After years of consistent hard work and late nights or trips to the library to prepare for tests and exams, international students hope to find work abroad after their studies. In fact, landing a job after studying abroad is about every graduate’s dream. It is a period that opens up the professional world to you to gain more experiences as well as salaries and what will appeal more to your employer is the global outlook you have as an international student.
According to a recent poll of StudentUniverse, 88.2% of study abroad students responded on how their study abroad experience helped/will help them gain an employment edge over their peers. Another research by Study Abroad Employment Statistics shows that 90% of study abroad graduates gain employment within the first six months of obtaining a degree irrespective of their career fields. But how easy do you get a job after your study abroad? In this article, we will be providing some useful tips to guide you.
How to Get a Job After Your Study Abroad
As your graduation draws nearer, you would have been worried about what job opportunities the world holds for you. Not to worry, these tips will help you find out:
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Decide what you want
You are expected to have decided if you want to remain in your study abroad country to work or not. If you decide that you will apply for a working visa to legalise your continuous stay. This is the first step.
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Plan ahead of time
You need to already begin your job search before you graduate. You can consult the career advisors at your school to ascertain what resources and support are available for you.
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Gain work experience
You need to know that employers look beyond grades. While you are on the search, search out opportunities for internships, work placements, shadowing or volunteering. This boosts your resume and sets you apart from other candidates.
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Network!
Talk to people about your professional plans and aspirations. This could be your family, friends or your lecturers. Go out, meet people and establish connections. Going to career fairs is another way to improve your search. You gain the opportunity to talk to recruiters, connect with them and follow up for potential interviews.
Also read: Top 12 Employability Skills You Need For the International Job Market
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Check online job boards
Check out reliable websites like LinkedIn, Indeed, Reed and a lot of others as jobs in all career disciplines are advertised on them. Also, these websites provide networking opportunities as well as opportunities to learn about different jobs and what to look out for in your career field. You can use the fielder feature to specify what jobs you’re looking for.
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Contact a recruitment agency
You don’t have to depend solely on your own searches. You can seek further support by signing up to a recruitment agency and in turn, receive potential roles in your career field or the job field you specified.
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Work on your resume
To employees, your resume is a first impression of who you are. Learn the right formats and ensure it is up to date and that it contains a list of all your achievements and experiences especially from the sources of gaining work experiences mentioned above.
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Use your resources
We have mentioned quite several resources you could use for your job search. From your career advisors to networking, going to career fairs to websites and a recruitment agency. Also, you can carry out your personal research on the companies that interest you, learn about them and find out if they have an opening for the skills that you have to offer.
Also read: 10 Cheapest Countries to Study in Europe For Nigerian Students
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Timing is important
Generally, after graduation, international students have 60 days to leave the country. This may vary across countries but in the US, international students have 60 days to either enrol in another college program or in an Optional Practical Training (OPT) program to get job employment after graduation from college on an F-1 visa, if not, they leave the country. You may need to apply before graduation as the OPT application process takes several months.
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Your grades still matter
Although employers look beyond grades, they still matter as much. While you get busy with all of these, ensure you find a way to balance things so that neither your job search nor study suffers.
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Stay positive
When all of these begin to seem like so much hard work, pause for a moment and wonder the mighty feat you may have achieved and the great deal of good you will be doing for your future at the end of it all. Remain positive!
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Embrace rejection
You are a fresh graduate with few experiences. This is not what some employers are looking for but most will be willing to give you a chance. However, develop enough courage to embrace rejection when they come and keep applying until you land your desired job.
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Are you looking for guidance on how to study abroad as an international student? We are here to help! Check out our affiliate schools or send us an email at admissions@winenetedu.com
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