Job Search Primer UK

Introduction
• For Full time positions 3 entities are involved 1) Candidate 2) Recruitment Agency 3) Client (
company where you will work )
o If you apply at company website directly then Recruitment Agency does not come into
picture at all , you interact with company directly .
o However the most common type of hiring is via Recruitment Agency .

• For Contract positions in addition to above 3 entities there is a 4th entity called 'Umbrella
Employer ' who comes into picture, so if selected you will work for Client company but be a
employee of the Umbrella company (like Giant Umbrella ,PayStream ,Parasol ,Danbro and so on
).
o Here after selection the Recruitment agency helps and guides you in the entire process of
onboarding so there is not much hassle here .
o Here you are mostly paid as per ‘Day rate’ or ‘Hourly rate’ , which will be
published clearly in the Job Advertisement also .
o Umbrella companies employ workers who are on fixed term contract assignments.
Essentially, they are intermediaries between yourself(a contractor) and your end client
company ,this arrangement is brokered by the Recruitment agency. Your Client company
pays the recruitment agency , the agency pays the umbrella company, who then pay you,
the contract worker, through PAYE – as if you were a full-time employee.
o Entire process works fast and is very streamlined and you need not do anything here . You
work for your client company on day to day basis and Umbrella company stays as your
employer till your contract is valid .In very few cases Recruitment agency becomes your
Umbrella company .

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How to Start the Job Search
Recruitment companies are companies themselves who work as brokers and help companies find
talent (candidates).
o There are all sizes of recruitment agencies , some are small ( run by 2-3 employees ) some
are medium size and some are large which work across many countries. Some agencies
specialise in some specific sectors like IT , Financial ,Retail and so on ,however most
would cover more than one sector or all sectors .
o Almost all recruitment agencies have their own websites where they list open positions ,
however they mostly go to Top Job Boards and pull CVs from there and contact
candidates .

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JobBoards are like Marketplace for open job positions ,its like Amazon for jobs . Its a meeting place
for candidates , companies and Recruitment agencies .
o Recruitment agencies work as brokers between candidates and companies , they do not
charge any fees to candidate for their services .
o You can upload your CV to JobBoards and wait for being contacted by Recruitment
agencies . In addition you should also explicitly search and apply for positions advertised
in the Job Boards based on how it matches your expertise and preference .
o In most cases Job Boards are used by Recruitment agencies but in few cases companies
also visit Job Boards directly to find candidates and contacts them directly .
o You can also setup alerts so that you get notified when a particular job meeting your
criteria is advertised , so when alert comes which is normally daily , you review and then
apply .
o By default your CV is visible to all Recruitment agencies active on the Job Board, so you
 might get contacted for a certain position , even if you have not applied, just because
some Recruitment agency thinks it’s a good match .

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How it works
• Overall the process is like submission of application by you , shortlisting(first by recruitment
agency and then by company ), Interviews and then selection
• Once you apply online for any position explicitly , you will almost immediately get an email
acknowledging your application and it will outline when you can expect a response .
o Almost all emails will say that if you do not hear in 2-3 business days , you can assume
that you have not been shortlisted , very few recruitment agencies inform you explicitly
that you have been unsuccessful , most would not respond so you have to assume that you
have been unsuccessful .Do not loose heart .
o Recruitment Agencies work very fast and are very efficient so its best not to call them or
follow up with them on your application , in most cases ball is never in their court , so if
you do not receive response its always due to fact that you have not been shortlisted , so
putting pressure or chasing recruitment agencies is something which should never be
done .
o Also in all your interactions be calm ,polite and courteous ,this is when the recruitment
agencies call you and later when you interact with company directly.
• The system works mostly on Trust basis ,where its assumed that whatever you have written on
your CV is correct .
o If shortlisted in the initial period the Recruitment Agency would call you to
validate/reconfirm your skills and might want additional detail on those , they will not
verify or test you on that

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o In most cases even companies in their interview would not test or verify your skills and
competence via any technical round questions or paper/online tests , they would make
their call based on how best you are able to explain what is in your CV when they ask you
to elaborate on your skills , though there might be few exceptions here , mostly for entry
level or junior roles .
• If you are shortlisted that means that 'on paper ' your CV matches with the Job Specs .You will
be called on phone mostly if you are shortlisted and Recruitment agency will brief you on the role
in depth and ask few more questions about availability , salary expectation , work location and so
on .Then they will drop a note to you to seek your concurrence to forward your CV to client
company , you should confirm on email to them.
o After this all would depend on how much Client likes your CV , if Client too likes it then
you might have 1-3 rounds of Interview and then you get Offer . Interview can be via one
or more modes like telephone , remote video conference (recorded or live ) and face to
face .

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• If you are shortlisted by the Recruitment Agency , its like reaching Quarter Final , being
shortlisted by Client and attending client 1st round interview is like reaching Semi Final and
being called for face to face Interview is like reaching Final , as at most 2-3 candidates are called
for Face to face Interview in most cases .

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Key Supporting Points
• This document will help experienced people ( min 2 years experience in their respective field ) .

• Have a very good CV ready ( use term 'CV' always not 'resume' when you interact on phone or
email with anybody) . Compare your CV with others in same field and do adjustments .
o Also you can get your CV reviewed freely by many sites like https://www.topcv.co.uk/
.Put good amount of effort in making your CV professional .
o It’s a bit crazy but true that a CV is often the difference between getting an interview or
not.

