Howdy everyone,

There is a good possibility that my wife and I will be moving to London within the next several months. I work in the insurance industry and am in the process of interviewing with some firms in London. I have some personal connections who've made recommendations on my behalf.

My wife works in the retail industry, in merchandizing. She's had a successful career in merchandizing, experience in a wide array of product lines, and a few promotions to show for it. Good news is the retail industry in London is quite large. However, we don't have any contacts in that industry, or others that may be a good fit, and so we are not sure of the best way to go about exploring opportunities for my wife beyond applying to the endless black-hole that is online career portals.

We would appreciate any tips regarding how to best go about job hunting in a new country, keeping in mind we won't initially have a network locally.

This is all very up in the air at the moment, but want to get a jump start on thinking it all through in case we get the news that we're moving.

There is an A&M Club in London. That would be my first point of contact.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/19761597792

There are also American Clubs:

American Women's Club

http://awclondon.org/


I would look on job boards and talk to recruiters. They are a pain in the backside,

but that is how I got my first job in Europe. You all could move without her having

a job, and she could spend time Networking. London is expensive though.

You have an advantage in that English is your mother tongue. I moved to Germany

and had to polish my language skills.

Be sure you have her work visa sorted out first.

Other than that, network, network, network. Get involved with something in your community to meet folks who can clue you in.

One piece of advice about moving to an English speaking country (I've been in Australia almost 10 years) is don't get lulled into thinking that things are "just like America". There will be lots of cultural differences and it can be frustrating at times. Good Luck!

HollywoodBQ said:

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One piece of advice about moving to an English speaking country (I've been in Australia almost 10 years) is don't get lulled into thinking that things are "just like America". There will be lots of cultural differences and it can be frustrating at times. Good Luck!

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This is very true. The English are very bureaucratic, and your language is inferior to theirs in their opinion.

Also, Trump is very unpopular here in Europe and in the UK.

Thanks for this advise, WhoDatAg,

I assumed there was would be an A&M Club in London, good to have that confirmed.
Good to know there are also other groups such as AWC, as you mentioned. We've also looked into industry specific groups, as retail is a pretty big industry in London. Will certainly look into contacting recruiters if/when the time is right and a move looks more certain.

Thanks again

HollywoodBQ,

Regarding the work visa: If I were to be hired on, I'd apply for a work visa for myself, which would also cover my wife (I'm brushing past the intricacies here). Would this then be sufficient for her to apply for jobs as well?

Did you have to go through an interview process before moving to Australia? I'd be interested to know how different/similar that process was, especially in regards to cultural differences. I know Australia and England would probably differ here, so can't compare apples to apples, but just curious.

Thanks much

zaque1213 said:

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HollywoodBQ,

Regarding the work visa: If I were to be hired on, I'd apply for a work visa for myself, which would also cover my wife (I'm brushing past the intricacies here). Would this then be sufficient for her to apply for jobs as well?

Did you have to go through an interview process before moving to Australia? I'd be interested to know how different/similar that process was, especially in regards to cultural differences. I know Australia and England would probably differ here, so can't compare apples to apples, but just curious.

Thanks much

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I would be sure that you double-check what Visa status your wife will get. When I came to Australia, I absolutely insisted that my employer give me the type of Visa that would allow my wife to work. I can't say about England but in Australia, that is not an automatic guarantee.

Since I had an employer sponsored work visa, I was restricted to only working for my employer, I couldn't get a part-time job on the side or anything. My wife on the other hand, as a dependent, had no restrictions on where she could work.

I've got a friend who has been in India for a couple years and when she got her Visa, she did not get a Visa to allow her husband to work in India. So basically, he is stuck at home and has been going nuts.

When I moved to Australia, there wasn't a Visa interview process that I recall. But, there were a lot of forms to fill out plus medical exams, blood tests, chest X-rays, plus more forms. It was a very tedious process that took about 5 months AFTER they told me I got the job. That experience changed my stance on illegal immigration in the US from one of indifference to one of - they should have to go through the process I had to go through.

Once I got to Australia, one of the biggest differences was health care. Australia has reciprocal agreements with most of the Commonwealth countries. But for me, as an American, they had to put me on a different Health Care plan. There is a long list of other seemingly minor cultural differences but, they do add up over time. The easiest way to summarize it is to say that they don't have the US Bill of Rights.