International Students and the Job Search

Challenges

Work in the U.S. is not guaranteed, nor promised, to foreign nationals entering the country on a student visa. However, in addition to the quotas set on the number of skilled foreign workers legally permitted in the country, these factors contribute to the difficulty you may experience trying to find employment in the U.S.

Hiring Complexities: Employers are unfamiliar with the process of hiring an international student and therefore believe it to be complicated and expensive.

Lack of Commitment to the Job: Employers fear that foreign nationals will return to their home country after a year or two and are therefore reluctant to invest time and resources into training them.

Communication: Employers are concerned about foreign nationals’ ability to communicate effectively in verbal and written English with their clients and internal personnel.

Employment Restrictions: In general, as a foreign national you cannot work for the U.S. federal government, for most U.S. state and local government agencies or for private companies contracted by the government. Your visa status will be less of an absolute barrier with other industries and employers.

Recommendations

Strong employment prospects for you as an international student may be with organizations that have an international focus, such as the World Trade Organization, World Health Organization, World Bank or African Development Fund. Likewise, you may have more success with U.S. companies that have an international presence. Your international experience, language and cultural fluency make you very attractive to these organizations. In addition, if your U.S. work authorization is delayed, you may be able to continue to work at one of their branches outside of the U.S. (ie: in your home country). The UCS library includes several print resources that name American companies with divisions throughout the world. Here are a few:

• Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries
• Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the U.S.

Finally, as an international student you may find the job search process less difficult if you study technical subjects. High tech firms in the U.S. are desperate to hire skilled workers, particularly in the areas of Systems Analysis and Programming, Engineering and Accounting. If you are not majoring in one of these areas, at least consider developing computer skills (programming, word processing and spreadsheet design), quantitative skills (accounting, statistics and economics) and/or scientific skills (lab research) through elective classes, independent studies or extracurricular activities to make yourself more marketable.

Here is a partial list of companies that hired international students who graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences 2004-2007:

U.S. Employment System

The first step in designing an effective job search strategy which will lead to employment in the United States is to clearly understand the setting in which you are operating. As a student, you may not have had much experience job-hunting in your home country. Even if you have, you are likely to find job-hunting in the U.S. a different process.

The differences are culturally based and, therefore, you may have to work very hard at overcoming the natural inclination to conduct yourself as you would if you were looking for a job in your home country. Different cultures have different sensibilities. Be aware of the setting in which you are interviewing.

UCS has several books in the library to introduce you to the American job search process. Take time to read some of this material before you begin your search. The Enhanced Occupational Outlook Handbook is a great resource with which to start.