International students

The way UK university careers services operate and the services they provide may be different to what you have experienced in another country. Here, we will outline what support you can expect from the Imperial Careers Service.

You do not need to have a clear career plan to use our service, but it’s important to recognise that we may work differently from careers services you’ve experienced in other countries. For example:

• We do not place students or graduates into jobs, instead we educate and support you by providing information, advice and guidance so you can take control of your career;
• We do not write your CV or applications for you, or check them for spelling or grammatical accuracy, but we will give you feedback on how to improve and tailor these;
• We will not tell you what career to pursue, but we will give you tools and resources to discover areas that might be of interest to you.

Appointments

We offer one-to-one appointments for students for individual careers support, run by careers consultants, who are qualified and trained in giving careers information, advice, guidance and coaching. 

Events

We host and advertise many different types of careers events for you to sign up to and attend throughout the year. These include: Careers Fairs, Skills training and workshops, Sector specific Careers Panels, Employer events, and Networking events.

Some events can be targeted at international students or those wishing to work abroad. 

Resources

We have a wealth of careers and employability information available on our website to help you plan your career, search for jobs and experience, and ace applications and interviews, and we also signpost to verified useful external websites and resources where appropriate.

We also subscribe to a number of online resources exclusively available for Imperial students, including:

• Student Circus - a job search portal for current international students in the UK;
• GoinGlobal – a platform with career and employment resources from countries around the world;
• LinkedIn Learning – an online library that helps you learn software tools and skills through instructional videos taught by industry experts;
• ShortlistMe – a platform where you can record yourself answering popular interview questions, watch your answers back, and get useful tips on what employers are looking for.

Alumni

Imperial Alumni can access all of the support above for three years after graduation. See our Services for alumni webpages for further details.

The encouraging news is that the UK graduate job market is highly dynamic, offering a broad range of opportunities across numerous sectors. UK Higher Education is known for producing good ‘generalists’ with a range of skills. Therefore, it is possible to enter an industry that is not directly related to your degree discipline through an entry level role after university; such as finance or consulting, which are industries that appeal to many Imperial students from all subject disciplines. Our What can I do with my degree and Plan your career resources are a good place to start exploring your job and career options.

UK employers are looking for well-rounded graduates who are not only technically skilled in their chosen discipline, but are also able to demonstrate skills such as communication, critical thinking, resilience, and professionalism. These are examples of what may be referred to as human skills, transferable skills, soft skills or workplace skills. These skills can be developed through your degree and via different work experiences but also by participating in extra-curricular activities such as societies and sports, or being a student representative or student ambassador. You should be articulating these skills across your applications and in interviews, and be able to discuss examples of where and how you have developed different skills.

Understanding the timelines for internship, postgraduate study, and graduate job applications is key to planning your career journey effectively. It allows you to schedule your research and preparation so you're ready to apply when opportunities arise. Some multinational companies (MNC's) begin recruiting for graduate schemes more than a year in advance, potentially as early as your arrival in the UK, or even before, if you're a Master's student. 

The UK graduate labour market can be highly competitive. Well-known companies with prestigious graduate schemes, such as those on The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers list, can attract very high volumes of applications. Networking to find ‘hidden’ opportunities is strongly encouraged. Networking Tips for Expats in the UK from RKY Careers contains some useful networking tips for UK non-natives.

Terminology

There is some terminology to be aware of in regards to the student and graduate labour market in the UK, as some words or phrases may have different meanings than in other countries. The University of Manchester’s Careers Service have created a full glossary of common vocabulary used in the UK job market, and we've highlighted some key phrases to be aware of below:

