First, choose a major blindly.
According to American law, American citizens have priority in employment, and international students must prove that they are better than Americans before they can be hired. The sluggish job market in the United States for many years has made it more difficult for China students to find jobs. Some international students have sent out more than 1000 resumes, but they still have no interview opportunities. Some people can't find jobs after graduating from master's degree, so they have to go back to school to continue their doctoral studies. After graduation, doctors still can't find a job, so they have to be postdoctoral, and some even have been postdoctoral for a long time. Although most people can find jobs in the end, quite a few people can't apply what they have learned, and it is difficult to give full play to their professional expertise.
When choosing a major, blindly following the trend and lacking in-depth understanding of the professional development and job market in the United States are the main reasons why many international students encounter setbacks. The demand for actuaries in the United States is small, the threshold is particularly high, and the relationship between supply and demand of junior positions is seriously unbalanced. According to the statistics of the US Department of Labor, there are more than 6.5438+0.3 million accounting professional positions in the United States, and only 22,000 actuarial positions.
Second, lack of practical experience in the United States.
The lack of internship experience makes students studying in the United States congenitally deficient, and the educational differences between China and the United States make it even more difficult for international students to find jobs. American education attaches great importance to social practice. Since primary school, students have participated in science competitions every year to encourage children to use their hands and brains. Well-known universities such as MIT have laboratories specially set up for primary school students. Children do some primary designs or inventions under the guidance of laboratory teachers after school or during holidays.
American financial industry and high-tech companies have various talent training programs for teenagers or high school students. Many American students often participate in various professional training programs of these companies from junior high school to high school. After entering the university, these people can easily find internships related to their majors. Tian Long, moderator of the financial professional section of MITBBS website, said that he once interviewed an international student from China, and his resume looked pretty good. He graduated from a famous university majoring in finance and passed the CFA exam, but when it comes to specific work, he doesn't even know the most basic mathematical statistics.
Li Dawei, a Chinese American who has been engaged in computer system management in the United States for 20 years, said that the United States has always lacked practical high-tech talents, and many factories are willing to pay high salaries to hire high-tech engineers. "Many Americans think that China's student union exam, hands-on ability and ability to solve practical problems is very poor. China's education system needs to be changed, and students' practical experience needs to be cultivated from an early age. We should attach importance to training practical scientific and technological talents like Japan and Germany. "
Third, lack of contact with American society.
Most international students in China leave home for the first time, away from their parents, and suddenly enter a completely unfamiliar and competitive social environment. Their social skills and ability to withstand psychological pressure have been severely challenged, and some people prefer to escape. Scott Steven, director of the College of English Language at the University of Delaware, has been teaching English to China students since 1982. In his view, apart from the visa issue, the main reasons for China students to find jobs are language and cultural differences. Applicants need to prove their ability to adapt to the working environment of American companies and good interpersonal communication skills. China students who like to make friends with Americans and often participate in various campus activities can easily find jobs. Some China students don't know. The school stipulates that freshmen should live in the dormitory on campus. Although some foreign students from China pay the fees according to the regulations, they leave the campus to live with other students from China. China students seldom take part in school volunteer activities, and some even go to other classes in violation of school regulations, just to be with other China students.
Extended reading: employment channels in the United States
1. Campus recruitment
Campus Recruitment Usually, American schools will hold two large-scale job fairs in autumn (September) and the following spring (February), which is the best time for students to submit resumes, communicate with recruiters and get in touch with resumes.
Different industries have different recruitment processes. Take investment behavior as an example. Investment bank recruitment almost begins in the first month of school and ends at the end of next year 1 month, lasting for half a year. Almost every two weeks, there are different official activities, which require preparation before the activities, follow-up after the activities, and unofficial coffee talks and information interviews. The whole process needs a lot of time and energy.
2. Job search website
There are many job-hunting websites in the United States, among which the well-known websites are Indeed, Monster, Way Up and so on. These websites have very comprehensive job-hunting information, and both large and small companies in the United States and even non-profit organizations such as the United Nations will publish job-hunting information on these job-hunting websites.