may be required to choose similar words in a passage or answer certain questions based on a passage you have to read. While some psychometric tests include quantitative reasoning; interpreting certain graphs or statements. The key is to find practice questions online and do as many as you can.
On the other hand, some psychometric tests are scenario-based questions. You are presented with different scenarios and asked to rank your action/ response/reaction to that scenario based on different given options. The key to answering these scenario-based psychometric questions is to ensure you understand the company’s values and behaviors and align your answers to them.
The thought of doing these tests can feel stressful at first but the more you practice and do them, the better you will get at them, and the more relaxed you will feel while doing them. It is okay if it feels uncomfortable or a bit tough at the beginning, this will fade in time. Just ensure you are doing as many of these tests as you can to gain experience. Many of them are fun to do.
Prerecorded Video Interviews
Here, questions are shown on a screen and you are asked to record a few minutes video recorded responses to them. Some companies allow you to have multiple trials with your video responses, while others don’t, make sure you read the pre-interview tips to know which of them is the case for each company.
An important tip is to have the right video setup. Ensure there is enough lighting in the room or have your video interview in the morning when it is very bright, directly facing the window. Ensure you are dressed appropriately — corporate or business casual — if unsure, stay safe and dress corporately. Make sure you have the best angle and video background — remove anything obscuring your background. Ensure your camera and mic are working well. Make sure you are in a quiet place. Importantly, make sure you are staring directly into the camera, not your screen.
Video interview questions usually begin with some basic questions. Some of them focused on your motivations. These questions can include the following;
- Why do you want to work for our company?
- Why are you interested in this role?
You should prepare answers to these questions beforehand. You will usually be able to find sample answers on the website Indeed or other online career websites. Further, maximize the advantage of AI by using tools like ChatGPT to develop potential answers to these questions. Always aim to keep your answers focused and concise.
Answering Scenario-based questions using the STARR method
Next, the interview questions will be scenario-oriented. As an example, they usually go in the below format.
“Tell me about a time when you faced a difficult problem, how did you resolve it”
An interviewer’s goal with these questions is to check for certain behaviors or competencies valued by the company. To find out what these behaviors are, you need to check the job description and highlight the key behaviors or competencies mentioned in it. Some examples you might find in the job description include problem-solving, teamwork, communication, etc. As such, you need to structure your answers around these behaviors.
Responses to these questions usually rely on stories or events from your past. The STAR method is a well-known method for telling this story. The STAR method enables you to create an easy-to-follow story and provide structured answers.
Situation
In the STAR acronym, S stands for Situation, it is about establishing context or giving any relevant information that is required to support your story.
S provides answers to the where, when, or who you were working with question. As an example, to answer the question “Tell me about a time when you faced a difficult problem, how did you resolve it” you could say…
“I faced a difficult problem as a student of Loughborough University in my final year. I was being taught a module on Supply Chain Management and had to develop a group report and presentation for it by the end of the week.
The above answer bolds out key details necessary for the succeeding parts of your story to be understood.
Task
Then you can move on to T which stands for Task. This section is about revealing and establishing your role and responsibilities within the story. It answers the question of what was the problem and what you were supposed to do. As much as possible, when answering these questions, you must focus on your responsibilities, and not everyone else. Remember your individual contribution is what is being assessed. An example answer could be:
“I had to work with a team of students to develop a supply chain strategy report and presentation for this module we were learning during the week. This proved difficult because many students in my group were part-time students who had to travel back home at the end of the day. This left little time for us to discuss and prepare adequately as a group. Further, the module contents were a lot and many of us were interacting with it for the first time during lectures. We were unsure we would have sufficient time to cover all of the content in our report at the end of the week.”
The above answer does a good job of narrowing down on the problems encountered in direct answer to the question.“Tell me about a time when you faced a difficult problem, how did you resolve it”
Action
A comes next and stands for Action, this involves detailing what was done to resolve the problem. How did you read the situation and what were your responses?
