International Futures

Accessing advice and guidance from Careers Network can make you feel more confident with your career direction and more employable too. 

These pages for international students outline the online tools available to help you identify the key employers of international graduates in the UK and provide the support you need to successfully search and apply for a placement or graduate role.

• Careers and Enterprise Advice – visit our drop in Careers Hubs or book a 20-minute Careers Advice appointment for help with your CV, applications, interviews or any other query. Find out more here about how to book an appointment.
• Finding work in the UK – use our online tools to explore which companies sponsor international students and the best places to look for jobs.  There are also some great links on our Find placements, internships and graduate jobs pages.
• Preparing for work – the Student Advice & Support Service can help with practical advice on setting up a bank account, National Insurance and graduate visas. 
• Skills workshops and practice interviews - sign up for our events and workshops on Target Connect to gain insights into the skills that UK employers seek. To practise your interview skills, book an appointment for interview coaching.
• Careers fairs and events - network, meet employers and find out about graduate opportunities and internships, including roles with Loughborough’s own Talent Match scheme.
• Business and Enterprise support -  if you are keen to develop your entrepreneurial skills or explore setting up their own business, see help from the Loughborough Enterprise Network.

Target the right UK employers

As a Loughborough student you have access to two fantastic tools to help you find employers who sponsor international students.  Access them here or scroll down to the bottom to find out more first.

eCareersGrad - includes a resource especially for international students listing UK companies who sponsor, as well as video-based, interactive, e-learning courses to support job search.

Student Circus - pre-filtered jobs from UK employers willing to sponsor the Skilled Worker visa. Plus an immigration guide, country career guides and a job seekers' toolkit.

Tips for job applications

• Apply from the UK and start early in your studies. Don’t wait until you have completed your studies before beginning job hunting. Many finance companies have November and December deadlines for jobs starting the following summer, while many small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) often recruit when a role is required, so keep checking relevant websites.
• Be aware of lengthy, multi-staged application processes for UK graduate schemes. Some employers have deadlines for non-EEA applicants to allow time to apply for visas.
• Familiarise yourself with employers on the UKVI Register of Sponsors. They are used to employing non-EEA students. This will give you the best chance and the easiest route to employment with a company in the UK. Often, they are large employers or employers requiring key skills, for example in Engineering, Accountancy, IT, Finance and Banking and Retail etc.
• Employers invited to Loughborough University careers fairs are asked if they employ international students, or if they are on the UKVI Register of Sponsors. Please refer to our event information to find out more.
• Visit our Make applications pages for information and advice on how to make strong applications for opportunities in the UK.
• Access our interactive online course Excel in Employer Selection Processes, available on the Learn Module CA007.

Marketing yourself effectively to UK employers

UK employers want to recruit the best graduates from the thousands entering the job market each year. They look for three key elements when selecting candidates: Academic qualifications, work experience and skill set.

Academic qualifications

Whilst securing a job is about more than academic grades, many graduate roles require a 2:1 for your first degree. Although some employers will accept a 2:2. They may also be interested in your prior qualifications. For international qualifications, a “Letter of Comparability” will show what your grade is equivalent to in the UK. This service is provided by ENIC (which can be accessed by your School Admissions office on your behalf or at Student Enquiries in the Rutland Building).

If you are doing a Master’s qualification, you will need to clearly show how it has increased your knowledge in your chosen field of work.  However, a Master’s degree is not usually a substitute for work experience or lower first degree classification.

If you are a doctoral researcher, see the PhD Futures section for resources and guidance.

Work experience

See 'Working during your studies' above.

Skills

When applying for jobs you should provide evidence of your skills gained from all your activities including work experience, academic work, volunteering, your social life and interests. Research how to develop your employment skills, and refer to skills employers seek to help you.

Organising events or captaining a sports team can provide great examples of how you have used and developed your skills and shows employers you have skills outside your academic qualifications.

