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Advice for international students

Understand job-searching in the UK and the support available to you as an international student.

Job-searching in the UK is challenging for everyone – the graduate job market is competitive. It takes resilience, as well as time and effort to make sure you submit tailored and well-crafted applications. We recognise that international students may face additional challenges in navigating the UK labour market and have additional resources and support available to support our international students and graduates to thrive during your time at Cardiff University and beyond.

Online resources

Current students and recent graduates can access our bespoke International Students Employability Advice Pathway via their Student Futures Account. The pathway includes six tailored courses to support you with your employability, including:

  • Prepare to Work in the UK
  • Understand What UK Employers Want
  • Find and apply for UK work experience
  • How to shine throughout the recruitment process as an international student
  • Positive Conversations: How to Talk to Employers About Visas
  • Return to your home country (or another country) to work after your studies

As a current Cardiff University student, you can also access the GoinGlobal platform for jobs and country guides from over 190 countries. Make sure you search for GoinGlobal in the student intranet, so that you access the correct Cardiff University-badged page.

Finding a part-time job

Start your job search early if you know you need a part-time job to support your studies at Cardiff University. Even finding a part-time job is a competitive process and you should be prepared to apply for quite a few vacancies. Remember to tailor your CV to part-time work, and the specific roles you are applying for. You can download our CV template for part-time work below to help you.

CV template – part-time jobs

It’s important to understand your visa restrictions for working during and outside of term time. Cardiff University also recommends students work a maximum of 15 hours alongside their course in order to manage their studies. If you will be working in the UK, you’ll need a National Insurance number. You can read more about this on the student intranet and the UK government website.

You can also read our more detailed advice on looking for part-time jobs for further support.

Securing a placement or graduate role in the UK

We recommend starting your job search early – applications tend to open in August/September and close in November/December. Bright Network has useful deadline trackers for internships, industrial placements and graduate schemes to help you plan your applications and target your approach.

It’s very important that you tailor your application to meet the criteria of each role that you apply for. You can read our detailed advice on job-searching, including job-searching strategies, an overview of the graduate job market, and the difference between graduates jobs and experience, as well as our guides to finding work experience and doing well with CVs, applications and interviews.

You can utilise our templates below to support your applications and help evidence your experience:

CV template – international students

Cover letter template – international students

Cover letter template for placement – international masters students

Tailored events

Student Futures hosts a wide range of events that offer employability support for students and recent graduates. You can look for these in your Student Futures Account – you can also filter events by clicking on ‘event type’ and selecting ‘international student employability support session’.

Right or eligibility to work in the UK

Often this is the first question you will be asked when applying for a job. We recommend that you select ‘Yes’ as selecting ‘No’ often means your application will not go any further. You can then add a supporting statement, like the one below, in any notes/further information section of an online application or your cover letter:

I am eligible to work in the UK for a two-year period (insert three years if you are a PhD student) once my studies end if I apply for the Graduate visa, which does not require employer sponsorship. I am also eligible to apply for permission to work under the Skilled Worker visa upon receipt of a qualifying job offer from a sponsoring employer. You can access government guidance on these routes here. Recruiting International Graduates: A Guide for Employers, endorsed by the Institute of Student Employers and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), is also useful.

Further resources

Use the below resources to explore this topic further: