Get Ready for Your Next Career Fairs
As an international student, attending a career fair can be both exciting and intimidating. To make the most out of the experience, it’s important to prepare in advance. Here are some tips to help you get ready:
3 Steps to Getting Referrals from Your Connections
For international students, when the traditional job search process starts to yield worse results than before, you need to find people who can advocate your abilities to your target employers. You want to get your foot in the door without stumbling through immigration question hurdles, right?
[Five Tips] to Convert an Internship to a [Full-time Job]
Dear Coach Kwan, I’ve recently started an internship at a company that I really like and I love working with this team! I was hoping you could provide some tips on how to improve my chances of landing a full-time position after this internship. Can you help? Sincerely, A highly determined international student Creating Your Game Plan to Successfully Convert Internships to Full-Time Jobs First, congratulations on this internship opportunity! This is a milestone that you should be very proud of. I am also happy to hear that you like the company and the team you’re working with! That’s a great start. To anticipate if this role will turn into a full-time position or not, let us look at these general factors: Is their business doing well? Do they have consistent revenue or funding with no risk from the pandemic? Is your position a core function of the business? Will you have access to senior management level or key decision-making of hiring? Once you have evaluated these factors and you said yes to all of the above, let us move on to a checklist that will help you turn this opportunity into a full-time position. 1. Be a good operator The first thing is very simple. Be at your best on what you are here for. Whatever role you got hired for, ensure that you meet all the requirements of your current assignments with minimal to no errors. Be very detail-oriented and ask questions if you don’t understand. Show your supervisor that you are committed to excellence, and poor quality work is not your style. 2. Be a great communicator Just delivering quality assignments is not enough. It is important that you communicate consistently with your team and team manager on the progress of your work or any issues you encounter. Sometimes things don’t go your way, and some young students tend to drop the ball instead of carrying on the task until it reaches its goal. When working in a team, you don’t need to be perfect, but you need to be responsible and communicate well so that everyone knows where you’re at. 3. Socialize with people All after-work events are great when everything is reopened! During this pandemic, due to ongoing social distancing, you may ask to set up a 1:1 meeting (when the timing is right) with key people in each team you are collaborating with or wish to collaborate with. Again, this is not part of the job, but it will help you build a relationship and a sense of camaraderie with your coworkers. Ask about their background, share your stories, and find some commonalities, and ask them how you can help them. Also, ask what their expectations are from you and your team. 4. Go beyond your role Don’t just stay within your assignment. Think holistically like you’re the leader of the company or department. Ask yourself, what are some things that the team can do more to add value or solve the problem, or things that need to be more simplified? When you make a suggestion and gain buy-in from the leader, offer your time to work on it, and solve the problem. 5. Speak in the meetings For any international students, sometimes, due to the culture that we grew up in, we tend to avoid speaking at meetings when we are not sure or we don’t want to interrupt others when they are speaking or if you are not asked to speak. However, in the US, if you don’t speak, it can indicate so many negative thoughts such as you don’t care or you don’t understand. Show up and speak up in the meetings. Make a commitment to that. Always say something in each meeting and share your ideas. If you feel unsure about the wordings you can use. Check these 100 most useful phrases for business meetings. The next step is to ask to present in the meeting. Make sure that key decision-makers recognize your name and your contributions to the company. This is a red carpet for a full-time offer! I hope these checklist items are easy to follow! Again, job performance is important but cultural fit is a deal-breaker! Please follow the above checklist and move your way up to a full-time position in your company! Free Three-Week Career Strategy Series In this 3-week strategy, you’ll find some great examples like… How to plan your career strategy based on your situation How to create an effective networking game plan to turn your new connections into your mentors and job referrals in the future How to build your brand on a resume, LinkedIn profile, and much more to draw recruiters to you Please tell us about yourself and I’ll send your personalized tips to your inbox! Let’s listen to Andrew – How he converted his temporary job to a full-time job. https://youtu.be/Y6zXWtfVxYI Learn more about ICAway Talent Platform, Click Here About Coach Kwan Kwan is an experienced human-capital consultant. Her past corporate experience includes global organizations like Deloitte, Accenture, and BMW. Kwan moved to the U.S. in 2014, earned her Senior Professional HR certification from HRIC, and joined one of the world’s most prestigious consulting firms as a Senior Consultant of Human Capital Consulting Practice and managed multiple projects for Fortune 500 clients. Today, Kwan is the CEO and Founder of ICAway, an educational consulting firm based out of Chicago. Our mission is to be an empowering community for international students and light the way for students to find jobs in the U.S. Connect with Coach Kwan on LinkedIn
Career Fair Prep: How To Research A Company
Dear Coach Kwan, As career fair season quickly approaches, I am starting to get nervous about how to approach it. I understand that it is a great opportunity for me and I think I know how I should act during the fair but how should I prepare for it beforehand? Sincerely, A slightly-but-actually-very-nervous international student I love the mindset of this student! As important as it is to know what to do and how to act during the career fair, a lot of it is based on how you prepare for it. You should always, I repeat, always, do your research on the companies attending the career fair, particularly the ones you are interested in. Here are four steps on how to conduct thorough research that will help you acquire knowledge and therefore make an impression on the recruiter: 1. Do a deep dive into the company website As obvious as it may seem, their website should be your go-to. Here you can learn about the company history, their mission, their leadership, their clients and their service lines. You cannot claim to be interested in a company and yet not know these basic things. While you might think that this is over-the-top, I seriously advice you to approach this just like you would for a job interview. Arm yourself with knowledge and the recruiter will appreciate your clear interest in the company. 