Once again, it is very important to focus on your actions in this section. It can feel a bit awkward to talk yourself up, and as a result, you might face the temptation of saying “We decided”. It is completely normal to feel this way but it should be useful to remember that talking yourself up is what the interviewer already expects to hear from you. Hearing such bold statements might feel out of place for you, but it doesn’t for them. So do not be scared to use affirming phrases like “I did” or “I decided”. Your answer to this section could be:
“I decided it would be in our best interest to assign roles and responsibilities so we can stay on top of our work. Since one of my core strengths involves project management, I decided to lead and manage the group activities. I shared with the group that it would be best to meet for a short time every day to accommodate the part-time students — 30 minutes at most, where we would review past actions and decide what we had to do next. Further, I created a shared notebook and suggested we all make notes of key learnings we would like to cover from the module during lectures. By doing this we would save some time from scouring through the entire material to come up with a structure for our report. I also suggested students in the group who didn’t have to care for their kids at the end of the day, were probably best suited for taking up the report sections that demanded more time and attention.”
The above answer is good because it highlights key behaviors - like project management, work ownership, teamwork, and empathy — that a company may be looking out for.
While drafting the above answer, I realised I still had to resist the urge to say “We decided”. Nobody likes selling themselves, but with time and practice it gets easier and starts to feel more natural.
Results
Following Action is R which represents Result, in this section, you are to discuss the outcomes of your work. Remember it should be a focus on your results and not the team’s result. Where it is difficult, try to give indications that the results have a clear connection with your actions. Mention any numbers or feedback you may have received to back your results up. This could sound like:
“As a result of my suggestions, the group was able to work effectively and complete our work within the given timeframe, we had an 85% mark on our report and we were given feedback that we had the best presentation across all groups”
Reflect
Sometimes a second R is added to the STAR method to make it STARR, it is called Reflect. In this section, you are required to reflect on the entire story and make comments on what you liked and what you think could have gone better. This portion demonstrates self-awareness and critical thinking. It could go something like this…
“It was a nice experience, I really enjoyed working with the team. On reflection, it would have been nice if we were able to practice our presentation together a couple of times for a consistent flow of the material. However, the timeframe was insufficient for this. Still, I think creating structure and expectations at the beginning helped everyone stay on top of their work. It was a good effort.
In summary, the key behaviors that have been highlighted from the above response are project management, communication, strong teamwork, empathy, critical thinking, collaboration, work ownership, etc. It is important to make sure your answers reflect the key behaviors your interviewers are looking for, which can be found in the job description.
How I prepared for my Behavioral Interview Questions.
Thinking of answers to behavioral interview questions on the spot can feel like a difficult thing to do in the moment. Here are some useful tips for preparing ahead.
A. Think of stories that demonstrate some key behaviors — communication, teamwork, problem-solving, etc. — ahead of your interview. Your stories could be based on work experience, internship, volunteer experience, school assignments, Thesis, group assignments, etc. Think about these key moments, and write down what happened in a story, in bullet point format. The good news is that these stories can usually be adapted to answer any behavioral question. Having these stories ready would help you not come up blank during interviews because you already have key events you can recall and easily adapt.
B. Next, you can look up potential interview questions from the company you are applying to on Glassdoor. Make a list of these questions and try to answer them using the stories you have written down. Create short bullet answers using the STAR method for each question.
C. Ensure you are concise with your answers. Avoid rambling on, a short response that answers the question is better than a lengthy response that doesn’t.
D. Practice, practice your stories. Not just in your head. Speak them out or practice with a friend.
For more behavioral interview practice questions, you should look at places like Indeed. Here is a good link on Indeed that speaks more about answering behavioral questions: https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/star-technique
Final Interviews
A Final Interview is the next step in the job application process. Your final interview will either be physical or online. It is important to have a friendly and enthusiastic demeanor when meeting your interviewers. Do not be afraid to be yourself, speak with confidence, and ask questions when you are unsure. They do not mind and actually appreciate it, as it can make others feel calm about the experience too.
Here is how interview questions are often structured and how to answer them.
A. How to answer Behavioural Questions
These interviews usually contain behavioral questions as well, and as such require a similar level of preparation as those already mentioned in the pre-recorded video interviews section.
