Noman Abbasi wrote:
How did you deal with the prospective employers? This is another arena I would have tread carefully. Can't believe 10 years, I have been putting my head down studying , working and after 10 years I am still stuck in the same Dogma.
I have withdrawn all of my applications (post-interview stage, offer stage applications). I will have to wait until the home office makes their decision.
Major firms (MNEs, established medium firms): At the entry and <5 years experienced level, most companies do not even bother interviewing you if you don't have the visa. You can say it's currently under review, but the chance of you getting an interview is not good. The HR often don't have the right information as the home office keeps changing rules. So it's easier for them to say "hell with it. I won't look at applications without the right visa." The HR only give the CVs of those with the right to work to hiring managers. There is a very good chance that your CV gets tossed in the HR department for not having the visa. At major firms, someone from the HR has to read/approve your CV before a hiring manager can look at it.
SMEs: Surprisingly, they can be less stringent when it comes to the visa. If you are in engineering, IT, healthcare or hedge funds (prestigious ones) and they think you are the right candidate, they will interview you and make you an offer. The problem is the offer might not stand if your employer thinks there is too much paperwork to be done. They are small companies. An offer can be made within days and can be withdrawn within days.
Headhunters: They will not deal with applicants without the visa. What they do is to call you and arrange a meeting (having looked at your CV). If the meeting goes well, they will ask you to bring some ID that proves your right to work.
If you apply for the visa from the student visa, you will be on the student visa until they make the decision. This makes it almost impossible to look for a job, at least not in the mainstream business. If you are currently on the work visa, you can't change your job at least for a year. You are in the same situation as students. You can't look for a new job. If you can, do not apply through this 10 year route.