2. Check latest news on Twitter and LinkedIn After scrolling through their website, you should take it a step further and check out their social media. If you want to know about the latest news regarding the company, use Twitter or LinkedIn. These platforms are updated much more regularly than their website. By knowing not only about the company’s basic background but about what they are currently undergoing will truly show that you went the extra mile to do research on the company. With the tidbits of information that you find on their Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, you will be able to engage in non-generic conversations with the recruiter, and therefore he or she will be more likely to remember you. 3. Watch YouTube Another great platform to use for research purposes is YouTube. Nowadays, tons of companies have their own channels. This way, you can learn about company culture. Being a good candidate means that you need to be compatible with the existing company culture. At the end of the day, no matter how skilled you are, you will need to fit in with the workplace and the people you work with. If you can gauge what the company’s personality is, including their work environment, ethics and values, you will be able to position yourself as a candidate who not only meets the skills requirement but who is also a good cultural fit. 4. Find mutual connections for informational interviews Getting information from an insider is the ultimate move that makes you stand out from the crowd. Since everyone has access to the internet, theoretically, all the online research you do can be done by everyone else. While this is highly unlikely, it is still enough of a reason for you to seek out informational interviews. The obvious first step would be to see if you know anyone who is currently working for that company. If not, you can use LinkedIn to see if any of you have mutual connections with someone who works there. Reaching out to a complete stranger is not likely to yield any results, therefore, you should rely on the connections you already have. Ask for an informational interview and get as much information you can. By asking the right questions, you will be able to learn so much more than what you will by simply doing research online. On top of that, you can connect with the recruiter on a more personal level because you now have a mutual connection with them. The easiest way to build rapport with people is by establishing you have mutual interests and mutual connections – now you can use both! About Coach Kwan Kwan is an experienced human-capital consultant. Her past corporate experience includes global organizations like Deloitte, Accenture, and BMW.Kwan moved to the U.S. in 2014, earned her Senior Professional HR certification from HRIC and joined one of the world’s most prestigious consulting firms as a Senior Consultant of Human Capital Consulting Practice and managed multiple projects for Fortune 500 clients. Today, Kwan is the CEO and Founder of ICAway, an educational consulting firm based out of Chicago. Our mission is to be an empowering community for international students and light the way for students to find jobs in the U.S. Want to learn more about all the important networking techniques and strategic game plan to help you build a professional network in the US? Free Three-Week Career Strategy Series In this 3-week strategy, you’ll find some great examples like… How to plan your career strategy based on your situation How to create an effective networking game plan to turn your new connections into your mentors and job referrals in the future How to build your brand on a resume, LinkedIn profile, and much more to draw recruiters to you Please tell us about yourself and I’ll send your personalized tips to your inbox! Master career fairs through confident approaches, impactful introductions, insightful questioning, and networking finesse. Sidestep pitfalls, develop a compelling personal brand, and leverage opportunities for long-term success. Use the coupon code ‘CareerFair50’ to receive a 50% discount. Start Now Start Now with Coup
Introducing the ICAway Talent Platform
Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to coach some amazing ICAway students. I could see them land their dream jobs, for which I feel truly grateful. Through this experience, I have seen the common mistakes that international students make when searching for jobs in the U.S.. And have discovered the three key challenges that they face: Not being able to find employers who want to hire international students Not knowing how to market themselves to American employers Coming in with no connections for job referrals There are two main job search skills that international students need to have in order to overcome these challenges. These skills will help find American employers who value their capabilities more than their visa status. ICAway Talent Platform From my personal job search experience which led me to my first job in the U.S. at Deloitte with a six-figure salary, to my consequent experience as an HR professional, to a career coach for international students, I have gathered valuable insights and skills that I have transferred into this career coaching service called “ICAway Talent Platform”. This complete career coaching solution was not built within a span of months. Rather, it took YEARS, with multiple rounds of testing and participation of approximately 100 students around the U.S. With great support from my talented team, we have worked with me to lay out the learning roadmap and curriculum, produce coaching videos and learning content, design attractive training materials to enhance user experience, and so much more. We have successfully perfected our platform and are confident that it’s ready to support international students with their career search. If you enroll to our platform and become an ICAway student, I will be fully committed to supporting you through this journey. You can ask questions and receive a response within 24 hours. You will have access to tools that will be crucial for your career search. I provide downloadable templates that you can customize and later submit to our team for review. The platform is an interactive experience that I have designed to simulate a learning experience of the students that I have successfully coached on a one-on-one basis. Why do I call this a “complete career coaching solution”? Searching for jobs as an international student is a unique experience. You need comprehensive support to acquire the right skills, build your career brand, understand your work visa options, and gain opportunities to meet with potential employers. For this reason, as a member of the ICAway Talent Platform, you will be eligible for immigration consultation with a skilled immigration law firm. If you have any questions about a career search in the U.S. or about our ICAway Talent Platform, please feel free to leave comments below or contact us at icawayteam@outlook.com I hope to see you on the ICAway Talent Platform! Sign up for the ICAway Talent Platform to get an effective job search strategy to help you land your dream job! About Coach Kwan: Kwan is a certified Senior Professional HR by HRCI, the U.S. premier credentialing organization for the human resources profession. She has over 15 years of professional work experience with top organizations like BMW, Accenture, and Deloitte. With her human-capital knowledge and multicultural awareness, Kwan has designed a customized training program. It equips international students with the skills for their career search, encourages them to break through cultural barriers, and prepares them to enter the U.S. professional world. As the Founder and CEO of ICAway, Kwan is determined to build ICAway as an empowering community for international students that lights the way for them to find jobs in the U.S.