Career Launch Guide for International Students
Pursuing your career in a new country after graduation comes with unique challenges. This page provides international students with tailored resources to help launch their careers.
The goal is to provide international students with the specialized support they need to overcome visa and cultural hurdles in order to launch global careers.
Career Center Diversity Statement
The Wofford College Career Center is committed to providing an environment and programming that is welcoming to all students to ensure that every graduate has a professional skill set, the confidence to effectively manage their career, and a sense of empowerment to achieve lifelong success. The knowledgeable staff at the Career Center celebrates and affirms all students as we support their individual journeys toward success. As a team, we embrace and encourage open and honest dialogues with ourselves, colleagues, and students about making our work more inclusive. We are committed to partnering with employers and graduate institutions that uphold the same ideals of inclusivity and we encourage those organizations to recruit and participate in Career Center events at Wofford College. We welcome the entire Wofford community to join and work with us as we grow and succeed together.
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Key Staff Resources on Campus
• Sara Milani, Program Advisor, Office of International Programs, milanisk@wofford.edu, 597-4490• Bence Bays, Study Abroad Advisor, Office of International Programs, baybe@wofford.edu, 597-4028
• Wofford International Students webpage: https://www.wofford.edu/academics/international-programs/oip-resources
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Key Campus Resources
• Dept. of Homeland Security Employment Hub – https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/students/training-opportunities-in-the-united-states – offers an overview of employment authorization options• InternationalStudent.com – offers an overview of employment authorization options https://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/way-of-life/working-in-the-usa/), a job search database (https://www.internationalstudent.com/jobsearch/), and post-graduation options (https://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/graduation/)
• Filing U.S. Taxes – https://www.wofford.edu/academics/international-programs/oip-resources/filing-taxes – instructs Wofford international students on the U.S. process for filing taxes
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Post-Graduate Employment Options
Due to visa restrictions, international students interested in working in the U.S. after graduation must find positions directly related to their major and an employer willing to invest extra time and money to sponsor a work visa. F-1 students are eligible for up to one year (12 months) of work authorization after graduation (or three years for STEM majors) through Optional Practical Training (OPT) with little to no effort by their employer. However, after that, employers must sponsor students through an H1-B or another work visa category which involves government applications, fees, limited deadlines, and often legal advice for a limited number of visa spots. Thus, it is not something employers take lightly, and smaller companies may have very little experience with this process. Thus, the best employment prospects are often with international companies and organizations that have historically sponsored H1-B visas. The timelines and expertise required to be successful in such applications also call for long-term planning and we have found that students who started building their U.S. networks early through mentoring, internships, research, and Career Center advising have been the most successful. We have provided below some helpful resources to gain a better understanding of the processes involved and potential employers. The Career Center can help guide you toward local employers who have hired international students in the past.
• 7 Tips on How to Get a Job as an International Student after college – https://www.internationalstudentloan.com/resources/how-international-students-can-get-a-job-after-college.php
• How to find H1-B Visa Sponsors Guide – https://redbus2us.com/how-to-find-h1b-visa-sponsors-search-options/#:~:text=You%20can%20find%20an%20internship%20at%20a%20company,if%20a%20company%20sponsors%20H1B%20by%20checking%20H1BGrader.com
• MyVisaJobs (https://www.myvisajobs.com/) – Information portal and online community for visa job hunters around the world. Major services include annual and quarterly reports for H1B visas, green cards, and sponsors.
• Immihelp (https://www.immihelp.com/h1b-visa-sponsors/) – Job seekers can use the immihelp searchable database to seek out employers who have historically sponsored H1-B visa candidates.
