Job-Hunting Advice For International Students

And now for something a little different (not Salesforce).

I've worked a lot with international students and, upon helping a few at a career fair last night, realized I'd like to formally publish the advice I often give international students about job-hunting.

It seems that colleges and universities are able to perform superhuman feats of service welcoming international students, helping them succeed socially and academically, making sure they know what they can and can't do for work, and steering them toward job-search resources (plus making them aware of timelines and deadlines).

But there are a few "mental barriers" I think often remain.

Many people have helped me get through my "but I don't know what I'm doing..." mental barriers, so I hope I can "pay it forward" somehow.

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I'd say most mental barriers unique to international students can be summarized as:

"I'm afraid of being judged for my handicaps, and history shows that I have good reason for that!"

And all the solutions I suggest can be summarized as:

"Jump ahead of the company and guide their staff.  Talk about your handicap - making clear not only what it is but what it isn't (so their imaginations don't run wild) - and present a solution to the problems it poses BEFORE they have time to make their own guesses.

"You're right that by the time they've assumed, it's often too late to change their minds.  But you're wrong if you think you can't change their minds at all.  You just have to be one step ahead of them.

"It's easy to presume a company's staff make all hiring judgment calls on their own just because they are in a position of authority to do so, but that's a myth.  They know what expertise they don't have.  You will be amazed how open-minded and grateful hiring officials are about being told how to handle your handicap."

"It's hard, and it will take a lot of practice to get good at, but investing the time in getting good at 'making your own handicaps look like strengths' will drastically change your job-hunting life forever.  It is the foundation on which everything else you're going to get training and practice for as you job-hunt (networking, cold-calls, resumes, cover letters, interviews) will become more successful."

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I suppose I haven't yet said anything that isn't true for domestic students, too ... but what I think is unique about international-student-specific mental barriers is that they ALL seem to be variations on this theme.  So, below are 6 specific complaints of this type that I frequently hear international students worry about and the 6 specific 'So make it sound like a good thing' advice I give them.

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CONCERN #1:

"Every company I'm applying to for after-college work says they don't want to talk to people who aren't US citizens or permanent residents because they don't have any money to sponsor people for work visas."

ADVICE:
You're right that they're judging you as soon as they see your immigration status - so the best you can do to 'jump ahead' of that is in your cover letter / resume.  Some companies legitimately don't want to work with F-1 students, but in my experience, most companies simply don't know the difference.  Here's something you can throw in as a footnote to your cover letter / resume if you're explicitly getting shut down by companies with, 'No sponsorships!':

'Over the summers and for [12 / 12-27 (if STEM)] months after graduation, I am authorized to do work in America that gives me real-world experience extending my academic training in [list majors] at no cost to your company.  Hiring a current or recently-graduated international student is different than sponsorship (which pertains to long-term work visas) and does not require any complicated legal filings or fees.  My work for your company would only be constrained by duration and subject area - hiring me can be structured as an internship, a temporary position, or even a direct hire.  Please ask me if you have any questions!'

Or, here's one that's concise and a little less bold, if it's true of you:

'I am an international student from [country] who intends to establish a career in my home country.  My visa allows me to perform [major]-related work during the course of my studies and up to [one / two and a half (STEM)] year[s] after graduation.'

CONCERN #2:

"Everyone I want to work for says they don't offer internships."

ADVICE:

Stop saying the word 'internship.'  There's no requirement that your work has to be an 'internship.'

You've probably heard that word a lot because 'internship' means short-term work that is structured to help the person performing it gain specific skills in a field.  Obviously, this kind of position naturally suits the limitations on the kind of work you can perform as an international student, so everyone talks about internships a lot.

But you can gain relevant skills at a job even if the job isn't specifically structured around a skill-building goal.

You can also work jobs that are a 'temporary' position or a 'direct hire,' as long as you stay within the duration, subject-matter, and hours/week requirements of your F-1 visa status.  So broaden your job search beyond internships.

'Cold-call' relevant staff at companies you'd like to work with asking them if they ever have, or can create, 'short-term work' - rather than asking 'if they have internships' available.  You'll find that many of them who 'don't have interships' are open to 'having short-term help.'

Open yourself up to working with temp agencies (just make sure they understand your duration / subject / hours-per-week limits so they don't suggest inappropriate placements).

And here's a nice little phrase you can add to cold-call letters or your resume to ensure they don't make any assumptions about whether or not you're easy to hire:

'I am an international student from [country] looking for hands-on experience in America before embarking upon a career in my home country.  My visa allows me to perform [major]-related work during the course of my studies and up to [one / two and a half] year[s] after graduation.'

CONCERN #3:

"I have to get a job in my major, but I've never worked in my major - I worked in foodservice / RA / etc. on campus."

ADVICE:

If your old jobs aren't relevant to the one you want, give them just enough resume space to show that they existed.  They show you've been able to hold down a job and work hard, but don't waste space.

Create a space on your resume called 'Projects' or 'Projects and Research' or 'Projects and Field Work' - etc.

Include a 1-sentence description of a research paper you did.  Describe a class trip by what you did on it, e.g. 'Investigated the pH of lake sediment along Lake Superior boat docks.'  Etc.

