Office of International Affairs

Career Services

To get started, contact your college's career services office for more information:

You can also visit the university's Buckeye Careers for more resources and information.

Begin building skill sets early

Here are a few suggestions:

  • Master communicating in the English language
  • Get a part-time job on campus, such as the library, computer lab, dining hall, etc. Ask professors and staff if they know of any vacancies, and visit the job boards
    • If you are on an F-1 visa, you can work up to 20 hours per week on campus
    • If you are on a J-1 visa, please see an immigration coordinator before accepting a job offer
  • Join a club or organization that is of interest to you and get involved. Check the Student Activities website for links to different clubs and organizations.
  • Get a co-op or internship in your field of study
    • If you are on an F-1 visa, you have up to 12 months of Curricular Practical Training (CPT) to use
    • If you are on a J-1 visa, you can participate in academic training
    • Contact your career services office for more information regarding obtaining a co-op or internship
  • Volunteer – there are various campus organizations focused on volunteering, as well as Columbus area organizations that welcome volunteers. Some possibilities to consider:
  • Assist a professor with research

Participating in any one of these activities will help you build valuable skill sets needed for your future job or internship search. Employers will be looking for transferable skills when interviewing potential candidates for positions. What are transferable skills? They are any skill you have developed through any type of activity that you want to apply to your next job. Some examples of transferable skills are:

  • Leadership; speaking effectively; writing concisely; teamwork/building interpersonal relationships; listening; expressing ideas; gathering, analyzing and reporting information; managing people; training people; time management; taking initiative; research; organizational; problem-solving; presenting; teaching; strong work ethic, etc.

It is important to develop these skills so that during interviews, you will have something to discuss and concrete examples to share. A new trend in recruiting is a form of interviewing called behavioral interviewing. Behavioral interviewing is based on the philosophy that past performance can predict future behavior. Now in many interviews, interviewees will be asked many situational questions, for example, “Tell me about a time when you…” The interviewers are expecting that each student will have a specific example of the type of situation they are asking about.

When you are asked questions in an interview, it is important to know yourself and your background. Make a list of your skills and work-related characteristics. Update it regularly. Use the CAR format when answering questions and giving specific examples.

  • C: Circumstance – Describe the circumstance, situation or task you were performing
  • A: Action – Describe the action you took
  • R: Result – Describe the results (quote, quantify, pinpoint a change in time)

Employment options due to immigration status

It is very important for you to be aware of the legalities of your immigration status and your visa type. You should be prepared to explain to an interviewer that it is easy to hire an international student for a co-op or internship opportunity. As a candidate, it is your goal to make it easy for an employer to decide to hire you. Many interviewers may be unfamiliar with hiring international students, so knowing how the process works will help you calm their concerns. Employers may not know that OIA will handle the necessary immigration paperwork, therefore making it fairly simple to hire co-ops and interns who follow the proper procedures.

Obtain home country employment

If you are interested in a co-op, internship or full-time employment in your home country, there are several ways to identify companies.

  • Ask for a copy of Job Choices at your Career Services office. Job Choices is a magazine published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and lists U.S. companies who are looking to hire international students for home country employment.
  • Contact your country's consulate to request a list of American companies that do business in your home country and a list of home country companies who do business in the U.S., since these companies are likely to be very interested in you
  • Visit your career center for assistance in writing an application letter and resume to send to potential companies

Helpful websites

Government and immigration information

Work opportunities

International resources