Spring 2019 at the University of Kent
LT_128183_CAS International Student events_Final
www.kent.ac.uk/ces/international.html
In collaboration with: Centre for English and World Languages, Kent Business School, Student Immigration and Compliance, Kent Union, Student Circus
Come and meet our University of Kent alumni working in the Civil Service. Hear from a panel of three alumni speakers who will share the secrets of their career success.
Date: Wednesday 23rd January 2019
Time: 1pm – 3pm
Location: COLT2 – Cornwallis South East (Octagon)
FEATURING:
• Annabel Kirkham, Chief of Staff in the Foreign Office
• Gabrielle Osei, Fast Streamer
• Sharon Atubo, Senior Policy Advisor, Civil Service
You will gain first-hand information and practical advice on a career in the Civil Service and how to navigate the Civil Service fast stream process. Our alumni are able to share invaluable information through open, honest dialogue with the students who attend. The event wraps up with a networking session where attendees can mix and mingle with all of the panellists.
Student circus is a niche job search platform that enables International Students secure jobs in the UK.
Having graduated from the UK as International Students,
we truly understand the time and visa constraints associated with finding a job.
World class UK universities nurture and produce the very best of international talent. At Student Circus, we believe that this skilled talent can greatly benefit the UK economy and its employers with its global outlook.
Visit Student Circus for more information and current graduate and internship opportunities.
If you are an international student considering working in the UK after graduation, this essential guide to visas should prove useful
To retain the benefits of an international student body, including the economic contribution, it is important that students, universities and employers are all aware of the routes through which individuals can remain in the UK after their studies have concluded.
The Tier 4 visa is intended for the purpose of studying in the UK. However, it does allow students to work 20 hours a week during term-time or full-time outside term-time, where the student is studying at degree level or above. Such work experience can be vital for those looking to build relationships and contacts in order to secure permanent employment in the UK in the future.
There are a number of options available to Tier 4 students to allow them to stay in (or return to) the UK after their studies. Which route is the most appropriate depends on the individual’s plans for their future in the UK, the area in which they are seeking employment and their current circumstances.
Employment
The main visa for employment is the Tier 2 general visa. This visa requires an employer to hold a sponsor licence and for them to have available a job that the government deems to be at graduate level, or above. Furthermore, the role must be paid at, or above, the stipulated minimum, which is at least £20,800 for students switching to a Tier 2 visa.
International students have several advantages under this route compared with individuals outside the UK. First, businesses do not have to advertise the role in the UK for 28 days prior to offering it to the student (the resident labour market test). Also, businesses do not have to pay the immigration skills charge to employ someone switching from Tier 4 to Tier 2. The current charge is £1,000 for each year of the visa and the cost is likely to rise to £2,000 a year.
Despite such benefits and the clear skills shortages in some sectors, many students find it hard to obtain sponsorship, either because employers are not aware of how to go about sponsoring an individual, or because they believe that the costs and complications of sponsorship are too great for their business.
Previously, it was necessary to pass a course before Tier 4 students could switch to Tier 2, putting graduate schemes that typically start in September out of reach for master’s students, who do not receive their results until later in the year. However, from 11 January 2018, a student has been able to switch to a Tier 4 visa after completing their course.
It is vital for international students to understand the Tier 2 system early on in their course so that they can look for employment and make use of their ability to work under the Tier 4 visa. Armed with knowledge about how they may be sponsored, students can have discussions with employers and potential employers well in advance of the end of their course.
Other options
The two main alternatives for students are the Tier 1 and Tier 5 visas. Tier 1 is for individuals the government is specifically looking to attract to the UK such as investors, entrepreneurs and people who are experts in their field. There are a number of different Tier 1 visa options and it generally encompasses those who have an exceptional talent, or individuals who have money to invest in a business in the UK.
The Tier 1 route can lead to settlement but it does have a high threshold for approval. For example, Exceptional Talent applicants have to be endorsed as an exceptional talent in their field by an official body in their area of expertise. Students who wish to switch from Tier 2 to Tier 1 entrepreneur visas, are limited to using only specific government-backed investment funds, rather than private funds. Students can, however, make a business case to their university to seek endorsement for a Tier 1 graduate entrepreneur visa.
If a student does want to go down the more entrepreneurial route, they should take advice on the conditions of both the initial visa application and any extension application, and how this could lead to settlement.
