Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com1 Practical Job Search Strategies for International Students Fred (Prakash) Kollaram. BSEE, MSEE. President h1visajobs.com Towson University Towson, MD 6 February 2004 Exercise 1: Read Handouts.

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com2 Introduction of Speaker  Originally from India. Naturalized US citizen.  BSEE from India, MSEE from USA.  F-1  OPT  green card  US citizenship.  Software engineer/project manager (20+ yrs.).  President h1visajobs.com.  Immigration researcher / publisher.  Sponsored professionals (H-1B, H-1A, green card).  Employed/sponsored students on F-1 OPT.

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com3 Students  From CS/IT/MIS  From Business  From Engineering  From other disciplines  Current on OPT  Will be on OPT in Spring 2004  Will be on OPT beyond Spring 2004

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com4 Job Search Is a Job  Objective - Know What You Want? Set Realistic Goals.  Look Within First - Self Assessment - Be honest  Look Outside - Myths - Illusions - Reality  Build Strategy – The How. - Be Proactive - Plan Ahead - Stay Focused

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com5 Objective?  Work on my F-1 OPT  Work H-1B visa  Green Card  Return to home country

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com6 Self Assessment  Already in the US (+)  OPT in hand. Can immediately start working (+)  OPT not in hand (-)  No industrial experience (-)  US educated (+)  Communication Skills (+) (+) advantage (-) disadvantage

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com7 Reality. Hidden Job Market.  70% jobs filled without advertisements.  How jobs are created? - Resignation - Long leave - Promotion - New Projects - Busi. Expansion - Busi. Relocation  Who knows first? - Management - Employees - Business Associates

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com8 Reality. How Jobs get filled?  Free & Comfort Zone. 1. Managers look for resumes on File 2. Managers transfer/promote employees 3. Employees respond to bulletin board postings 4. Employees recommend people in their networks 5. Busi. associates recommend people in their networks  Fee $$ 6. Employee Referral Program ($1000)  Fee $$$$$$ 7. Advertisements ($3000+) Key: Your resume must be with hiring manager while job opening is still hidden.

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com9 Reality. Why Hire You?  Companies hire int’l students for their own reasons. - Shortage (+) - unattractive location (+) - small company (+) - unattractive benefits package (+) - minority ownership (+) - low salary (+) - urgency (+)

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com10 Reality. Employer’s Limitations  No budget for “on the job training.” (-)  Hiring for specific tasks. (-)  Temporary need (+)  Experience/Requirement dictated by clients (-)

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com11 Reality More…  US economy (-)  Competition (-)  Cultural barriers (-)  Offshore jobs shift (-)  Educational loans back home (+)

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com12 Strategy for Success Uncover Hidden Job Market  Do networking – Share info with Students - If you are not selected in job interview. - If you do not like job opening. - After you join.  Do networking – Ask, follow-up - Professors - Friends - Relatives - Neighbors - Religious Gatherings

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com13 Exercise 2: Networking (2 Minutes) List 10 people that you can network with. (Professors, classmates, friends, relatives, neighbors, etc.) 1._______________ 6. _______________ 2. _______________ 7. _______________ 3. _______________ 8. _______________ 4. _______________ 9. _______________ 5. _______________ 10. _______________

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com14 Strategy for Success (Continued). Already in the US (+)  Do - Focus on local employers OPT in hand (+)  Sell - No paperwork needed  Sell - You can start working right away OPT not in hand (-)  Do: Get OPT in hand

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com15 Strategy for Success (Continued). J-1 visa - home return restriction (-)  Do - Obtain waiver. J-1 visa - no home return restriction (+)  Sell - No paperwork needed.  Sell - You can start working right away. No industrial experience (-)  Do - Learn job opening/company’s line of business.  Sell - Sell projects and thesis as experience.  Sell - Independent study you have done.

