One of the most common questions we get from students who have just started their training is a simple one: how do I actually find work?

It is a good question. Getting your skills to a professional level is one thing. Turning those skills into a steady stream of paying jobs is a different challenge, and it is one that puts some new tilers off before they have even started. While tiling courses are a great way to start your own business, you will need to understand the business side of it too to get the best results.

The good news is that the demand for tilers in the UK is genuinely strong, and there are more ways to find work than most people realise.

Start Before You Finish Training

The best time to start thinking about finding work is during your course, not after. Let people know what you are doing. Tell friends, family, neighbours and former colleagues that you are training as a tiler and will be available for jobs soon. You would be surprised how often the first paid job comes from someone who simply remembered a conversation from a few weeks earlier.

By the time you finish your course, having even one or two jobs already lined up makes an enormous difference to your confidence and your momentum.

We already wrote a detailed guide on finding your first tiling job, so be sure to read that through too - but there are a few key skills you should learn to keep bringing work in in the longer term. 

Word of Mouth: Still the Most Powerful Tool

Ask any established tiler where most of their work comes from and the answer is almost always the same: word of mouth. A happy customer who tells their neighbour, their colleague or their sister in law is worth more than any amount of advertising.

This means that the quality of your work and how you conduct yourself on the job matters right from the start. Turn up when you say you will, keep the area tidy, communicate clearly and do the job to a high standard. Do those things consistently and referrals will follow naturally.

In the early days, going slightly above and beyond on your first few jobs is worth the effort. Those customers become your ambassadors, and their recommendations carry real weight.

Trade Directories and Review Platforms

Getting yourself listed on trade directories is one of the first practical steps to take as a new tiler. These platforms connect homeowners who are looking for tradespeople with local professionals, and many people use them specifically because they want someone with reviews and a track record.

• Checkatrade is one of the most well known in the UK. You pay a monthly fee to be listed, and customers can leave reviews against your profile. The verification process adds credibility, which helps you stand out when you are new and do not yet have a long history of work to show.
• MyBuilder works on a slightly different model. Jobs are posted by homeowners and tradespeople can apply to quote. It can take a little time to build up your rating, but it is a useful source of leads, particularly when you are starting out and need to get some volume behind you.
• Rated People operates similarly to MyBuilder and is worth being listed on alongside it. The more places you appear, the more chances you have of being found.

Getting reviews on Google is also important. When someone searches for a tiler in their local area, your Google Business profile and its reviews can be the deciding factor. Reviews are also a key ranking factor in the Google search results, so they’ll impact how regularly you show up for those searches in the first place. Set up a Google Business profile as soon as you can and make a habit of asking satisfied customers to leave a review.

Social Media

Social media is genuinely useful for finding tiling work, particularly Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook is where a lot of local work is generated. Community groups and local buy and sell groups are full of people asking for recommendations for tradespeople. Join the groups for your local area and keep an eye on them. When someone asks for a tiler, a prompt, professional response often gets the job. 

A simple Facebook business page where you post photos of your completed work also helps. It does not need to be polished or complicated. Regular photos of finished jobs, with a brief description of the work, is enough to show potential customers what you are capable of.

Instagram works particularly well for tiling because the work photographs well. Before and after shots, interesting patterns and well finished wet rooms all do well on the platform. Over time, a consistent presence builds an audience of local homeowners who will think of you when they need a tiler.

If you want more detail on how to approach social media as a new tiler, our post on building a tiling portfolio from scratch covers photographing your work and building your online presence in more detail.

Networking With Other Trades

Some of the best leads for tiling work come not from homeowners directly, but from other tradespeople. Builders, plumbers, bathroom fitters and kitchen installers all regularly need a tiler as part of a larger project. If they have someone reliable they can recommend, they will use them again and again.

Getting to know local tradespeople, whether through job sites, local networking events or simply through the natural process of working on the same projects, can open up a very consistent stream of work. Treat those relationships well and they can become some of your most reliable sources of referrals.

New Build and Commercial Work

Once you have some experience and a track record behind you, it is worth considering new build developers and commercial clients. Developers who are building or refurbishing properties regularly need tilers and tend to offer ongoing work rather than one off jobs.

This type of work requires you to be consistent, reliable and able to work to deadlines, but it can provide a level of income stability that domestic work alone sometimes does not.

Keep Showing Up

The tilers who struggle to find work are usually the ones who do things inconsistently. They post on social media for a week and then stop. They get one review and never ask for another. They get busy with a big job and let their online presence go quiet. 

The ones who build a solid business treat finding work as something they do a little of all the time, not just when their diary is empty. Even when you are fully booked, staying visible and keeping your profiles updated means the next round of work is already building in the background. Simple tasks like building and maintaining an appealing portfolio, and learning which types of quotes will reliably get work, make all the difference.

If you are at the start of your tiling journey and want to make sure your skills are at the level that keeps customers coming back and recommending you, that starts with proper training. Take a look at our courses or get in touch if you want to talk through which one is right for you.

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