• Nothing wrong in applying for all jobs which match your CV , it will maximise your chances.
• Sometimes in very few cases you are asked to provide short summary/cover letter of your
experience in line with the job description , where you tell why you feel you suit the role .
• Be honest in all your interactions ,be honest about what you know and what you can do and all
info you provide should be correct.
• Whenever you apply for a role, take a few minutes to check your CV against the job
advertisement and look for any potential changes you can make. For example, if you can
elaborate on your experience on certain areas more which the position mentions as 'essential 'it
will help the reader to see your CV in better light.Again tailoring has be minimum and nothing
which you do not know or have not done should be in the CV ,so no faking.

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• Be patient ,stay positive and keep trying

• Create a separate Email account to handle Job alerts and Recruitment Agency/company
Interactions . Use it only for this purpose .
• This document assume that you have a Valid work authorization to work in UK ( Passport holder
, ILR , Tier 2 and other valid types ) .Support for Sponsorship is provided by extremely low
number of companies as they consider it a logistical and legal burden and feel its not worth it
except in very few Niche Job roles like Data Scientist and few others .
• Having a good LinkedIn profile also helps a lot in job search and you can find jobs via LinkedIn
also , however I did not pursue this mode .
• Look to get more curious about local culture , professional and inter-personal behaviours
practised locally and also learn about local Industry landscape .
o There are many articles written on this subject by various people and you can search in
Google , do not rely on just one article and read as many possible and build a clear
understanding of how things work here .
o Adaptation to local culture is not a big change needed , its just few incremental change you
need to build into your personality and behaviour .
o Some examples are like keeping on time commitments, using local lingos like
‘Diary’ in place of ‘Calendar’ , ‘CV ‘in place of ‘ Resume ‘ . Trust
me these small things make big difference .

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• This document is created keeping IT folks in mind , though it will help people from other
Fields/sectors also .There are very few Job Boards and Recruitment Agencies which work only in
IT Sector , but most work across all sectors .
• This document is created based solely on my personal experience .

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Places to Look for Job Opportunities
Job Boards
Your CV gets the broadest possible visibility in quickest time if you register in as many Job Boards as
possible .Registering is very quick , hardly takes 2-3 minutes and all you need is CV . Some popular
Job Boards are below
https://www.monster.co.uk/
https://www.reed.co.uk/
https://www.cwjobs.co.uk/
https://www.totaljobs.com/
https://www.jobserve.com/gb/en/can/home
https://www.it-jobs.co.uk/
https://www.adzuna.co.uk/
https://www.ziprecruiter.co.uk
https://www.indeed.co.uk/
https://www.cv-library.co.uk/
https://www.apply4u.co.uk/
https://www.careerbuilder.co.uk/
https://neuvoo.co.uk/
https://hackajob.co/
https://www.icontract.co.uk/
https://remotesome.com/
https://www.itjobboard.net/

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Recruitment Agencies Websites
Below is not a exhaustive list of all Recruitment agencies in UK , however I have included the big
ones and also ones with whom I interacted . There are approx. 475 plus Recruitment agencies in UK.
https://www.lorienglobal.com/en
https://www.morganmckinley.com/
https://www.understandingrecruitment.co.uk/
https://www.michaelpage.co.uk/
https://candidatepoint.co.uk/
https://www.conceptresourcing.com/
https://www.computappoint.co.uk/
https://www.hays.co.uk/
https://www.barclaysimpson.com/
https://www.roberthalf.co.uk/
https://www.capitaresourcing.co.uk/
https://www.modis.com/en-gb/
https://www.adecco.co.uk/
https://www.antal.com/
https://asoriagroup.com/
https://www.xist4.com/
https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/
https://www.stopgap.co.uk/
https://www.morganhunt.com/
https://www.interquestgroup.com/
http://wearerapid.co.uk/
https://www.bondrecruitment.com/
https://www.efinancialcareers.co.uk/
https://www.justit.co.uk/
https://www.circlerecruitment.com/
https://www.roc-search.com/
https://www.forsythbarnes.com/
http://astonjamesconsulting.co.uk/
https://www.advantageresourcing.co.uk/
https://www.x4group.co.uk/
https://www.thejmgroup.com/
https://www.astoncarter.com/en-gb
https://www.cititec.com/
https://www.ojassociates.com/
https://www.edison-hill.co.uk/
https://www.markssattin.co.uk/
https://www.itcontractjobs.co.uk/
https://www.computerfutures.com/en-gb
https://www.experis.co.uk/
https://www.jcwresourcing.com/
https://cyberteam.co.uk/
Companies Website (Medium/Large IT companies hiring directly )
Below are 3 examples , but you can go to any company website and look for Jobs/Career section and
browse open positions and apply based on suitability.
https://www.accenture.com/gb-en/careers
https://careers.cognizant.com/global/en
https://www.sogeti.com/join-us/jobs/

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Companies Website ( Medium/Large companies hiring directly for their in-house IT
Dept)
Below are 2 examples , but you can go to any company website and look for Jobs/Career section and
browse open positions and apply based on suitability.
https://careers.vodafone.co.uk/
https://jobs.citi.com/search-jobs
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Other Useful Links (Learning , Jobs and Careers )
https://advisera.com/
https://itcareerswitch.co.uk/
https://itcareerswap.co.uk/
https://www.contractoruk.com/
https://www.jobsearchwarrior.co.uk/
https://www.acas.org.uk/
https://www.oxfordinternationalenglish.com/differences-in-british-and-american-spelling/
https://www.danbro.co.uk/blog/umbrella-company/

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Contact
Please contact : coolyug2020@gmail.com for any questions or comments .Happy to help. Good luck
Document last updated :22 Feb 2020

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