International Students

Make the most of your U.S. college experience and position yourself for professional success

• Get involved outside of the classroom. While good grades are impressive, American-based employers put a lot of emphasis on your experience, and expect college graduates to have experience outside of the classroom. Start with smaller experiences to build your resume, so that you have the experience to apply to internships, and full-time jobs.
• Volunteer in the community
• Get involved in student clubs such as Lundquist College of Business Clubs or University of Oregon Clubs
• Find internships through Handshake
• Achieve Professional-Level proficiency in English. If English is not your first language, immerse yourself in English-based skill-building activities:
  • Toastmasters: a supportive club to improve public speaking
  • International Student Association Coffee Hour
  • Conversation Friend Program
• Learn about U.S. Business & Hiring Culture
  • Explore U.S. Business Culture.
  • Learn about “small talk” in U.S. culture.
• Check out Interstride—a tool designed to help international students with job search!

Create Resumes, Cover Letters and a LinkedIn Profile that communicate:

How you are going to help an organization achieve their goals and solve their problems.

What skills you have that make you a good job candidate.

How you align with the organization’s mission and values.

5 tips for building your American job application materials:

Job application materials, like resumes and cover letters, will be slightly different per country.

Learn More

Skillsets you may not realize you have:

As an international student, you have distinct skills that your domestic competition may not have.

Learn More

There are two main strategies for job and internship searches in the U.S:

• The Proactive Search Through Networking:In the U.S., it’s common for someone to get hired because they know a person working in the company who advocates for them – this is called an “internal referral”. The goal of networking is to meet new people, learn from them, build a professional relationship, and potentially receive an internal referral.
  • Check out our Networking for International Students video interview at between an international graduate student and a Mohr Career Services Advisor to learn more about what networking is, why it is so important to the career search process, and how to get started!
  • Learn about Informational Interviews–what are these conversations that can form the foundation of a successful job search? How can you set one up? What should you ask? How should you follow up?
• The Reactive Search Through Job Postings: This is done by using job search sites such as Indeed.com, Internships.com, Monster.com, or LinkedIn to find job postings and apply for jobs online. Ultimately, you should use both proactive and reactive techniques. But keep in mind that only 20% of your time should be focused on applying (reactive), while 80% of your time should be focused on networking (proactive)! We suggest spending more time on the proactive part of job search because it takes more time, but it tends to achieve stronger results.
• Consider companies that have sponsored H1B Visas. Check out the following resources to identify if a company has sponsored in the past.
  • Check out Interstride , a tool for international job search–with information about companies’ H1B filling history, H1B cap-exempt companies, U.S. Visa insights, webinars, resources, checklists, and more!
  • GoinGlobal
• Employment Types & F-1 Visa Information
  • On-Campus Employment. International students may work up to 20 hours per week on-campus while taking classes. Many jobs do not require previous experience. Check out Handshake to start browsing campus jobs. Some positions require a work-study scholarship award. Find out if you have work-study through your financial aid award on DuckWeb. Learn more about work-study through the Career Center’s Work-study FAQ and ISSS Scholarships.
  • Off-Campus Employment. International students may work off-campus in specific situations and only with prior approval from ISSS. It takes time to find a job or internship. We encourage you to start building experience and your network while in the U.S. Students may need to explain their student visa work authorization and employment options to employers, as not all U.S. employers are experienced in hiring international candidates.
  • Explore the F-1 Visa
  • Lundquist Connect is a platform just for the Lundquist College of Business community that allows students to connect with alumni and other friends of the college for advice, networking, and mentorship. Reaching out to alumni is highly encouraged and this platform makes it easy! Think of it like a warm LinkedIn; every alumnus on the platform has raised their hand to volunteer to be available to you and to help you advance your career journey!