B. How to answer Technical Questions
Technical questions are also added as a second part of the final interview. Technical questions are questions more specific to the role you are applying for. To prepare for this section, you should:
- Go on Glassdoor, search for the company, and look for any technical interview questions related to the role you are applying for.
- You could also search Indeed or do a Google search for technical interview questions around your role. e.g: software engineer role.
- Prepare answers to these questions in anticipation of your interview. You can prepare your answers using the aid of ChatGPT or find and use some already prepared answers online as a template.
- You should come prepared to answer the question, why are you interested in this role? or why are you interested in this industry?
- Practice all your answers. Write them down and speak them out.
C. How to answer Questions about the Company
Further to prepare for final interviews. Ensure you know important details of the company. For example;
- What does the company do?
- The company’s mission and vision
- Any recent news about the company?
- Why are you interested in the company?
You can go further by learning about key people in the company and find subtle ways to share your knowledge during the interview.
During my interview preparation, I noticed many people in the company retired after a significant number of years at the company on Linkedin, and I shared that I was impressed by it with the interviewers. It shows the depth of research that has been done and proactivity.
D. Asking your Questions
Finally, the other important section of a final interview is “asking questions”. Interviews really are a two-way street, you want to know the company is a good fit for you just as the interviewers want to know the same. (I understand this perspective might seem a bit cliche when you are hoping to just get a skilled worker visa but it is still a useful perspective to have).
You will be allowed to ask questions at this stage, and as such you can use this opportunity to ask questions that reflect the amount or type of research you have done into the company. You can say something along the lines of:
- From my research online, I noticed you do ‘this’ in your company. Can you tell me a bit more about it?
You could also ask questions about the interviewers, one useful question is:
- Can you tell me a bit about your experience at the company? What do you enjoy most about working here?
Make sure you prepare some questions you would like to ask before the interview. Finally, you can ask for feedback from interviewers after the interview has been conducted. This could be useful knowledge, as it can help you build confidence for your next interviews and be aware of key areas for improvement.
As a final tip, many schools in the UK offer mock interviews as part of their career services. So you can reach out for trial interviews or practice runs before your interview.
Assessment Center
Not all companies have an Assessment Center as part of their interview process. However, it is common for many graduate schemes in the UK to have one. In an Assessment Center, employers bring together a group of selected candidates either physically or digitally for a range of activities, tests, or interviews. Most assessment centers happen in a day and usually include breaks in between.
Some important tips for assessment centers are to:
- Ensure you arrive early.
- Dress Smartly. Corporate wear is preferable and a safe option.
- Do not isolate yourself: Approach everyone with a friendly demeanor. Introduce yourself and offer a handshake. Participate in small chats, you can ask people where they traveled down from, what role they applied for, or what school they attend. Employers want to know you can do well in a social setting. Try not to be isolated and instead be interested in other people.
- Be honest in conversations. Be honest about what you know and do not know. And for what you do not know, do not be afraid to ask questions — it is another attribute employers are interested in seeing.
Employers are usually assessing the same competencies they require for the role but with different styles of activities. The range of activities can vary from employer to employer. Some activities I am aware of are highlighted below:
A. Problem-Solving Group Exercise
In this activity, you will be given a scenario or a brief and told to decide as a group the best course of action. An example I have witnessed is the plane crash scenario question. A link to two briefs with different solutions can be found in the links below.
Case One: SURVIVAL A Simulation Game ❄️❄️
Case Two: Plane Crash Scenario 🛫🛫
From my experience, employers are usually assessing how well you can work within a team with these scenarios questions. Here are some feedbacks I have received and learned from a mock assessment center I attended. These are tips you can use or suggest in your group during your mock assessments.
- Introductions: Get to know each other. If time permits, everyone should introduce themselves, perhaps mentioning just names and the roles they applied for to stay within the time constraints. Importantly, as much as you can try to use everyone’s names when speaking if you have forgotten, you can simply ask again.