Tier 5 is a temporary working category and generally requires a student to return to their home country before applying via this route. While Tier 5 is limited in both length and the ability to switch, it can be a useful fallback for a student seeking to build a relationship with an employer in the hope of a future Tier 2 sponsorship. Tier 5 visa holders would have to return to their home country to make a Tier 2 application and this would therefore require the employer to undertake the resident labour market test and pay the higher minimum salary as well as the immigration skills charge.
Future changes
With Brexit on the horizon, the future of the UK’s immigration system is unclear. The government has recently made a commitment to attracting individuals under the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa by doubling the number of endorsements that are available in a year. This shows that the post-Brexit environment is intended to be one in which the UK seeks to snap up talent from across the globe.
However, there is a great deal of uncertainty as to what will happen to the highly skilled Tier 2 visa, or whether a lower-skilled worker route will be opened to deal with a possible labour gap in jobs routinely filled by European Economic Area (EEA) workers.
The Migrant Advisory Committee has been commissioned to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the European Union, and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy. The report is not due for publication until September 2018, meaning that any changes to our immigration system would need to be quickly drafted and enshrined in law before the UK’s exit from the EU in March 2019. If this isn’t achieved, the current system could continue post-Brexit, which risks it being unfit for its new purpose.
Whatever the future holds, international students form an important part of the economic landscape of the UK and, as such, everyone should be aware of the specific challenges that they face and consider how these may be tackled.
Charlotte Ashton is a solicitor at MLP Law and advises international students from local universities on their options for remaining in the UK.
One of the hardest parts of a job interview is talking about your flaws and stumbles.
Sometimes the prompt is literally, “what’s your greatest weakness?” Other times it’s, “why were you let go from your last job?”
If you’re interviewing with Traci Wilk, there’s a good chance she’ll encourage you to “tell me about the most challenging work experience that you had and what you learned from it.”
Wilk is the senior vice president of people at The Learning Experience, an early education and childcare franchise. She has also led human resources departments at Starbucks, Coach, and rag & bone. She told Business Insider that, when she asks candidates to share their most challenging work experiences, she’s not exactly trying to suss out their tendency to miss deadlines or talk back to their boss.
Instead, she’s looking for evidence of a “growth mindset.”
Wilk said that if the candidate naturally talks about “things that they would have done differently,” that’s a good sign because it shows a “high degree of self-awareness.” She especially wants to see the candidate share some “reflection or a postmortem that they may have done after the situation, how they’ve taken that and applied it into future situations.”
In fact, Wilk added, she’s generally more interested in a candidate’s ability to learn than in their résumé. “Is this someone that’s going to come into the organization certainly with best practices, but also willing to be flexible, willing to be innovative? That’s really the main thing that I’m assessing when I’m meeting with a candidate.”
The term “growth mindset” was coined by psychologist Carol Dweck to describe the belief that your talents can be developed. (The opposite is a “fixed mindset,” which refers to the belief that your talents are innate and can’t change much.) Dweck’s research suggests that people with a growth mindset tend to be more successful.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told Bloomberg that Dweck’s book, “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” inspired him to emphasize the importance of a growth mindset among his employees. Microsoft’s chief people officer, Kathleen Hogan, told Geekwire that Microsoft employees weren’t supposed to prove they’re the smartest people in the room, but they were instead supposed to “learn and bring out the best in people.”
As for talking about challenging career experiences in a job interview, if you’re worried about being too candid about your screwups, you probably shouldn’t be.
“It really shows that this person is confident enough to be vulnerable. I’d much rather bring somebody into the organization that has taken risks and failed than [somebody who] has always taken the safe route,” Wilk said.
We want to know which employers you want to work for in the future, the salary you are expecting to earn, the key attributes you look for in employers, and more. The results are put together in research reports to help universities and employers across the UK, so that they know what kind of job you want.
It only takes 15 minutes and you can even complete it on your mobile. It’s quick, it’s convenient, and you can win great prizes.
Click here to enter the competition.
Take the survey now: https://goo.gl/pknSEn
Kent-only Open Day at Global law firm Dechert on 18th January. The Open Day will include an insight into the firm and what they do, including their training contracts; a skills session; and, networking with trainees, partners, graduate recruitment team.
This is an ordinary open day but exclusively available to students from Kent (and that includes non-law students too).