The #1 thing to remember to be successful at this is to NEVER let the fact that everyone in the class had to do something, or the fact that the professor walked you through how to do something, stop you from mentioning it.  Your resume is about advertising YOU, and you really have done these things!

Include even things you couldn't repeat without guidance.  You're young.  If a company needs you to be able to do such work independently, they'll let you know at the interview stage.  But don't be afraid to list something you've done in class just because you felt like it was 'no big deal.'



CONCERN #4:

"I'm already handicapped in so many ways.  Why would anyone read my resume or my cover letter?"

ADVICE:

Because you took the time to write a great one.

Different companies put different values on the resume and cover letter, but here's a secret:  those who actually read every applicant's cover letter REALLY love cover letters and get a whole lot of generic ones they hate.

If you use your cover letter (and any free-text areas in the application form) to show that you actually bothered to read the job description (use the job description's words!), you will be in the top 50% of cover letters.

If you also follow up the company's own words with descriptions of why you are the candidate who can solve those needs, you will be in the top 5% of cover letters - including Americans applying to the same job.

Most people get too busy applying for every job they see to tell the story of why they personally fit the job in question.  Take the time and you will be at the top of the stack, despite your visa status, employment background, lack of experience with American customs, etc.

CONCERN #5:

"I'm already handicapped in so many ways.  How am I going to keep my nerves together in an interview when I fear people are looking for a reason to reject me?"

ADVICE:

Find your fears.  Google 'common interview questions' and pick 5 that look terrifying.  Or make up a few of your own about fears that linger despite perhaps having addressed them in your cover letter - e.g. your immigration status work restrictions.

Develop 'elevator-speech'-length answers to them (15-30 seconds).

Stand in front of the mirror and ask yourself the scary question, and practice delivering your answer at least 10 times (focusing on comfort and body language).

It doesn't matter if these aren't the questions you get asked.  They're the questions that brought you fear, and now they don't.  It's like lifting weights in the gym and then being asked to help a friend move a refrigerator.  The skill of 'calmly making yourself sound good in response to a question you were afraid to be asked' will be transferable when you are sitting in an interview.

CONCERN #6:

"I have to find a job in my field, which means I'm applying to jobs where they expect a lot of knowledge in my field.  What if they ask me some sort of obscure question I don't know the answer to?"

ADVICE:

Similar answer to the 'how am I going to keep my nerves together in an interview?' but with one addition:

Google to find 2-5 common interview questions in your field where you know enough about the subject to understand what is being asked, but doubt your abilities to give a top-notch answer to the exact phrasing.

Think about how you would explain what these questions are asking to your grandmother or to a 10-year-old.  Now bring it down to 15-30 seconds.

Now mirror-practice answering the question in a way that draws upon that 'for a 10-year-old' brief explanation of the issue at hand.

Phrase your answer something like this:

'I haven't had the opportunity to work with [______], but I know that it is a [_____] used for [______], and that when working with [_____]s, it is important to make sure that issues of [______, ______, and ______] are addressed because otherwise, [____, ____, and/or _____] could happen.'

Again, this 'mirror-practice' is transferable to unexpected questions.  You will now be experienced at analyzing a question beyond your expertise for what you DO know about its subject-matter and explaining how your general knowledge enables you to solve the company's problems, given time to further train on the specifics.

If you secure an interview, you might want to repeat this drill with 2 new questions from the internet that pertain to the job description at hand.

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GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

:-) :-) :-)

-K

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P.S.  1 MORE CONCERN:

"I think xenophobia / prejudice is hindering my job search."

ADVICE:

Yikes.  I'm really sorry.  That is terrible.

For the most part, I'm in over my head on that one.

But I do have one suggestion, and yes, it comes from the mind of someone who's never had had to deal with it, but...

Even if you want to just walk away, think about firing back your rejection reason at the people doing the hiring and ask them if they could clarify what specifically they think would put you in a stronger position to overcome that disadvantage in the future.

If you don't get a satisfactory answer and still think prejudice is an issue, tell the the HR department coordinating the job search about what was said to you and ask them if they have any clarification about what the company might be looking for, so that you can better prepare yourself for similar positions in the future.

(HR probably won't actually have a good answer.  You're mostly just playing stupid and, by 'asking for useful information,' letting HR know what their employees are saying to candidates that might be against corporate policy or the law.)

Example:

I worked with someone who wanted a customer-facing technology position, but whose only American jobs had been a summer internship and graduate-student-worker positions.

Multiple times, he was told that the company was 'looking for someone with more U.S. experience.'

He came away with an icky feeling that most of those meant, 'We don't want someone who's not only relatively new to the field, but also has brown skin and an accent, to be a major liaison with our customers.'

My only question was, 'But what if there's even one of them who doesn't really mean that?  Who would consider hiring you in a year?  Don't you want to know exactly what they want to see you've been doing for that year so you can think about spending your next year doing it?  It sounds like there's a lot of prejudice in your field, but maybe asking this question over and over can help you better prepare yourself for a job at the nonprejudiced companies.  And in the meantime, subtly tattle to HR on the prejudiced ones.  Oh, and also, I'm really sorry you keep running into this.'