- Delegation: This involves assigning roles and responsibilities within your group. This is important, here are some ways you can do this. Someone or two in the team can lead and guide the conversations, a couple of people can take notes and record everyone’s opinions and any final answers, someone can handle preparing the final presentations, and someone should time-keep (this is very important, time management is a part of the assessment). There are a couple of different roles you can choose but it is important to make sure everyone in your team is doing something. This also shows organisation.
- Bring quiet teammates into the conversation: It can be easy to think it might be counterproductive to help others when you are trying to get the same job. But it is super important you do. You are being assessed on teamwork and this is a good aspect of that. Some teammates tend to be introverted, you should occasionally try to bring them into the conversation by asking what they think, and if they have any ideas or suggestions they want to add. Try to make sure the conversations aren’t domineering, and that there is space for other members of the team to contribute. Ask if anyone has any questions. Apart from being assessed on soft attributes like kindness and humility, introverts could potentially have the best ideas or suggestions which will make your team perform really well. So it is good to try to get everyone involved.
- Be careful about talking over others: Be careful and try to avoid dominating the conversation. Give others the chance to speak and express their points. Listen to what they have to say so you can refer back to it when you have to give your point. Dominating the conversation may come across as a bit too bossy, so be wary of it.
- Interruptions: sometimes you may have a really good point to add or would like to jump into a conversation but don’t want to interrupt others while speaking. A trick for doing this seamlessly is to add in filler words like “hmmmm”, “yesss,” “yes, I agree, but..”, etc. Add them in a way that they naturally create a break or a pause for you to interject. When you interject you can start with phrases like “I agree with you, I also think that… “, “that is a pretty good point, I also think that…”
- Keep to time: You will be assessed on this as well. So it is important to speak briefly and concisely and for you to remind your group members of this beforehand. Perhaps, lay some ground rules at the beginning of the exercise on how long everyone is allowed to speak.
- Ask questions if there is any part of the exercise you do not completely understand. Do not be afraid to ask. Interviewers appreciate it.
B. Presentations
This is another activity employers tend to use during assessment centers. Sometimes, you can be told to prepare a presentation on a topic as a group. Other times, it could be on an individual basis. A friend of mine who now works at Network Rail was told to pick a topic of his choice and prepare a presentation on it. He chose the talk about his ongoing MSc Thesis.
C. Psychometric Tests
Sometimes you might be asked to redo your online psychometric tests. Be prepared for this and have your tactics for scaling through on hand.
Overall, Employers would usually inform you about the structure of the mock assessment before the day so you are prepared. Further, websites like Student Room or Glassdoor are good resources to know more about what to expect from a particular employer’s assessment centers from an insider perspective. You will find many people there who have attended one.
How, and when to apply for a graduate job
You can apply for a graduate job throughout the year. However, September to early February is usually the peak season for applying for many UK graduate schemes.
As such, it is advisable to start applying for jobs early and preferably, apply alongside your studies. This allows you to capture more experience with the job application process and it increases your chances of securing a job before graduation.
When applying for a graduate job with sponsorship, it is advisable to apply to a variety of roles that suit your skills and experience. When applying to a variety of roles, ensure you develop CVs tailored to the different roles or industries.
For instance, even though I was on the search for an Engineering role. I was open to jobs in Operations Management as a result of my background in it. Therefore, I had different CVs tailored to each, since the requirements of each role required different competencies.
Other Methods for securing a Graduate job.
Below is a list of other methods for securing a graduate job;
A. Networking Events
This is about attending events sponsored by companies, organizations, or charities. Bright Network and TargetJobs are useful sites to find some, when I got to the UK, BAE Systems in conjunction with TargetJobs sponsored a Future Females event for students. Travel costs were paid for and it was an opportunity to network with different companies and discuss potential roles in their company.
One event I found particularly useful was a Women in Engineering Loughborough event I attended during my Masters. The event was around women engineers' experiences in the industry. There were a couple of Senior Engineers from top companies at the event, and at the end of the event, a Senior Engineer from Rolls-Royce ended up offering internships to everyone who was around.
There are many events like this usually organized on school campuses, within your department, etc. It would be useful to attend a couple, and if you don’t feel up for doing it alone, try going with a friend or classmate.
