Marketing Yourself as an International

Building an Effective Job Search Strategy for International Students

The Brand Called YOU

• Think of yourself as a one person professional service business

• Define your mission and business strategy

• Research potential customers

• Find your customers, build relationships and secure a sale – getting an offer

Part I. Define Your Service

What Is Your Competitive Advantage?

What Is Your Mission?

Your Mission Defines Your Direction

• Where do you want to be in five years?

• What talents do you want to use?

• What skills do you want to have learned five years from now?

• Where can you make a strong contribution now?

Your Business Strategy

Competitive Advantage Comes From Your

• Work Values

• Interests

• Personality Preferences

• Core Competencies

Core Competencies

Your Core Competencies Are A Unique Mix of

• Global Skills

• Hard Skills

• Soft Skills

What Are Yours?

Part II. Researching the Market and Building Relationships

Putting Competitive Advantage to Work for You

Job Market Primer

Listed Job Market– Jobs publicly listed in classified ads, CSO

listings, bulletin boards, web

Hidden Job Market– Unadvertised or soon-to-be advertised jobs– Such job leads come from networking, direct

contact or informational interviews– 85% of hiring in real world is in hidden market!

Understanding Your Market

Build Relationships with Employers through

• Networking at CSO programs

• Club events and career fairs

• Informal networking

• Informational interviews with alumni

• Research and direct contact

• Web and print listings

How Professionals Generate Interviews: Allocate Your Time

Job Fairs

Direct Mail Solicitations Responding to

Ads

Responding to Web Ads

Third Party Reference

Networking

What Is Networking?

• Networking is Building Relationships with Other Professionals In Your Areas of Interest

• Develop knowledge about the contact, their work, and their organization

• How would you fit in?

Finding Networking Contacts

• CSO Programs and Alumni Links contacts

• Friends, Family, Co-workers

• Join Professional Societies, Service Clubs & Social Organizations

• Go to Events/Speakers related to your field

• Talk to Professors or IU Alumni

• Make Cold Calls

Networking Tips

• Make sure you have the correct spelling of their name, correct job title and contact info

• Keep your conversations brief

• Follow up with a quick note referring to your conversation and future interests

• Thank them for their time and consideration

Hired International Students in ’02-’03 academic year

• Super High Technology, Inc• Hewitt Associates• Northwestern Mutual• Samsung• CH Robinson• Handleman Company• Bear, Stearns• Ernst & Young US LLP• Monsanto Company• Wolverine Trading

Companies that Interview International Students

• A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.• Abbott Laboratories• ACNielsen BASES• Adolphus Consulting Group, LLC• American Commercial Lines, LLC• American Management Systems• Bain & Company• Baxter Health Care• Bear, Stearns & Co, Inc.• Braun ConsultingCap Gemini Ernst & Young US• Cardinal Health- Mfg.• Cintas Corp.

How to Obtain Informational Interviews

• Write or email and introduce yourself, ask for an opportunity to get their advice and suggestions

• Call to setup a meeting to see them• Ask for 30 minutes of their time—and stick to

it!• Meet in person if at all possible• Prepare questions in advance• Bring business cards or resumes

• May Department Stores (Famous Barr)• McKisey & Co.• Merrill Lynch/ Business Management Services• Monsanto Company• National Oilwell• Ortho/McNeil Pharmaceutical (Johnson & Johnson)• Putnam Lovell Securities, Inc.• Robert Bosch Corporation• Rolls-Royce Corporation• SIRVA• Staples, Inc.• Sunshine Bouquet Company• Toys ‘R’ Us• UBS Investment Bank (Formerly UBS)• Wolf Garten

• Coleman, Epstein, Berlin & Company• Credit Suisse First Boston• Cummins, Inc.• Deloitte & Touche, LLP• Delphi Delco Electronics Systems• DMG World Media• Goldman Sachs & Co.• Handleman Company• Harris Bank• Hershey Chocolate• JC Penney• Katz, Sapper & Miller, LLP• Kimball International• LECG• Lehman Brothers

Informational Interviews

• What is it?– A type of networking that provides you with

information about certain careers, companies, industries, positions or opportunities

• Research the company and industry before asking for informational interviews

What kinds of Questions to Ask

• What skills, personality traits and work styles are necessary for success

• What they like/dislike about daily tasks• Questions regarding career paths, environments,

lifestyles• What advice they would give you in your search• Who else they know that might help you learn

more about the field!

Informational Interview Follow-up

• Send a thank you

• Keep in touch and inform them about your progress

• After accepting a position, keep in touch for future use

Direct Approach

• Research on the industry, positions and companies that you are interested in

• Send customized resumes and cover letters describing what skills you can contribute to their organization to the hiring managers or recruiters – Try to send them to specific individuals

• Follow up with phone calls to confirm receipt of your resume and arrange an interview

Web Job Searching• Learn about companies, industries & associations

• Find job postings

• Join newsgroups relevant to your career

• Submit a resume online (use key words)• http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/services/employer

info/h1top100.pdf• http://www.flcdatacenter.com/

Web Tips

• Develop a Strategy– Know what kind of information you are looking

for so that you don’t get overloaded

• Avoid sites that ask for money

• Be careful about providing personal information– Quality sites offer protection for your name and

address

Print Resources

Don’t forget the

• Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States, or

• The Directory of US Firms Operating Abroad

Summing It Up

• Defining your unique Competitive Advantage, researching your market and helping employers meet their needs provides the best opportunity to overcome obstacles presented by immigration policies and land the job you want!!

Final Thoughts

• Be sure that your resume, cover letters and all correspondence are free of errors!

• For the best results, use all methods of information gathering and relationship building

• Don’t rely solely on the CSO

• Try to enjoy yourself!

Evaluation Questions1. I found the presentation of material easy to

understand.2. This Advantage session increased my knowledge

on the subject presented.3. I will be able to use some of the information

from this Advantage session in the future.4. The presenter was well-prepared for this

Advantage session.5. This presentation should be repeated in future

semesters.

A – Strongly Agree; B – Agree; C – Disagree; D – Strongly Agree; E – Don’t know