A Phenomenological Exploration of Individual and University Supports Affecting U.S. International Students’ Job Searches

Semi-Structured Interview

The three authors conducted semi-structured interviews with international student participants over Zoom. Interview questions were developed based on the empirical literature and designed to gather students’ experiences and perspectives on finding a post-graduation job in the US. An interview guide was used to ensure consistency between interviewers. Participants were asked broad, open-ended questions from four major areas of focus, including: (1) career search experiences (e.g., “Could you walk me through the steps you take to look for a job?”, “When did you start looking for job opportunities for after college?”, “Where did you go to look for job opportunities?”), (2) networking experiences (e.g., “How have people from your school, your department, or work helped you or not helped you to find a job you might apply to?”, “Have you heard from other international students who recently found a job in the US? Did they provide information that helped you?”), (3) experiences with campus career services (e.g., “Have you used any campus career services?”, “Do you think career services on campus are useful or not? Why?”), and (4) the influence of their previous work experiences (e.g., “Did any of your jobs or internships help you decide what you want to do or not want to do as a career after graduation?”). All interviews were audio recorded through Zoom video conferencing with the participants’ permissions and transcribed verbatim.

Data Analysis

Data were analyzed following thematic analysis procedures outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006) to look for patterns and common themes among participant interviews. Following their guidelines, codes and themes were identified inductively rather than from a preexisting theoretical framework. During the first step, the researchers read and reread interview transcripts while adding annotations, writing memos, and highlighting dialogue relevant to the research focus. Next, initial codes were generated to better organize the topics discussed. Braun and Clarke describe codes as “pithy summaries” or key ideas such as “visa status creates barrier to hiring.” Codes were expanded as more data was analyzed in an open-coding process. During each phase of the coding process, the first two authors moved toward the development of themes (i.e., open-coding, lower-order themes, and higher-order themes). Following the coding of all interview transcripts, similar codes were integrated into lower-order themes that were exclusively support-focused. The lower-order themes were organized into individual and institutional support levels. Data matrices helped to organize and compare the lower-order themes among subgroups. Particular attention was given to participants from the subgroups STEM versus non-STEM, employed versus searching, and graduate versus undergraduate. Next, the lower-order themes were further collated into six higher-order themes and relevant subthemes. For example, during this phase, lower-order themes like “clarity of plan after graduation,” “previous industry-related experience,” and “knowledge of OPT and immigration regulations” became subthemes under the key theme of “early planning for post-graduation.” In the last step, verbatim quotes were selected to support the key themes. To ensure coding reliability, the first and second authors coded transcripts separately and met regularly to discuss intercoder agreement and the development of themes.

Reflexivity, Validity, Credibility

The research team consisted of two female-identifying doctoral students in the field of higher education and education policy, and one female-identifying Doctor of Educational Psychology. The first researcher was a domestic student from the Midwest US. The other two researchers were international students from China’s mainland and Taiwan. To strengthen study validity and mitigate the risks of influencing the findings, the researchers discussed their own assumptions and biases about international students’ career development during regular meetings. In phenomenology, this practice is known as bracketing. As a final validity check, the study results were debriefed with two established professors in the field of higher education who also researched international students. This process involved introducing the study, presenting the key findings, and then inquiring whether the experts found the research design to be rigorous and the results to be plausible. Research credibility was enhanced through rich descriptions of the context of participants from different subgroups, and through documenting of the frequency of cases of participants referring to a given theme.

Early Planning for Post-Graduation

Early planning for post-graduation refers to how students formulated clear career goals and took the necessary steps at an early stage of their academic program. Three subthemes within the early planning theme included procuring internships in their desired fields, researching immigration regulations, and developing a long-term plan for working in the US. Attaining an industry-related internship in the US was a common step for 17 international students. Internships helped students to determine if a certain employer or career path was a good fit for them, assisted students’ networking efforts, and led nine students to attaining return offers from U.S. employers. Nylah shared how her internship helped her to reflect on her career goals and procure a job offer.

Actually at the beginning [of 2019], I, I don’t know which kind of jobs that that I’m looking for. So, I applied data scientist and also for those quant companies like [Company A] and also machine learning engineer. So basically on the one side, I started my job preparation and on the other side also search for like which kind of job is the most appropriate ones for me. And after that, I found a software engineer position at [Company B]. And then in summer 2020, I finished my job intern at that time and also receive the full time offer from [Company B]. And then I decided to accept that offer.

Prompt familiarization with the U.S. legal policies that regulate international student workers was another subtheme. Familiarity with these policies alerted international students to begin job searching earlier in their programs, and to adjust their search strategies to be more time efficient. For instance, Scott described his experiences using online job search platforms while also being mindful of immigration policies.

But one like of the drawbacks of LinkedIn is I don’t know whether the company is going to sponsor international students. I don’t know which is my target company I should spend, uh, I should do my homework on. But Handshake better to tell you about whether companies sponsor me or not so I can just maybe filter but there’s some criteria and just apply for this company that has international students, so I don’t need to waste my time.

A third subtheme involved students’ clarity regarding whether or not they wanted to work in the US beyond their OPT period. Among the interviewees, graduate students were more likely to know if they wanted to work in the US longer-term. Eleven students, ten of which were graduate students, confirmed that applying to companies that sponsored H-1B work visas was important to their job search. Students with clearer long-term goals appeared to narrow their job searches further to only consider companies that sponsor H-1B. As Michelle explained,

If you start finding your job after graduation, most of the time you will not have time to make it...I started to prepare for my internship like one year ago...And [it’s] the first semester when I entered graduate school… I only consider the company who sponsor H-1B.

Networking

In the current study, networking is defined as using personal, professional, academic, or family contacts to assist with one’s job search (i.e., introductions in a desired career field, learning about job openings, application preparations, and obtaining job referrals). Twenty of the 28 students explicitly mentioned networking during their job search process. Professional connections benefited international students by sharing job openings, sending job referrals and recommendations, and even providing job offers when appropriate. Subthemes within the theme of networking included several categories of persons with whom students networked (see Table 2), and students’ perceptions that networking led to securing a job or job offer in the US. Regarding the first subtheme, students most frequently indicated that they networked with individuals in their industry. Students mentioned networking with professors most often, followed by alumni, individuals at job or internship sites, and friends in the US. The following quote provides an example of how Callahan networked with friends in his industry.

I used to have some friends that is more senior than me, especially when I was an undergrad in Taiwan. And those senior, they come to America before me like two or three years…they got some job and performed really well, so they told me that, oh, maybe they can introduce me some of the job in their company. And that is one of the main reasons that I get interview, because I know those people for a long time and those people know me that I’m currently searching for a job. So they are really willing to help me even write some strong recommendation...Like you refer someone and you take your personal experience, take your recommendation and stand for this person, which makes this candidate to become more competitive in the job situation.

A second subtheme was that five of the 13 students who attained U.S. job offers attributed their offers to networking. A closer examination revealed commonalities among these five students. These students had had in-person, rather than electronic, relationships with the individuals who helped them to gain employment. Due to the nature of these relationships, it appeared that students were able to showcase their professional strengths, such as their work ethic, personality, and technical skills, before revealing their immigration status. For example, Madeline met and conversed with her future manager in-person at a small networking event hosted by her degree program. She shared:

After the info session where you get to talk to the recruiter, sometimes the manager on the team, you can ask about their day-to-day life. It’s like a time where you sell yourself, where they get to see you as a person instead of a piece of paper. That's where they can also make better judgments… everyone’s resume pretty much look the same if we’re coming out from the same program. What makes you more competitive or what makes the company see you as a more suitable candidate, is your personality-- the way you present yourself and what you can bring to the table.

In-Demand Majors and Degree Levels

An additional theme revealed was students’ perceptions of certain majors and degrees being more marketable in the US. The first subtheme identified was students’ perceptions of a STEM major advantage during their job searches. Nine out of 28 students stated that they thought STEM degrees would be more beneficial than non-STEM degrees for securing a job in the US, while no students claimed the opposite. Two reasons were provided for the STEM degree advantage, including (1) the STEM students’ eligibility for the OPT extension, and (2) the demand for STEM workers in the U.S. job market. Although a nearly equal percentage of STEM and non-STEM students had secured jobs in the US at the time of the interview, students’ experiences lend support to the idea of a STEM advantage. In the following example, Kassandra described a job offer that fell through because she did not qualify for the STEM OPT extension.

The person who I talked to apparently shows interest in me and then says, oh, your skill set matches our position descriptions. And he you would like to invite me to the next stage of the interview, but then he says, oh, you should provide your scanned a copy of your I-20. And I did that. And he rejected me because he says, oh, you only have one year of OPT. But for our position, we need someone who has at least three years.

An additional subtheme was students’ perception of a graduate degree advantage. Three students explicitly discussed the advantages of pursuing an advanced degree in the context of their job searches. Several students shared that they would consider graduate school in the US if they could not get a job using their OPT which could also imply students’ perceptions of a graduate degree advantage. Three students indicated that undergraduate degrees may be limited to “entry-level” positions that can be filled by domestic students, whereas graduate-level degrees make international students more specialized and prepare students for specific jobs. Subgroup analyses revealed that over half of graduate students had received job offers in the US at the time of the interview, whereas only one-fifth of undergraduate students achieved the same outcome. A difference in employment rates among international students with and without advanced degrees is consistent with prior research findings. Demirci (2019) reported that among international students who graduated from U.S. colleges and universities between January 2004 and June 2011, 88.2% of STEM master’s students used student visas to stay in the US 6 months after graduation while only 80.5% of STEM bachelor’s did the same.