More useful advice

Communicating the benefits of employing international students to UK Employers

In addition to your individual skills and experience you should highlight that:

• Knowledge of other cultures and a global awareness can be invaluable to businesses which operate internationally.
• Living and studying overseas demonstrates independence and an ability to adapt to new cultures and take on new challenges.
• Speaking English as well as another language is beneficial in a global market.
• Thinking about ‘global competencies’ can be helpful when developing your CV. See this article: How to showcase your global skills.

Understanding permission to work in the UK

Not all employers are aware of current UK immigration rules, so you should develop a good understanding of the permission required to work in the UK. Use the visa  information in the tab below to help you.

On application forms and CVs you could make it clear that you are eligible to work in the UK. For example, a student could use a phrase such as “Eligible to work for 20 hours a week during term-time and full-time during vacations with Student Visa” or “Eligible to work in the UK for 2 years after studies with a Graduate Visa”.

If employers ask for your National Insurance (NI number) you can apply for one by following the instructions from Student Services.

Presenting yourself effectively

Understanding UK business culture is key to gaining a graduate job. Your body language, spoken language and the way you speak will all influence employers’ perceptions of you and their decision whether to hire you or not. The country guide for the UK on Prospects provides useful information, as will attending Careers Events for international students (see above).

You can find out about how UK style interviews and assessment centres work and how to best prepare in our Make Applications section. You can also book interview coaching with a member of the Careers Network Team.

There is also useful advice on interviews and assessment centres on the Careers Network website.

• GradLink - An award-winning careers site for international students and graduates who have studied, or are studying in the UK, helping you find opportunities in your home country.  Countries covered include: India, China, Africa, and the Asean Gulf.
• Student Circus - An online job search platform dedicated to international students, listing handpicked opportunities in your home country, along with other resources on the platform.‌  If you have already graduated, and do not have a Student Circus account with a Loughborough email, please email studentservices@lboro.ac.uk to request access this resource.
• Target Connect - Loughborough's own vacancy portal promoting opportunities from many global employers.
• The Prospects website also has some great resources for finding a job outside the UK.

Understanding the recruitment process in your home country

In some countries many jobs are not even advertised so making ‘speculative applications’ directly to employers will be necessary. This usually involves writing a CV and a targeted covering letter. For help with this visit Make applications and book an appointment to speak to a member of the Careers Network team.

You will also need to be aware of the business and cultural norms regarding the application and interview process.  For multinational businesses application and interview processes may be very similar to those of the UK so you can take advantage of the advice and services of Careers Network and other sources such as the Prospects website to prepare yourself for applications and interviews.

It is also worth understanding the cultural norms of the working environment. Your employer will expect you to behave in a particular way in the workplace and also will have defined views on the salary and entry position of new graduates. These may not be in line with your own expectations, so in order to be successful, you may have to have more modest goals at first.

To find out if there are differences, and to investigate the employment market in your home country, view the Country Profiles on the Prospects website.  See also our section on Placements, Internships and Graduate Roles. 

Making the most of your UK experience

Coming to the UK to study means you have invested in your education. Multinational employers will require you to have developed a balance of a good academic qualifications, work experience and transferable skills, particularly relevant to the job you are looking for.

You should also consider the type of employer you are applying to and the cultural expectations of these businesses.  For example, in China, multinational businesses value unpaid experience or voluntary work, whereas state owned companies prefer paid work experience and place little importance on other experience.  So you may need to be selective on the type of experience you acquire while you are here, or ensure that you get appropriate experience before you come.

At Future Space, students can:

• Access industry mentoring – join our Monday Mentoring Programme
• Book a 121 careers appointment
• Connect to Future Space’s Handshake platform to sign up to workshops, hackathons and events, book appointments and connect with employers
• Gain experience and skills through Future Space CONNECT
• Connect with industry, employers and organisations through Careers Insight Events
• Learn how the Collaborative Project can help build skills and add experience to your CV
• Get advice on starting your own business
• Gain an additional award to show your investment in your career through Personal Best London