Helping International Students Launch their Careers

Access a recording of the Webinar here: 

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7440151487611277571

This event is co-sponsored by the Commission for Career Services and the Commission for Global Dimensions of Student Development.

In 2016/2017, 85% more international students studied at U.S. colleges and universities than a decade ago (Institute of International Education, 2017). Many international students aspire to stay and work in the United States after graduation. In a recent study surveying 166 international students from 32 countries, 78% of participants indicated that they hoped to remain in the U.S. after graduation (Han, Stocking, Gebbie, & Appelbaum, 2015). Between 2004 and 2016, nearly 1.5 million international students obtained authorization to remain and work in the U.S. through the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program (Ruiz & Budiman, 2018). But remaining in the U.S. and pursuing a career comes with many challenges for international students. Similarly, international students who leave and pursue careers in their home country or on the global job market, have unique needs as they prepare for a successful job search. 

Career services offices and career teams are often unprepared to respond to the unique needs of international students. For example, international students at the University of Minnesota have been found to have lower satisfaction with long-term career advice and guidance given by academic staff as well as lower satisfaction with opportunities for work experience or placements as part of their studies (Yu, 2013). 

Thus, to effectively serve the growing number of international students on U.S. campuses, career teams need to understand their unique needs for resources and services to help them navigate the US and global job markets. This requires a different approach to guide international students through the process of self-authorship in order to realize their full potential as a part of the global workforce. In this webinar, we hope to share insights into how to best serve the growing international population on your campus and support them as they launch their careers.

Presenters:

Mindi Levinson has been working as the dedicated Career Placement Officer for students in the M.S. in Management Science and Engineering program since its inception in the fall of 2011. There, she works with graduate engineering students, the majority of which are international students. Mindi has worked with all levels of professionals from all over the globe since she began her career in executive search and leverages her twenty plus years of networking experience within the technology space to her advantage. She holds a BS in Business Administration from SUNY Buffalo and an MA  in Higher and Post-Secondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Dr. Darbi Leigh Roberts is the Executive Director of International Student Services at Southern New Hampshire University. Previously, she has held positions within various student affairs capacities at Columbia University and Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, serving student populations with a majority of international students. She has been involved in several professional associations' international work for over a decade, including presenting and writing for a number of national and regional conferences and publications through ACPA, NASPA, NAFSA, AIEA (Association of International Education Administrators), and IASAS (International Association of Student Affairs and Services). Dr. Roberts holds an M.A. and Ed.D. in International & Comparative Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College, and a B.S. in Psychology and European Studies from Carnegie Mellon University.