The Duke Career Center and Duke International Student Center recently hosted a Karsh Conversation panel titled The Job Search: What’s Different for International Students? The panel featured three accomplished international alumni now working in the USA:
- Yining Liu (PhD in Biomedical Engineering, ’22) – Associate at a Big Three consulting firm
- Manmit Singh (BS in Computer Science, ’22) – Developer Advocacy Consultant at Deel
- Yaxin Liu (MS in Economics & Computation, ’23) – Financial Analyst at Miller’s Ale House
The alumni shared helpful insights and hard-learned lessons from their job search experiences. Watch the full recording here, and read on below for key themes and highlights from the conversation:
The importance of Job Search Strategies
Yining: “I was in a PhD program for six years. I started exploring opportunities during my third and fourth year by joining the Advanced Professional Degree Consulting Club (APDCC), Duke Interdisciplinary Social Innovators, and utilizing the Duke Career Center to explore possibilities. In my fifth year, I did an internship with a private equity firm, which helped me prepare for my job search. In my fifth and sixth years, I actively applied for jobs while participating in consulting case competitions, case interview events, consulting recruiting events and networking. Those activities helped me get an interview and ultimately a job.”
Manmit: “I tried many job search strategies and 99% of them failed miserably. Having a clear framework is essential when looking for jobs through the internet during challenging economic times. I recommend that everyone read or watch the 2-Hour Job Search by Steve Dalton. It is a must-have resource for Duke students.”
Yaxin: “Having a framework or a clear timeline for your job search is essential. Finding a job in another country can be difficult, because the professional culture is very different from what you might be used to in your home country. Working with the Career Center is a helpful way to understand how to start a job search in the USA and ask basic questions about how to engage professionally here.”
Networking and Relationships are Essential
Manmit: “If you are only applying to a job posting on the internet, there is an overwhelming probability that you will not get that job, even if you are highly qualified for it. It’s not about the job or you, it’s about how applications are managed through the internet. In my opinion, the best way to get a job is through a personal connection. When you are at Duke, you are part of a special community where people are willing to pull you up and help you, even if you have less experience. Being able to tap into that network is very important.”
Yining: “Reaching out to alumni on LinkedIn and the Alumni Directory can be very helpful. I participated in a program for Pratt PhD students called PhD Plus, which gave me access to a network of PhDs who work in industry in a variety of sectors. I leveraged that network a lot when I was thinking about moving into an industry career.
“When I was trying to network, I felt like I had nothing to offer other people in return for their help and time. But as I progressed, I realized that there is always something you can offer. Even just listening to others and acting on their suggestions can be enough. You can always pay it forward and help the next generation as well. There’s a cycle of giving back – don’t feel bad to reach out, learn from others’ experience, and pay it forward”
Cultural Differences
Yining: “If I were to start my job search again, I would promote myself more. Coming from an Asian culture, I think we hesitate to promote ourselves and talk openly about our achievements. I worked with my Career Advisor to craft talking points about myself that included professional highlights and statements on the value I provide. I often used those talking points to help break the ice in conversations. It’s helpful to work with the Career Center and practice talking about yourself.”
Manmit: “In my culture, we were taught to focus on acing our tests and doing well in competitions rather than networking. We were supposed to be more formal when speaking to people more advanced in their careers than us. When I came to college in the USA, I didn’t know how to connect with people. I had to develop networking soft-skills, like how to cold-contact people on LinkedIn. One thing I hesitated to do was ask for help, but I’ve found that it’s possible to connect with an older CEO from a very successful company, just by sharing that you are both Duke alumni and you have an interest in their work.”
Finding Visa Sponsors
Manmit: “If you are interested in working with startups or smaller companies, I don’t think that finding visa sponsors should be your first priority. You should prioritize developing your skills, strengthening your network, and maximizing how much value you can provide. If you can find your niche, I think that the visa thing tends to work out.”
Yaxin: “There is a website called MyVisaJobs that you can use to see whether a company has previously sponsored H-1B visas. If the company has never sponsored an H-1B, it might be an indicator that they are unlikely to sponsor you. That said, I think companies are often more flexible than they appear to be. One of my friends interned with a company who told her they couldn’t sponsor her visa. However, she performed so well during her internship that her boss advocated for her and the company ultimately did sponsor her visa for a full-time role.”
Importance of Internships
Yaxin: “Internships in the USA are very important. They provide an opportunity to show your ability to work well in a professional environment. I got my internship with a local nonprofit organization through a Duke career fair. They weren’t hiring at the time, but I still sent a thank you email to the representative I had spoken with. Several months later, when I was under pressure to find an internship before my program’s CPT deadline, I saw that the company had internship openings on their website. I reached out to the representative again, and since we had already spoken, they personally reached out to the hiring manager for me and I was able to get an interview within a week.”
Yining: “I found my internship through an email from the Career Center. I sat on that email for 2-3 weeks thinking I wasn’t qualified for the position and trying to polish my CV. The deadline actually passed for the application, but I sent it anyway and got connected with the founder of the company. We had a great conversation and he invited me to join the program late. My internship helped me understand what types of jobs and roles I actually wanted to do. I learned a lot of technical skills, but I was also able to decide that this wasn’t the type of role I wanted to do long term. Having that internship on my resume as a PhD student showed a lot of initiative and helped differentiate me when I applied for consulting positions. It helped show that I was capable of working in the USA business world.”
