We have been in Australia nearly 3 years now and finally made up our minds about 6 months ago that we would return to the UK.

However, the only thing the return is dependant upon is me being able to get a job back in the UK first. So for the last 6 months I have been applying for a large number of jobs via online ads with very little success (just a couple of calls from agencies and then nothing following up on that). I think they are just initially interested to see why I want to come back to the UK rather than seeing me as a realistic candidate.

If anyone has been able to secure a job in the UK before their return I would appreciate any advice or tips you maybe able to give me (I work in the IT field).

Many thanks

I can't offer much in the way of practical help but I know other people on the forum had the same issues - the agencies don't see past the Aus address at the top of the resume, though they may well be a waste of space anyway.

Someone (was it flea?) changed to a British address and phone number on there and got much better results, so you could give that a go, assuming that you would be able to get over there and start working within a few weeks. If you are looking at next year for your move back it is probably too early to apply.

I asked my friend who is in recruitment and she said that 6 months is too long a lead in time for a lot of private sector companies and to wait until the 2 month mark. That is for accountants though, IT may be different.

Good luck with your move

Hey zedder,

Did you have a job before you left for Australia? Are you still in touch with old colleagues?

I have got back into my old workplace two years after leaving. My old work mates put me in touch with one of the HR team, did the rest by phone... Was a bit 'touch and go' for a while as our house took much longer to sell than expected, all good now though. Reckon I owe the lads a pint!

Good luck!

P

I have a fair bit of experience working in recruitment agencies so I can offer you a bit of inside knowledge as far as that goes.

No agency (and few actual employers I imagine) is likely to seriously consider a candidate who is not able to start within a maximum of say 3 weeks. There may be rare exceptions for some very senior jobs like CEO or managing directors, but apart from that the rule stands firm.

Depending on the type of agency, if they do phone you, that probably means that they have no ideal candidates who are already in the UK, and they're calling you to see if you would be in the UK soon enough for the employers needs.

Of course, the above refers to when the agency is recruiting for a specific job. Sometimes they might be just building up a pool of suitable candidates for if and when a suitable job becomes available. In those cases you're much more likely to be placed into that pool, as a serious candidate, provided you can convince the agency that, should a suitable job come up, you can start within an acceptable time (still usually 3 - 4 weeks max).

Personally I'm not going to even try applying for any jobs until at the earliest a month before I return to UK. I'm also aware that I'm far more likely to be successful once I am actually in the country.

If you do need / want to try to secure an offer BEFORE you arrive, then the advice in an earlier post about using a friend / family members address in UK is probably well worth taking on board.

Good luck and keep on trying till you succeed!

I would tend to agree with this.

Recruitment agencies do test the market, to see who might be available for current positions and openings that might come up in the future. They like to have candidates on their books, and this doesn't necessarily mean that there are any suitable vacancies right now.

I'd be very surprised if a UK employer showed a great deal of interest in an application from overseas when the date of return is uncertain or well into the future, unless you have very particular skills to offer. Even then, I think they would probably ask when you would be available, and expect you to fly over for interview immediately, probably at your own expense. A couple of my friends in SA got this response, and were assured that they would reimburse the successful candidate.

I'm thinking about returning to the UK soon, and I do some work with UK companies who are prepared to discuss opportunities, but they do need a firm commitment. I think it's a case of come back, or give us your date of return (confirmed), and we can talk, but don't expect a firm offer as a precursor to returning, which is fair enough.

Using a UK address and phone number might be a good idea, as a couple of other posters have suggested, but are you in a position to fly straight away if you are called for interview, and take up the position if you are offered it? Telling an employer that you have to go back to Australia to pack up etc might kill the offer, unless you can assure them that you'll be back in the Uk in a couple of weeks.

Whilst the above info is not actually incorrect, it does depend on a few things. Your seniority and your skill set being the most important.

Niche skills and even middle management are going to be expecting 2 or 3 month notice periods, and will have 4-5 month lead times for recruiting. Even ordinary level jobs in the UK would have 2-3 month lead times for filling a position.

General recruitment agencies work more along the lines described above, but specialist and international recruiters do not.

The job market is not an easy one right now, but jobs are there and the right approach will still get you a good one. Trying to work on known contacts and signing with International recruiters is probably your best bet for the moment.