B. Career Fairs
I have learned this is a very good opportunity to learn more about a role, directly from people in the company. Often, at career fairs, you gain tips for your application directly from the company’s representative and in some cases, your application could be fast-tracked. Careers fairs are usually organized on school campuses and within your local community.
How to choose Graduate Jobs to apply to?
Apply to jobs where you have some level of experience. This could be:
- Jobs associated with your degree: Assignments, projects, and your thesis undertaken in school can be used to demonstrate the required job competencies on your CV or during your interview.
- Jobs from your volunteer experience.
- Jobs based on internships or work experience.
Ensure that you can demonstrate the competencies highlighted in the job description when you choose the jobs to apply to. If you do not have any work experience, use and expand on your school assignments or projects, pick up volunteer experiences that you can add, and take and add LinkedIn certifications or courses you have undertaken.
As a result of doing the above, you could end up applying to a wide range of jobs in a range of industries. Your school degree can lead you to apply for an engineering job. Finance courses or certificates you have acquired can lead to applying for a Management Consultant role, or Sales role. Your volunteer experiences can lead to an application for an Operations Management role.
Do not worry about not having enough experience when applying for graduate schemes. Many graduate schemes were created and structured to give you the training you need when you join the company. Do not worry that your applications will get rejected because you have limited experience, many people with years of experience still get rejected.
So rather, focus on putting your best foot forward and making your competencies strongly obvious on your CV.
Another advice is to apply early, as soon as you arrive in the UK, try to find a way to manage school and your job applications. Doing little things around your applications every day, at any time will go a long way.
Encouragements
Job applications can often be a trying time and process, many people who have experienced this would agree on this. As such, it is important to do your best to stay encouraged during this time.
I thought of some common feelings and situations that affected me during this period and that I believe may affect many applicants. I have shared some encouraging words which I believe are true about them below;
- Getting a job could take a lot longer than you expected: As I did, many people do, don’t expect to land a job or even interviews immediately. It is a gradual process and for many, it takes a lot of time, patience, and effort. But there is always a culmination point when you finally get an offer. So don’t feel or get too worried about how long it has been or how slow it all seems.
- You are allowed to mess up a couple of times. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Every beginner is allowed to make mistakes. Your words might not always sound perfect, or you might have said the wrong thing during your interview. Try not to dwell on it, instead learn to take the lessons from the situation, and move on quickly. Everyone makes mistakes and there are many more jobs to still apply for anyway.
- Focus less on perfection. Don’t wait to have a perfect CV before you start applying. You can apply to less interesting jobs in the time being while you refine your CV for the top companies or roles you want. But don’t delay for perfection. Don’t wait for perfection. Don’t procrastinate for perfection. Instead, focus on getting things done. Focus on getting the basic things done, like getting a CV sent out.
- Actively try to encourage yourself. It can be a tough process, so try to be your biggest fan. Tell yourself to keep going, tell yourself to stay positive. Sometimes a big part of being able to carry on or stay in the job application process is not feeling so discouraged by it.
- Don’t focus solely on job applications. Give your mind the space to reflect, to think about other things. To enjoy other things, some other activity, swimming, going to a dance class, going to the gym, hanging out with friends, etc. It will keep you feeling refreshed and poised for action. Don’t stay locked up constantly applying, it can induce stress. Instead, pace yourself, set a weekly target of the number of jobs you want to apply to, and try to stay with it. Don’t try to be over-ambitious with your goals, instead, keep things simple.
- The process might feel uncomfortable but it will get better. Especially the part about talking about yourself. You will get better at it at every single stage. Additionally, things happen in phases, it took a while before my CV started getting accepted, then it took a while before I started getting video interviews, and then it took a while before I finally got a final interview. I found it was the cycle of things. Additionally, I had more rejections than I could count, and so did many people who now have an offer. So do not be discouraged.
I sincerely hope this article has informed, encouraged, and helped you.
Connect with me on LinkedIn or leave your thoughts and questions in the comment section below. Hoping to hear from you and I wish you the best of luck with your applications!