Eligibility:
Your travel costs, up to £75, will be reimbursed by Dechert. (please note, transport will not be organised for you – you find your own way there and claim your costs after the visit). Lunch will be provided.
How to apply:
If you wish to be considered for a place on this Open Day provide the following information:
Email your application to Jayne on klsemployability@kent.ac.uk with “Dechert Open Day” in the subject bar.
Deadline: Non- Law student deadline 9am, 12 December
IMPORTANT:
The eligibility criteria will be strictly applied and the standard of applications should be the same as if you were applying directly to the firm. Applications will not be considered until the deadline. As such, incomplete or substandard applications will not be identified before the deadline and no second chances will be given.
Civil Service Fast Stream: drop-in session
Monday 3rd December from 11.30 – 14.30
Keynes Seminar Room 4
Have you applied to the Civil Service Fast Stream? Are you currently going through the recruitment process? Or are you thinking of applying in the future, but have questions about their schemes or working for the Civil Service?
Join Elliot and Sophie, current Fast Streamers, who will be on hand to answer any questions you may have regarding your application, the recruitment stages (including the assessment centre and final selection boards) and working for the Civil Service! They’ll be on campus on Monday 3rd December from 11.30am – 2.30pm, so drop by, no appointment needed! If you have any questions about the Fast Stream, come along and have a chat!
The Civil Service Fast Stream is an accelerated career path to leadership with supported development. They are a graduate employer that is consistently ranked in the top five of The Times Top 100.
The Civil Service is looking for graduates with the potential to progress to the most senior levels of the Civil Service and become our future leaders. By ‘potential’ we mean graduates who have the motivation and ability to progress to the highest levels of our organisation. We are seeking the widest range of people, who can bring differing life experiences to their roles, enriching our organisation and helping us to better represent the whole of the society that we serve. There is no typical Fast Streamer. We believe that people perform their best when they can be themselves at work. We value who you are before you join the Fast Stream and ensure that through flexible working you will still have time for the things that matter the most to you outside work.
Event link: https://careers.kent.ac.uk/leap/event.html?id=3597&service=Careers+Service
If you’re interested in a career in journalism these free, hands-on workshops will give you a glimpse into the industry and the award-winning NCTJ training.
London Workshop Dates (uni students/post-graduates)
Friday, November 30 – News journalism (10:30am – 1:30pm)
Tuesday, December 4 – News journalism (7:30pm – 9:30pm)
** Please note we are moving offices in mid-December 2018. All below workshops will take place at Ampersand House, 49-53 York Street, London, TW1 3LP **
Saturday, January 5 – Sports journalism (1:30pm-5pm)
Tuesday, January 15 – News journalism (7:30pm-9:30pm)
Friday, February 1 – News journalism (10:30am-1:30pm)
Saturday, February 16 – Sports journalism (1:30pm-5pm)
Next week we have Student Circus visiting the University, to speak to International students regarding Tier 2 jobs.
Tier 2 jobs simplified- By Student Circus, Wednesday 28 November in KLT6 at 14:00.
Understanding visa routes and tackling job search is an extremely tricky process. We want to make it easier for you by breaking these down into simpler steps. Student Circus is a smart job search platform where you can apply for exclusively handpicked Tier-2 jobs.
The session will cover the following points:
This session is for international students, including Postgrads.
Students can book onto the Social Sciences session here: https://careers.kent.ac.uk/leap/event.html?id=3565&service=Careers+Service
The Student Projects Grant Scheme is funded by the Kent Opportunity Fund, which was established to increase opportunities for students at Kent, today and in the future.
The Student Projects Grant Scheme allows donations given by alumni and friends of the University to reach as many students as possible by enabling individuals to bid for funds to run their own projects.
The 2018/19 Student Projects Grant Scheme will be open for applications on 1st October 2018.
The deadline for the applications is 7th December 2018.
The total amount available to fund student projects is £45,000, with a maximum grant of £5,000 per project.
Applications are welcome from student groups in Kent Union, departments, faculties and schools across the University, including the campuses in Canterbury and Medway, our centre in Tonbridge and the University’s European centres in Brussels, Paris, Athens and Rome.
CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO APPLY
If you have any questions, please contact Alex Perkins.
Telephone: 01227 824547 E-mail: A.R.Perkins@kent.ac.uk.
