obtaining a job before arrival

Hello,

I'm currently making arrangements to come to London on a working holiday visa and am looking forward to what I'm sure will be a very interesting experience. The one thing I'm starting to have concerns about is whether I'm going to have to move to London first in order to find a job, or whether there's a good chance of getting placed by an agency beforehand.

I work as project manager in the web/IT industry and have solid experience and excellent references and would normally not expect to have a problem finding a job. That said, I could understand if companies wouldn't want to hire someone without at least meeting them first. I'd really be interested to hear from anyone with experience or knowledge about this.

thanks,
Geoff

My husband works in IT and had a difficult time finding a job. He was constantly headhunted where we used to live. I'm not trying to be discouraging though!
I'd suggest getting in touch with some recruiters as that's where most of the tech jobs are found through. Also, you might want to consider contracting. It's not as stable as you will get limited contracts but there is way more money in it. That was one thing my husband was offered a lot of.
Also if this really is a working holiday, contracting might give you an opportunity to briefly live in different places in the UK.
I do think it's unlikely to get a job in advance of anyone seeing you for an in person interview.
I'd recommend taking a look at what a UK CV (resume( is like and make sure yours fits that model.
Good Luck!

Hello,

I am working as a computer programmer for a bank in Manchester.
I also did not have any problem 4 years ago to find a job in Montreal.
It is different over here thought , it took me longer than expected to find a permanent job (took about 4 months).

In the IT industry most of the jobs are advertised through agencies. You should register with agencies specialised in your field as soon as you arrive in England. Some will want to meet you before looking for jobs for you.
I also agree with Michelle in that I don't think anybody will hire someone without meeting in person first.

Also you have to keep in mind that employers looking to find someone on a permanent job may not like the fact that you are on a working holiday visa. They will prefer to employ someone with no time limit. So I think contracting could be a better solution and it usually pays more than a permanent job.

I hope this helps !!

Joanne