Mistakes that international students do in the UK

Mistakes that international students do in the UK

In this article, I'll give you seven mistakes that international students make, and I do hope this article will ensure that your time in the UK is super productive and successful.

Not knowing what are the career options after their course

the first mistake that international students make is not thinking about the career options of the course they decide to study in the UK, so let me explain what I mean by this mistake:

well actually I have people reaching out to me and saying, I'm doing my MBA from this university which job should I pursue afterward, well I think if you are pursuing a postgraduate course in the UK and you're paying thousands of pounds you should already know your career options before you pay for your course or you relocate to the UK, why is that because there should be a reason why you're doing a course perhaps you are trying to learn new skills perhaps you're trying to change careers perhaps you're trying to go into more depth into a certain career so specialize a bit maybe you're trying to gain new valuable practical knowledge so it is very strange to only think about what job you can do after your course only once you're ready in the UK.

be very careful the lots of education agents or similar that just push you into a course and say yeah yeah that is good but they are not career experts or they don't have your career aspirations in mind or they don't have your career goals in mind.

it's hard to know what your career options are, career goals are if you are just 18, 17, or 19 years old. I'm not talking about bachelor students you have a bit more time if you're a bachelor student to figure it out on the way but if you're doing a postgraduate qualification which is usually for more mature students at least that already completed a bachelor's course do think about what is the career purpose of you doing a particular course don't make that mistake.

Choosing a course only because they think it will guarantee a job in the UK

yes, of course, you need to think about the career options and which sectors usually sponsor and which areas can get you a job that's a very smart thing to do but the mistake is just going for a course because you're saying that will guarantee you a job or because you've heard that someone else got a job after this course or because you've heard that engineering let's say is a very good sector in the UK to get a graduate job or get a job on a skilled worker visa.

no course is a perfect solution for all if someone else pursues engineering and gets a job in the UK it doesn't mean it suits you don't choose the course just because you think it will guarantee you a job because no course guarantees you a job and when you're saying what's the scope of this course, what is my chances of getting a job after this course there is no one answer because there is so much more to job application than just having a degree there is also work experience, there are skills, there are strengths, there are leadership qualities, there are achievements outside your course and on your course so I would say if someone else got a job in the UK by doing some course it doesn't mean it will be the same for you.

Not socializing outside their language or nationality group

English is not my first language for me it's not the first language for most traditional students in the UK and I know can be hard to go and make friends with people when you're not confident in your language or maybe even with British people when you feel like well they're not interested in me they don't care about my culture but if you don't get outside your comfort zone you'll never improve your communication skills.

it's very important to socialize with other international students so speak English get to know their backgrounds get to know their career plans and also don't just stay with people you're comfortable with because when it comes to work when it comes to working in the UK you'll have to socialize with people from all over the world and you have to be prepared and you have to be comfortable before your first day at work.

the reason why the UK is so great for studying is not because of the education or career opportunities it's also about the environment you surround yourself with people British but also people from all over the world so use this opportunity to make global connections to learn more about the world to find out more about the cultures just know how to communicate with people from different countries it is a valuable skill if you want to make a career in a global company or the UK you need these skills.

 

The lack of professional networking

networking is forming professional relationships for the exchange of information opportunities and it's a very important skill to have when you are an international student in the UK, if you don't want to use LinkedIn make sure you go to events organized by your university organization, your career talks because you can meet experts from your field you can meet future colleagues, you can meet future bosses.

in reality, LinkedIn gives us endless opportunities to connect with people from all industries and all jobs but also when Kovit is down we have this in-person networking opportunity starting from your lecturers, start from people on the course or other courses, and then you can also move to people in your industry. studying uk again is not just about the knowledge you get it's also about the professional network you get so make sure you acquire one while you are in the UK.

Thinking that PSW Visa (Graduate Route) is a solution

yes, PSW is amazing or graduate is amazing visa yes you can rely on it for two years but it's not the solution it just gives you more time and it doesn't mean that you shouldn't be thinking about your job hunting or your job searching strategy while you're still studying just because you have for this graduate route.

no, you will finish your course and the sooner you get a job the better even if you can't get a skilled worker visa you still need to be thinking about how to get a good job on PSW your relevant job will help you get a skilled worker visa.

in the end just to motivate you on that point I didn't have PSW lots of my clients past clients didn't have the graduate root of PSW option and they managed to get the job and I managed to get the job so you can do that as well I know it's harder now because of covert but you might not even need the PSW option then.

 

Thinking that the lack of interviews is due to their visa status

people make which is thinking that the lack of interviews or job offers is due to the student visa status or because you are not British.

so I have a lot of people reaching out to me and saying "I have applied for 10 jobs and I never heard back, I have never been invited to an interview and it's all because I'm on a visa" and I'm always skeptical and I'm just thinking okay send me your cv, send me your cover letter, tell me which jobs you have applied and I review all these documents, I review the strategy and I find out that the problem is not the visa if the British person applied for the same documents the same strategy they probably wouldn't have been called for an interview either.

the reality is that sometimes you can't progress because of your visa status it's true, a lot of companies reject automatically or they don't pass you to the next stage they don't make you enough of an offer that's true but it's not as black and white it's not that you won't be able to get any interviews quite often the reason why international students don't get into use is that the candidate profile is weak so the cv, cover letter application or maybe is not selling themselves right maybe not applying for the right jobs or they're just not applying enough to a lot of jobs.

and let me surprise you a lot of British people once they graduate a lot of British citizens struggle to get graduate jobs, struggle to get their first job out of university and it's not to do with the visa status it is because it's competitive because sometimes they don't have the luck and sometimes because I don't have the right skill strategy or cv so please don't blame the lack of effort on your job searching strategy on your visa status.

Thinking that a graduate scheme is the only career option

International students come to me and say "I have missed the deadline for KPMG or PWC or I have been rejected for all the graduate schemes that's it I can't get a job in the UK this year, I'll probably have to wait for next year or I have to go back home and then return or I just don't know what to do".

well surprise there are tons of jobs in small to medium-sized firms, there are tons of jobs outside the graduate scheme programs and it doesn't mean you'll have a worse career path it doesn't mean that you have lost the competition or that you are just not doing something right. no there are graduate schemes and there are other ways of starting your career in the UK and medium-size firms sponsor visas, small size firm sponsor visas.

if you didn't get the graduate scheme you might have even a better career path you might even get better pay, I'm not guaranteeing it but I'm just saying that not getting a grad scheme on a top bank or top consultancy firm is not the end of the day, no it's not the end of the world and you can still build your career in the UK, you can still achieve the success you want just be flexible with your career options and think where else you can apply your skills you might have to pursue a different application strategy or job search strategy, you might have to be more proactive, you might have to focus more networking and research in these opportunities but it's possible so don't give up on starting your career in the UK if you didn't get a graduate skill.