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com16 Strategy for Success (Continued). US educated (+)  Sell: Towson is one of the best schools on the East Coast.  Sell: Done several advanced hands-on projects in …(employer’s area of interest)

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com17 Strategy for Success (Continued). Good English (+).  Sell: All my education has been in English.  Sell: I did over 10 presentations in school to over 100 people.  Sell: I possess good inter-personal skills.  Sell: I possess excellent communication skills. No one expects you to talk like an American

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com18 Strategy for Success (Continued). Learn why should a company hire/sponsor you? Comfort zone / Compatibility  Sell: Give personal assurances.  Do: Focus on firms whose owners are from your country. Owner’s name?  Do: Focus on companies that export to your country. Sites:

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com19 Strategy for Success (Continued). Learn why should a company hire/sponsor you? Size / Location  Do: Focus on small companies - in your city (Baltimore) and - surrounding small towns / rural areas.  Do: Keep away from large cities (Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, etc.).  Be open to go anywhere – America is beautiful.

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com20 Strategy for Success (Continued). Learn why should a company hire/sponsor you? Lower Salary Budget, Cannot find US citizens/permanent residents Do: Accept lower (reasonable) salary unless you have other offers.  Sell: I can start working right away.  Sell: Looking for long term relationship.

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com21 Strategy for Success (Continued). Learn hiring decision layers.  Receiving clerk (mostly in large companies) - filters out candidates not in “line of business.”  HR manager (mostly in large companies) - filters out resumes with no buzz words.  Functional manager ***. - selects dependable, compatible, competent.  Decision making manager *** - selects candidate recommended by functional mgr. ***Success = contact functional and decision mgrs directly.

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com22 Exercise 3 (2 Minutes) Give 5 reasons why an employer “should” hire/sponsor “you”. What makes you better than your competition? Do not list “I have a BS/MS Degree.” 1. __________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________ 4. ___________________________________________ 5. ___________________________________________

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com23 Resume Tips  Purpose of resume is to get an interview  A selling instruments  Should be concise, well laid out.  No spelling or grammatical errors  No more than 2 pages  Clearly state your objective

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com24 Resume Tips (Continued)  State positive things; not negative.  Emphasize on hands-on experience not on courses taken. Use “verbs” – past tense: planned, analyzed, identified and prioritized tasks, sized work efforts, designed, implemented, experimented, measured, worked with instruments such as..., recorded, reported, negotiated, interacted with people, performed risk assessment, developed risk mitigation plans, presented views to colleagues, evaluated alternative plans, etc., etc

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com25 Resume Tips (Continued)  Reviewer has 10 seconds to determine if he/she should move on to next resume.  Bullets are easy/quick to read.  Do not say: - no experience - recent graduate - need sponsorship - will take any job - looking for job in … city only.

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com26 Exercise 4 – Transferable Skills (Take Home) Circle all your transferable skills. Communication Skills: The skillful expression, transmission and interpretation of knowledge and ideas. Words for your resume Speaking effectively Writing concisely Listening attentively Expressing ideas Facilitating group discussion Providing appropriate feedback Negotiating Persuading Reporting information Editing

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com27 Exercise 4. Transferable Skills Continued) Circle all transferable skills you possess. Research & Planning: The search for specific knowledge and the ability to conceptualize future needs and solutions for meeting those needs Human Relations The search for specific knowledge and the ability to conceptualize future needs and solutions for meeting those needs. Forecasting, predicting Creating ideas Identifying problems Imaging alternatives Identifying resources Gathering information Solving problems Setting goals Extracting important information Defining needs Analyzing Developing evaluation strategies Developing rapport Listening Conveying feelings Providing support for others Motivating Sharing credit Counseling Cooperating Delegating with respect Representing others Perceiving feelings, situations Asserting

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com28 Exercise 4. Transferable Skills Continued) Circle all transferable skills you possess. Organization, Management & Leadership The ability to supervise, direct and guide individuals and groups in the completion of tasks and fulfillment of goals Work Survival: The day-to-day skills which assist in promoting effective production and work satisfaction. Initiating new ideas Handling details Coordinating tasks Managing groups Delegating responsibility Teaching Coaching Promoting change Selling ideas or products Decision making with others Managing conflict Implementing decisions Cooperating Enforcing policies Being punctual Managing time Attending to detail Meeting goals Enlisting help Accepting responsibility Setting and meeting deadlines Organizing Making decisions

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com29 Useful Resources  Handouts  Visit  Online Database of American Employers for International Professionals.  One-on-one counseling.  Questions to:

Friday Feb 6, 2004h1visajobs.com30 Q & A Send your questions/comments to: All the best.