• Graduate Training Programmes (or Grad Schemes) are typically offered by large organisations hiring across areas like engineering, IT, finance, consultancy, and management. These structured programmes last one to three years, with applications often opening in August or September. Deadlines can be as early as October, and successful candidates usually start the summer after graduation
• Direct Entry Positions can arise in any organisation, often in SMEs that hire fewer graduates, though larger employers also advertise them. Training is usually less structured than graduate schemes, but relevant qualifications may be offered. Roles are advertised year-round and often start immediately, so applications may be needed late in your degree or after graduation.
• Internships are periods of entry-level work experience lasting for a fixed amount of time anywhere between a week and 12 months. The most common type of internship is a summer internship, taking place between June-September. Employers often use internships to source talent, and can recruit for graduate roles from their interns. Competition for internships can be fierce, but they are not the only way of developing work experience.
• Placements are a period of work experience that are taken as a part of your degree course. Check with your department to see if your course offers this option. Sometimes, companies can call internships placements, so it is worth searching this keyword when looking for opportunities.
• Volunteering: In the UK, volunteering refers to giving your time and skills for free to a worthy/charitable cause, such as the environment, the elderly, disabled people, children, animals, et cetera. Volunteering is a great extracurricular activity to develop transferable skills, boost your CV and make a difference in the wider community. Corporate social responsibility is a key goal for many employers and this is a great way of showing your commitment to this.}
  We refer to unpaid work for a business or company as ‘unpaid work experience’. Imperial College London Careers Service will not advertise any unpaid opportunities, with the exception of volunteering opportunities with UK registered charities.
• CVs and applications. Employers assess your suitability for a job through various criteria, so it's important to understand UK conventions for CVs, applications, and interviews. In the UK, 'CV' and 'resume' mean the same, though 'CV' is preferred. UK CVs should include only your name, contact details, and location, no photo or personal information like date of birth or nationality. 

The Careers Service is not qualified to provide expert visa or immigration advice, so for any visa-related questions please contact the International Student Support team. We can, however, help you to make a career plan based on your visa status and where you want to work.

Working whilst you study through a part-time job, vacation job or internship will help develop skills to add to your CV and improve your knowledge of the labour market. Internships can be rare and competitive, so it is good to investigate different types of work experience opportunities to gain some UK experience.

Most international students can work part-time (up to 20 hours per week Monday to Sunday) during term-time, and full-time during vacations. It’s important to note that there are different rules about working during summer for postgraduate students. There are also some restrictions on the type of work you can do. It’s important to check your visa conditions to confirm if you can work during your studies (details from the International Student Support Team website). You should also consider if you have the time capacity to work alongside your studies as most programmes at Imperial are intensive.

You may be considering working outside of the UK during vacations or once you graduate. It’s possible to return home or explore another country and we can offer support by discussing your plans, helping you to evaluate what you have gained from your time at Imperial and help you to organise your job search.

We work with employers around the world and advertise many international vacancies via JobsLive but it’s important to note that we cannot be experts on every country. We do however provide information on our Working abroad webpages which includes access to GoinGlobal, a careers and employment resource with country specific advice, information and job postings.

If returning home or moving elsewhere, you should consider the skills you’ve developed by studying in a foreign land away from friends and family. Recruiters are interested in your academic abilities and skills but they also want to see that you’ve developed an understanding of international cultures, improved your language skills, been resourceful, creative and developed resilience during your time at Imperial.

There are various options to remain in the UK and seek work after you have completed your studies, through the Graduate Visa, Skilled Worker Visa and more. See the Working in the UK after your studies section on the International Student Support Team’s website.

We provide access to Student Circus, a job search portal for current international students in the UK, which contains the following resources:

• A jobs board with skilled worker visa opportunities: verified, up to date full-time and internship job listings from employers who can sponsor international students in the UK;
• Immigration advice:  expert, vetted advice by immigration solicitors about working in the UK;
• Country guides: locally-relevant recruitment insights and an overview of the job market for various countries if you’re planning to return home or relocate;
• CV builder: a place to edit and store CVs. However, we would strongly encourage you to use our CVs and resumes resources and not to reply on templates;
• Ignition Hub: access to panel events, workshops, blogs and FAQs.

Everyone who has paid employment in the UK needs a National Insurance (NI) number. This is used to calculate and track your tax record and looks something like this, AB 12 34 56 C. You may have a NI number printed on the back of your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). If you don’t have one you can apply once you’re in the UK from 0800 141 2075 (Monday to Friday 08:00 – 18:00).

Your NI number is unique to you and you must not let anyone else use it. Find out more about National Insurance (NI) numbers on the government's National Insurance website.