International Students, Here’s How To Increase Your Sponsorship Odds After Graduation

Students have a basic assumption about college: They believe their university is there to help them get a job after graduation.

For American students, this is a harsh misconception to face.

But for international students, it’s devastating.

University systems do not have the resources international students need to overcome cultural differences and find jobs after graduation.

So much of the burden is placed on students.

Many struggle if they don’t socialize or network outside of their circles, or if they spend summers taking classes instead of interning. These students usually have an incredibly difficult time finding a job after graduation.

You don’t have to fall victim to that routine.

There are tangible steps you can take as an international student to increase your chances of landing a job after graduation.

Here’s what you can do:

Practice Conversational English

The language barrier is one of the most challenging cultural hurdles for international students who don’t come from English-speaking countries.

Walking onto campus for the first time is intimidating for American students, so it’s no surprise that non-native English-speaking international students feel a great deal of anxiety when faced with a new place and a foreign language.

Many international students will retreat to what’s comfortable, which means joining an international community of students from their home country.

This is a great for building a support group of peers who share the same background while living abroad.

But relying solely on the comfort of this community during one’s college years can lead to problems down the road.

If you only stay within your international community on campus, you aren’t going to spend as much time developing relationships with American students, practicing English, and developing a comfort with the social interactions of American culture.

The consequences of this builds over time, and it will eventually make interviewing for a job much more difficult.

You won’t have practiced conversational English, so you’ll be less confident in your ability to communicate your skills and personality.

Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

It’s a good idea for international students to become comfortable hanging out with American students, and the first semester of freshman year is the best time to meet people.

Other students tend to be very open during that first semester.

Everyone’s new, so no one knows anyone. It’s the perfect time to make friends. As time passes, people find their groups and niches, and it’s more difficult to build relationships.

Many international students never leave their international community because they enjoy the comfort and familiarity it brings.

But they miss opportunities to build a network outside of the community, which has major benefits when searching for a job down the road.

Build Confidence

There are so many organizations to join and networks to tap into on a college campus.

You can join a business fraternity, a computing club, a travel group, or the Greek system. Just do something that gets you out of your comfort zone.

If you break out of your bubble, make some new friends, and become a leader in an organization, you’ll be more confident and comfortable living in the U.S.

But if you keep yourself in a bubble for four years, you aren’t going to grow as a person — and you’re avoiding important connections that will help you get a job after graduation.

Be Proactive

I meet many international students who aren’t as proactive as they need to be. They aren’t aggressive about speaking up and getting noticed.

It’s really a cultural divide.

Many students feel uncomfortable being assertive and putting themselves out there because that type of behavior isn’t what they’re accustomed to back home. But shyness holds you back when you’re trying to stand out during an interview.

As uncomfortable as it may be, getting a job requires that you speak up and become proactive about promoting yourself and standing out from the crowd.

And the more you speak up, the more comfortable you’ll become when sharing your successes or skills.

Know Your Options

During school, you want to utilize your curricular practical training (CPT) to get internships and gain credit for them.

Ideally, you should save your optional practical training (OPT) until after you graduate.

You can only use your CPT while you’re in school, so it’s better to save all your OPT. That will give you as much time as possible after graduation to work until you get a visa.

Another thing to keep in mind is that STEM majors get three years of OPT after they graduate. Non-STEM graduates only get one year before an H1B visa is required to stay in the US.

So, if you can get a STEM degree like engineering, math, or a hard science, you’ll have an extra two years to find a visa sponsor.

Start Early

I’ve noticed that students who are always networking have an easier time finding a job after graduation.

They begin forming relationships early on in college, and they don’t rely on their university to present job opportunities. They get an internship their freshman year, even if it doesn’t seem significant, and they use that experience to get themselves more meaningful work.

The most successful international students don’t sit back and wait.

If your goal is to get a job in the U.S. after graduation, start getting as much experience as possible by your junior year.

It may be difficult now, but getting over the cultural barriers and networking with new people will make your life (and job search) much easier after graduation.

Matt Wilkerson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Paragon One, a career advisory network that has helped hundreds of students and recent graduates land competitive jobs and internships.

For business and career advice, follow him on Twitter and Quora.