U.K. HSMP help please

[A Bhattacharya]

I want to go work in UK b4 I get too old coz of H1B restrictions going to USA. From what I understand most companies do not hire you over the phone, and require you to be holding a HSMP visa and be staying in UK to attend in-person interview (and they also require you to have a driver's license). To me it sounds like too daring to go & stay in UK without a job for an indefinite period of time searching for a job. And what about the current job? Do you go on long leave? Somebody with firsthand experience please advice me.

[A Bhattacharya]

Oh and I'm from India. I chose this name Peter Parker to match my username spiderman but unfortunately it aint displaying the username.

[badari gururaj]

Hi,
I can give you some information from my first hand experience.

1. You have to do a very thorough research on your target job market in the UK. Go through the job sites, get a hang of the kind of jobs/monies available. If you are looking at permnet jobs or contract jobs, make sure you have all the information you need. All the information will be available in the job sites and sites like contractorUK

2. Companies do expect you to have work authrorisation in UK even before they want to talk to you. There are hardly any companies these days which would sponser work permits. If you have an International driving permit issued in India, you can drive cars in UK upto 1 year and its not true that all companies would insist on Driving licence.

3. Most importantly, after doing your research, you have to be confident that your level of skills would definetly land you in a job. If you are not confident, make sure that you update your skillsets and reach a point where you can be confident.

4. Once you get your HSMP and decide to come to UK, you can do a lot of ground work sitting in India. You can approach the job sites and consultants with your CV and tell them that you are coming to UK on particular date and start scheduling interviews. If your CV really good you can land a few first round telephonic interviews and take them sitting in India.

This is what i did

Jun 2006 - Decided to apply for HSMP. Started working on my technical skills
Oct 2006 - Applied for HSMP
Nov 2006 - HSMP approved
Dec 2006 - Resigned from my job
Jan 2006 - Decided to fly to UK in mid Feb. Started disposing my belonings in India. Applied to UK job websites, started getting very good response. Scheduled 5 inteviews for mid Feb. Attended 2 telephonic interviews while sitting in india
First week feb 2006- Got my Visa and confirmed the ticets
2nd week Feb - Flew to UK
3rd week Feb - first offer
4th week March - joined my first job. Had 6 offers by this time.

Probably you can gather the amount of preperation i did before reaching a stage where i can join my first job.

It depends a lot on your confidence level whether you want to resign from your job or go on a long leave. Its your decision.

Hope this helps

Regards
Badari

[Rambo Prasad]

Badari,

4th week March - joined my first job. Had 6 offers by this time

That sounds great..But what was your experience level when you landed in Uk..You have an impressive list of certifications...Did that help you...Just curious to know since I am also considering the HSMP option...

[A Bhattacharya]

Hi Badari
Thanks for the info. May I know why you resigned your job even before starting to apply? Like did you have supportive family who let you sit at home?

[Sandip Sankeshwar]

I was boasting in a party about lot of IT jobs in India.It seems like UK too is in our train.
[ October 22, 2007: Message edited by: Sandip Sankeshwar ]

[badari gururaj]

I had 7+ years experience when i came to UK. The certifications did help but only initially. End of the day, what really matters is how you are able perform in the interviews. On the other hand, the expereince you gain while doing these certifications itself helps a lot. I got a lot of help because of IBM 665 when i attended interviews as i was concentrating on SOA kind of jobs with a touch of Websphere Integration.

In terms of resigning, i had planned ahead to take care of myself and my family during the months when i was not earning. But ofcourse i did have my immediate family to fall back on in case of any trouble.

[A Bhattacharya]

How about the cost of living in UK? I hear that it is very high. For a comparison, I'm getting paid Rs.100000 per month before taxes of which I pay house rent of Rs.4000 which is mere 4%. What is the % I will have to spend on accomodation in UK? I don't like to share apartment with guys.

[Mark Herschberg]

"Peter Parker",

Welcome to JavaRanch. Please look carefully at the official naming policy at JavaRanch & reregister yourself with a proper first & last name; obviously fictitious names are not allowed. Please adhere to official naming policy & help maintain the decorum of the forum. The naming policy can be found at http://www.javaranch.com/name.jsp. You can change your name here.

--Mark

[Vivek Nidhi]

Hi,

It seems the behaviour at US consulates and treatment for getting US visa even if you are genuine 100% has prompted many people to think of HSMP now.


regards
Vivek Nidhi
SAP Certified Netweaver EP
SUN Certified Java Programmer 1.4
SUN Certified Java Associate Beta 1.0
IBM Certified Database Assocaite 700

[blore techie]

Exactly man.
totally frustrating H1b's are..
i was a very genuine applicant and still for some stupid reasons they gave me a 221g more docs and those docs i never got from my employer..
waste of time..
so much for the land of opportunities..

[blore techie]

Guys,
I have 3.5 years of exp in .net web development. I very much qualify for hsmp. I am still not sure whether i will be able to get a job in UK... i have already applied for h1b once and have miserably failed coz of lack of some documentation from the prospective employer..
kindly advice..

[Mark Herschberg]

"blore techie",

Welcome to JavaRanch. Please look carefully at the official naming policy at JavaRanch & reregister yourself with a proper first & last name, with a space between them. Initials may be used for a first name, but not a last name. Please adhere to official naming policy & help maintain the decorum of the forum. The naming policy can be found at http://www.javaranch.com/name.jsp. You can change your name here.

--Mark

[Hendy Setyo Mulyo]

Hi Badari,


This is what i did

Jun 2006 - Decided to apply for HSMP. Started working on my technical skills
Oct 2006 - Applied for HSMP
Nov 2006 - HSMP approved
Dec 2006 - Resigned from my job
Jan 2006 - Decided to fly to UK in mid Feb. Started disposing my belonings in India. Applied to UK job websites, started getting very good response. Scheduled 5 inteviews for mid Feb. Attended 2 telephonic interviews while sitting in india
First week feb 2006- Got my Visa and confirmed the ticets
2nd week Feb - Flew to UK
3rd week Feb - first offer
4th week March - joined my first job. Had 6 offers by this time.

Probably you can gather the amount of preperation i did before reaching a stage where i can join my first job.

It depends a lot on your confidence level whether you want to resign from your job or go on a long leave. Its your decision.


That's really cool! I am interested to apply for HSMP too. Can you let me know or give me the link for apply HSMP?
Thank you.