I must caveat that I am not employed by anyone in the UK. This blog is my passion while I’m not traveling, renovating, landlord-ing, on mom duty, or a myriad of other things that seem to consume my time. Nevertheless, I have a few top tips for expats finding a job in the UK.
Because one thing is for certain – I am a planner. 👩🏼💻
And because of that, I like to be ready in the event of an awesome opportunity that I don’t even know yet that could come my way. Because you can never be too prepared.
Why do I need a National Insurance Number to get a job in the UK?
Even if getting a job or working (you could be a blogger, too!) isn’t on your mind now, it might be in 1-2-3 years from now when that expat contract is extended and your hubs tells you to plan on hunkering down for a few more years. 😳
Although that hasn’t happened to us yet, why not go for the NIN anyway? Another skill, another notch on your expat know-how, and a to-do anyway if you plan to earn an income in the UK someday. And so, I got my NIN.
Similar to a SSN in the USA, a National Insurance Number is required for working in the UK so that taxes are properly recorded on your account.
In order to get your NIN, you must make an appointment by calling the National Insurance number application line. You’ll choose a Jobcentre Plus location, date and time, and gather all the documents required for your interview.
The NIN interview is fairly straightforward, but here are a few tips for success:
- Dress nice. Treat it like a real interview.
- Give yourself plenty of time to find parking. Bring coins in the event you must pay for parking.
- Bring as many original documents as noted in your appointment letter that will arrive in the post.
- Bring the NIN confirmation letter that arrived in the mail.
- Bring any evidence of the work you are seeking or engaged in, such as invoices, expense receipts, etc.
- Answer interview questions and plan on an hour from beginning to end.
Receiving a NIN number is NOT guaranteed. The government may or may not grant you one. The review process can take up to 8 weeks and will be mailed to you via the post.
But BEFORE you go through the whole interview process, have you previously filled out a NIN application?
In my case, I filled out the NIN in 2017 (when I interviewed for a job upon arriving in the UK). I assumed the application got lost in the Royal Mail or through the paper shuffle on the processing end, so I never bothered to follow up. 🤷🏼♀️
Only recently when I was on the phone with the NIN application line that I asked for my original application to be searched for in their database. And as expected, it was confirmed as not received.
However, during the actual NIN interview, the agent interviewing me informed me that I already had a National Insurance Number and I was able to leave the Jobcentre Plus with it in hand.
The tip here 👉🏻 You might already have a National Insurance Number. It pays to follow up more than once – even if years have passed since the application was filed.
Because my interview was shorter than I’m guessing most expat applicants, it gave us the opportunity to talk about finding jobs as an expat in the UK.
Tips For Expats Finding A Job In The UK
From tweaking your own belief system to figuring out where to start, here are tips for expats to find a job in the UK.
1 – Eliminate limiting beliefs as an expat.
With the NIN out of the way, I shared concerns that expats may have:
- My partner travels 99% of the time making a full-time job impractical.
- Managing around child-care drop-off, pick-up, and after-school activities seem like unattractive requirements to ask of an employer.
- Reports of job shortages in the UK tend to suggest an American expat would be given lower priority over someone local vying for the same position.
- With frequent travel, such as flying back and forth to the USA at various times of the year, require a work-from-anywhere arrangement.
The response?
Those are limiting beliefs.
In fact, the JobCentre Plus agent encouraged quite the opposite.
For someone who leaves a career in the USA to relocate to the UK as an expat has ample opportunity to find a job in the UK. It takes effort on your part to find and decide on the right job for you and you’re own situation, but –
…having concerns about flexible hours, working from home, or even working from another country are less and less of an issue with employers these days.
2 – Use recruitment agencies and search engines to find a job in the UK. Highly recommended sites include:
- BMS Performance – Great for someone advanced in their career with specialized talent.
- Reed
- Indeed – Part of the American Indeed employment worldwide search engine.
- Fish4Jobs
- Totaljobs
- CV-Library
- FlexJobs – A site for finding the best remote and flexible jobs.
3 – Schedule an interview with one of the recruitment agencies and meet in person.
Actually meeting in person generates greater success than relying on a virtual search alone.
4 – Consider an American company with corporate offices in the UK and vice versa.
What about a company that offers you longevity beyond the expat move and a career that can take you across the Atlantic and back – allowing your country of residence to be no big deal? There are lots of companies with corporate offices or headquarters in both countries that span retail, tech, energy, pharmaceuticals and more. Get my brainstormed list HERE
5 – Be true to your needs.
Select part-time, work from home, or whatever else it is that allows you to afford to work in the first place. Don’t give up your expat gig just because. Do it for something you love and for an organization that can meet and respect your needs. If you’re qualified, the right doors will open.
6 – Register for job notifications.
Sign up for email, text or both. Delete what you don’t want, but let yourself be the one to decide. Don’t miss out.
7 – There aren’t really job shortages for those who are willing to work.
As long as you are honest with what you want for a position, set boundaries with your employer and establish a working relationship, there will be plenty of jobs for everyone. American expats included.
Part curious. Part motivation. Part wanting to make new friends.
Whatever the reason is for why you want to find a job in the UK as an expat doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s to make new friends? Maybe it’s to hone in on a skill or develop a new one?
If you’re simply curious about what it takes finding a job in the UK as an expat, or you’re truly motivated to get one for whatever reason, these top tips will send you in the right direction: schedule your NIN interview, show up prepared, and start a job search with a recruitment or job search agency. If you’re qualified and the job can go with you anywhere, how cool is that? 💪🏻
Looking for more expat guides to living in the UK? Try these.
- American Companies With Offices In The UK For An Expat Job Search
- Find The Answer: A Stay-at-Home Mom vs Career Test
- Simplify expat travel & start checking things off with this 👉bucket list
—————————————————————-