Saints Ready, our virtual career center, offers some tips and information to help you on your career & life planning.
We hope you attend our campus events and schedule to meet with us for developing resumes, practicing interviews, and more.
We are here to be a resource in helping international students understand and navigate available opportunities.
Here are some tips and resources:
► Networking is important. In particular, talk to other international students and international alumni to see how they handled the job search process.
► Volunteering is a great way to gain work experience for your resume.
► For the resume, you may notice some differences between your country of origin and U.S. standards. For instance:
- U.S. employers prefer single-page resumes (and cover letters) vs. multi-page documents
- In the U.S., resumes do not include personal photo or mention of age, gender, marital status or home country
- U.S. resumes provide little or no information about high school, especially for junior/senior resumes
- In the U.S., the term “CV” refers to a longer document used by researchers and academics
- Be sure to provide context in your resume—U.S. employer may not know that a certain company is the top biotech firm in India or that your school was one of the top five universities in Japan.
► Interviewing standards and expectations are different in the U.S. than in other countries.
- U.S. employers:
- Expect that the interview is your chance to sell yourself as you answer their questions.
- Value candidates who can express how they made a difference through their accomplishments or by overcoming obstacles.
- May start with direct questions. Some small talk might be appropriate, but not for very long. Be ready to get down to business pretty quickly.
- Expect that you will research the organization and demonstrate that knowledge during the interview.
- When an interviewer asks if you’re eligible to work in the U.S., you should answer that you can work in the U.S. on Optional Practical Training (OPT) for the duration of your OPT, after which point you would need to be sponsored.
- Do not wait until the second or third interview to discuss sponsorship.
- Know which questions are illegal for U.S. employers to ask:
- How old are you?
- Are you married?
- Are you a US citizen?
- How many children do you have?
- What is your religion?
- Where were you born?
If you have questions about on-campus employment/paid internships with your student visa,
please contact oipd@stmartin.edu at the Office of International Programs and Development.
Visa Online Resources
Working in the USA– Overview of how students with an F-1 visa can work in the US during college and after graduation (click around the site for a variety of other topics)
My Visa Jobs Blog– Tips and articles on H1B Visa applications
Visa Coach– Top 100 H1B US Visa Employers from recent years
Foreign Labor Certification Data Center– Search for specific companies and obtain lists of companies that have sponsored H1B visas in the past
iHipo – International Job & Internship Database
