With summer approaching, International Student Services and the Career Center are collaborating to host “International Career Workshop: Preparing for Summer Internships,” on Thursday, Feb. 3, in the Warch Campus Center Cinema.
“This event will bring together many international students, some of whom may not understand the process for finding jobs and internships in the United States,” said Ty Collins, Assistant Director at the Career Center and a speaker at the event. “They will learn about searching for jobs and internships on and off-campus, summer research opportunities at Lawrence, CPT and immigration rules, and about Lawrence’s new Social and Environmental Justice Cohort.”
The workshop will be divided into two sections, with Collins leading the latter section on how to find and apply for summer opportunities. The initial section will be delivered by Leah McSorley, Associate Dean of Students for International Student Services, and will discuss some of the complexities of the work authorization and immigration process for international students.
According to McSorley, international students have additional requirements that are not necessary for domestic students, including aligning their job search process with immigration laws. Often, they are expected to take a class in relation to their major, organized with a professor in the field. Since international students usually have an F1 or J1 visa, meant solely for educational purposes, the government requires the job they take to be augmented in their education. Off-campus jobs, such as internships, must be documented with the school as an academic venture. International services help aid with the authorization process.
Cultural differences can also often be a hindrance between students from multinational backgrounds, McSorley said. For instance, in the formatting of resumes, McSorley said that many nations expect the inclusion of headshots in resumes, but that this inclusion is looked down upon in American workspaces. She hopes this workshop will help to counteract these cultural gaps to make the process easier.
With COVID-19 taking the world by storm as the waves fluctuate, it has globally impacted the work market in many interesting ways, McSorley said. She went on to talk about students having the new ability to work at companies with headquarters situated in bigger, more expensive cities while living in more affordable areas like Appleton, which makes the scope of options available more expansive.
The workshop is accessible to all Lawrence students, without prior registration required. However, Collins suggests that students come to the workshop with prepared questions regarding working in the United States.