Foreign MBAs: Boost U.S. Job Odds

Wharton School operations and innovation management professor Christian Terwiesch teaching class – Ethan Baron photo

• Between the internet, collaboration technologies, and ease of travel, many of us are able to be productive and work remotely these days. So if you don’t get lucky with your H-1B, don’t think all is lost. You may have to leave the U.S., but you may be able to take your job with you and possibly come back to America later under the L-1 visa and continue working for the same employer.

• Life is an adventure. See where it will take you. Even if you receive “bad news” regarding the H-1B lottery, don’t panic. Strategize with your manager, and explore options to stay engaged with the firm that hired you, if you desire to do so. 

What can international MBA students do to increase the odds of landing a quality position in the U.S.? 

Have your job-search strategy validated by someone who understands the nuances international students have to deal with when searching for a U.S. position. Go to your school career services and engage with the staff there so they feel you really want a job. Be mindful of the reality that when international students compete with domestic students for jobs, they tend to lose unless they bring something special to the table, something that helps those they talk to take notice.

My training sessions across the U.S. are meant to help students get closer to understanding what their sweet spot is, and then designing a job-search strategy that increases their chances of U.S. employment given the reality we face today. That’s essentially what I do. It’s entirely possible to succeed and secure a job. We already know that many employers may take the easier and theoretically “safer” path and hire a U.S. citizen because they may feel international students are risky hires. You have to fight against this inertia every day as an international student.

To provide focus, one of the things I ask international students to do is to assess themselves according to the following categories: area of interest; skill set; experience; and language. It’s a simple exercise, one that is often conducted in some shape or form by career services, but it takes a completely different kind of spin when you are an international student operating outside of your usual context.

What do you tell employers who are reluctant about interviewing international students and have a “we don’t sponsor” policy?

Well, usually the people I talk to are not decision makers. They are mostly recruiters in the field and they live with the decisions made by others. What I do say is that I feel they are making a huge mistake by not interviewing international students. When appropriate, more often than not, I offer some unsolicited advice about their recruiting strategy and remind companies that the next Steve Jobs could be right now attending a U.S. university on an F-1 visa. We still attract the best and the brightest. These amazing individuals are right here at our college campuses, and U.S. companies sometimes take that for granted. “Would you want to miss out on the chance to hire such a student?” I ask the firms I talk to that don’t hire international students. “Wouldn’t you want to at least interview international students and assess on a case-by-case basis when it makes sense to extend a job offer to a rock star international student?”