Posted by By Ricardo DeLeon, Wasserman Career Ambassador, Stern Class of 2024
Hello everyone! My name is Ricardo DeLeon and I am a sophomore at Stern concentrating in Management and Finance. I had the opportunity to attend Wasserman’s recent event focusing on, “The Job Search for International Students.” Through insights provided by guest panelists as well as Wasserman staff members Joanne Garce-Rodriguez and Kenya Farley, NYU’s community of international students were able to learn more about the job-visa attainment process. If you missed this event, go ahead and read this blog to learn more about some of my key takeaways.
Our panelists, Mihir Chakravarti, Heena An, Yue Liu, and Sophia Heinke, some of which are NYU alums, are all professionals who were formerly international students. They discussed their day-to-day experiences at their jobs, hoping to inspire current undergrad students on their career goals and development. Heena, for instance, specializes in digital marketing and is often busy all day taking calls or having meetings with her marketing team, and her work schedule is typically normal. On the other hand, Mihir, a hedge fund analyst, typically has convoluted, spontaneous work days and works odd hours in the field of finance. Many of our panelists explained their story on how they got to their position today, with some taking traditional paths and others taking nontraditional paths towards attaining their job.
During the session the guest panelists had the opportunity to discuss how NYU resources including the Wasserman Center, their coursework, and the student body were all instrumental in ensuring that they, as international students, had access to opportunities for growth and development. Sophia also shared some insights into the structural differences at many US-based firms. According to her experience, firms in Europe were less hierarchical and emphasized self-governance, unlike its US-based counterpart. More importantly, she noted that there was a strong energy and affinity for career development within a company or one’s own entrepreneurial ventures, a feeling that was unknown to her while she was growing up in Europe.
The next part of the webinar pivoted toward a Q&A section provided by the students listening to the call. They asked many targeted questions, ranging from CPT/OPT process, transparency about work sponsorship, and tips on getting a job in the U.S. after NYU. As an example, one of the students on the call asked, “Do you have any recommendations specifically for searching for jobs that provide visa sponsorship,” and one of the main responses was to apply as many roles as they could and be extremely upfront about needing a visa sponsorship so that they remove the possibility of rejection during the last phase of the application process.
The group panelists also discussed best practices for resume and cover letter etiquette. Overall, the panelists particularly noted that college students should begin removing high school-level extracurriculars during their sophomore year, as they have had at least two years in college to begin accruing pertinent college-level work/academic experience. Further, when writing cover letters and resumes, students should focus on being as specific and targeted with language as possible in order to communicate with depth, clarity, and impact.
Overall, this panel provided excellent insight into life after NYU specifically for international students looking to stay and work in the United States. After reading all of this, I hope you learned a thing or two about the paths that international students generally take at NYU.
NYU Wasserman Blog 