University-Industry Connections

A fourth theme supported by student interviews was that a degree program with more ties to industry better supported international students’ job searches. Two subthemes composed the university-industry connections theme. The first subtheme was that university-industry connections led students to internships and jobs more directly. The most direct pipeline between university and employer was illustrated by two cases in which students were “matched” to internship sites as part of their degree programs and later secured more permanent positions. Cherise, one of the students, described the university-industry connections that led to her internship.

I think they [internship site] are very open to have an intern because the owner of the company is also an alumni, she’s also a graduate of our program. So she knows that all every year or every semester, like students are looking for opportunities to do their practicum or internships. She’s very welcoming us to do an internship. Yeah, so once my professor contacts her, she's pretty open to it and then we just go through the interview.

In another example, a visiting professor who was also employed by an industry company, recruited a student participant. In this example, the student Baker, explained:

I get help from a guest professor… which is my current my current boss in [Company], is also a lab director, also in [University]… He was a guest professor for my two courses. And then he also conducted an independent study for my, during my last semester. And he is the one who tell me that, he told me that the [Company] position is finally reopen and encourage me to apply for that position.

A second subtheme was that university-industry connections created more networking opportunities with industry professionals. Several professors had successful careers in the industry before becoming professors and carried over their professional connections and resources to their professorships. Eight of the 13 students who attained U.S. job offers spoke about their professors’ connections to the industry during their job search processes. In the following statement, Olivia described her professor’s local industry connections.

So, and then my professor, like my advisor, he is like the one that people [employers] goes to when they’re looking for students in [City]. They will ask for his recommendation to-- not necessarily like a recommendation letter-- but just like his student who works in his lab or whoever he recommends, the industry will go after him.

Personalized Department Support

A fifth theme was that smaller-sized programs and departments often provided international students with personalized support during their job searches. There were two subthemes that emerged within this theme. First, smaller programs offered more personalized job search assistance. For example, smaller graduate-level programs, appeared to be more likely to coordinate industry internships or consulting opportunities for graduate international students. In addition, departments with a larger proportion of international students tended to be more familiar with students’ needs and legal parameters regardless of their department’s size. Five students perceived that their program’s small size positively related to their faculty advisors’ involvement in their job search processes. Maybelle shared how her department’s size benefited her while she prepared her application materials.

I just often talk to her [advisor/program coordinator] and to discuss, like, how can I improve my portfolio and I just send my portfolio to her and yes. Because my program is like 10 peoples per semester, new grad, so I think not many…Yeah I just think that I can contact her directly if I want.

An additional subtheme was that smaller programs held tailored career events, such as career fairs. The career development events organized by smaller-sized departments, provided attendees with greater opportunities to network with industry professionals and gain insights into potential career paths. For example, Olivia’s department invited major companies to speak to only a few students, and to attend her program’s career fair. Olivia suggested that this may not be the case in other departments.

I think it’s not like that for every major, because my friends who majored in engineering don’t really have as good career resources as what I had in [Program]. I guess because it’s a small program, we probably have like 50 students, including grad students.

Campus Career Services

Campus career service offices (CSOs) are broader entities that offer career services to schools composed of multiple programs (i.e., college of letters and sciences, the school of business) and are distinct from the career services mentioned in the previous theme. The utilization of campus career services was a common theme among international students during their job search processes. One subtheme was that CSOs assisted students with mock interviews and revising application documents. Nearly all students (93%) utilized CSOs to revise professional documents (i.e., resume, cover letter, or curriculum vita), or attend mock interviews. The majority of students perceived these services to be helpful in ensuring that their applications and interview performances met basic U.S. standards. For example, Marisa shared:

So I did a mock interview with her and then she kind of found out like what kind of attitude I have towards the interview and she kind of fixed help me fix that. So it’s not only like revising the resume or like looking at the cover letter, but also like about the any concerns that I have… there's a big difference between the Japanese and American interviews. I brought up this point to her that in the Japanese interview, I have to be more like polite and not look quiet, but like kind of like serious looking.

A second subtheme was that students attended the CSOs campus-wide career fairs. However, the CSOs’ large career fairs did not appear to support international students’ job search processes. None of the 17 students who attended the CSOs’ career fairs secured a job in the companies that they met at these events. Students provided reasons why they thought campus career fairs were not helpful. Students perceived that many employers would not consider hiring international student workers or would consider international workers but were unfamiliar with OPT. Students also noted that campus career fairs did not necessarily host employers from their fields or industries. For example, Natasha shared, “And career fair, I’ve gone to once in [University], but it seemed that, they are all about the business students there, engineering students…” Students frequently recommended that CSOs improve their understanding of federal work regulations that accompany F-1 student visas.