You’ve just sent your CV for your first job application in the UK. Now what? Read below about the hiring process in UK, so you are fully prepared at every single stage.
ATS
This is a system that automatically filters the CV, based on some keywords and other criteria. The recruiting company sets them up and the system automatically scans every single CV to find the suitable candidates. If you already applied for lots of jobs and received only rejection emails, most probably your CV hasn’t been picked up by this system. Make sure that the keywords from the job description can be found in your CV. If you wish whether your CV is good enough, have a look on this article.
Online Interview
Some companies, especially the large ones, send you an email for a sort of automatic interview. You will need to go through the link provided, watch short videos with some recorded questions and record yourself answering them. On top of analysing the skills for the job, the employers also test your technical skills and English level. Big tip for this stage: make sure you’re answering the questions in a very well-lit environment, with a good enough device. If your laptop doesn’t have a good camera, don’t hesitate to use your smartphone. But never compromise on quality. Also, get dressed as for a normal interview.
Interview With The Employer
If you pass the online, automatic interview, you will be invited to talk the employer. This is a good opportunity for you to assess the company, as well as to make an wonderful impression. The internet is full of potential questions and right answers, so I won’t go into details here. But, remember two things:
- When it’s your turn to ask questions, make sure they are all related about how can you better help the company. For example, “what are the key performance indicators?”. Keep all the questions about schedule, pay, holiday, benefits etc for later. Most probably they are already mentioned either in the job ad, or during the interview.
- Don’t hesitate to turn down an offer if you detect any red flags. For example, the employer makes subtle, racist comments, you are asked about protected characteristics or the company doesn’t seem to be too diverse (more directly: most of the employees are white and British)
References
A very specific part of the hiring process in UK is asking or references. This is so popular than, if your potential employer doesn’t ask for references, you should see it as a massive red flag. Even if you only worked abroad or don’t have any work experience at all, they will still ask for references, most commonly from one of your teachers or a friend. British employers do this mainly to make sure that what you wrote in your CV is true.
Salary negotiation
Once you passed all the steps mentioned above, you will receive an email similar to “Congratulations! We want you in our team! The salary that we can offer is X!”. Whatever amount X is, always ask for more. For example, if the offered salary is £18000 a year, you can ask for £27000 and they will come back with a figure between your number and their initial number. Now it’s time to talk about how much holiday you’re getting and what other benefits. Feel free to look on the internet about tips and tricks on the salary negotiation.
Signing the work contract
This is the part where you must pay the most attention because in the contract you will see the true face of a company. Some contracts will state that you can’t have a second job or a side business, which is fairly common in white-collar jobs. Other contracts stipulate a different notice period depending if you resign or get fired. This is a not a sign of a good company. Or worse, a contract can say very clear “if you sign it, you opt out of the working time regulation“. You shouldn’t be forced to do this and no good employer would ever ask you to do it in exchange of working for them.
Now it’s your turn to share. From your experience, what is the hiring process in UK?
