I was speaking with an international student recently who had been disappointed that Grant Thornton were unable to recruit students who required a work permit.
Many employers many not have reconsidered the increased potential of candidates taking advantage of the Tier 1 – Post Study Work visa. This visa allows students to stay in the Uk and work for up to two years after graduation. The evidence from recent recruitment fairs is that more companies are willing to take international students and that the two-year scheme makes opportunities more viable than the previous visa scheme (International Graduates Scheme) which only allowed for one year. For example, Enterprise Rent-a-car, the UK’s largest graduate recruiter, now accepts applications from international students on a post-study work visa.
But the reality is that some companies will not recruit international students. Where possible it is best to ask the employer before completing an application form. Applying to companies that do not recruit international students is a waste of time – they won’t change their mind even if your application is sparkling!
So you need to find out who will recruit you. Royal Holloway has a comprehensive database of employers who recruit international students – and we keep adding to it whenever we have new information. It isn’t 100% reliable because company positions change but it is a good starting point.
The database is a horrible Excel spreadsheet but we have tried to make it as user-friendly as possible.
It is organised into different pages (worksheets) covering Advertising & Media, Banking & Finance (also IT), Physical Resources, Retail & Production, Property & Construction. We have provided links to company websites where possible.
The database can be accessed here and is a permanent link on the “Blogroll” on this blog.
If you want to add to the database or find wrong information, email here. Please also use the comments tag to share your experiences of applying to UK companies. Have you been experienced companies that have a policy against recruiting international students? Have you found a better or different source of companies that do recruit? Is there a sector that you feel is more prone to not accepting such applications? Use the comments tag to tell us!
