AI Is Everywhere in Higher Education—But Culture Must Remain Human-Led
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been in conversations across higher education—university retreats, conferences, and cross-campus meetings.
There’s a consistent theme:
AI is becoming central to how institutions are thinking about the future.
From keynote sessions to strategic planning discussions, the focus is clear—how to leverage AI for efficiency, innovation, and scale.
Excel Your Career With Our Top 5 Holiday Networking Tips
Dear Coach Kwan,
This is my first year in the States after the pandemic and I will be graduating soon. I know networking is important, and I heard the holiday season could be a great time to network. How can I optimize this holiday seasons in the US for networking post-pandemic?
What To Do When Your 90-Day OPT Unemployment Is Running Out
Five Steps To Take If You Are Unemployed Under Optional Practical Training (OPT) I get a lot of messages from international students such as the one above as their 90-day OPT unemployment allowance period comes to an end. Many new graduates hoped that three months would be enough time to secure a job offer. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible in reality. The job market is tough to crack, and it is even more challenging to find jobs as an international student. If you are in this situation, please take a deep breath and follow the 5 steps below: 1) Start being specific about your career goal Employers will hire you because you have the right skills to solve their business problems and you are passionate about helping them achieve their business goals. Don’t just blindly apply. You need to narrow down your job search. Be more specific about the jobs you are applying for and which industries you are applying to. For instance, if you are an MBA international student, your career paths and job opportunities for MBA graduates can be various such as Management Consultant, Marketing Manager, Sales Manager, etc. If you have been distributing your resume to multiple companies in different roles, please pause and think about your specific skill sets and past experience. Find your selling points for your job applications. If you are open to any job, you will not be a strong candidate. 2) Target a stepping stone for your OPT Since you have a limited amount of time, larger companies may not be the right target as there are multiple layers to the hiring process. Look for small to medium-sized companies that have been around for more than 5 years with sustainable revenue. Those companies can be flexible with their hiring policy and might not have a vast talent pool like large global companies. Many of them are willing to hire international students if they are short of manpower and urgently need skilled candidates. After you have built your profile and expanded your knowledge in the industry with these companies, you will become a more desirable candidate and become ready to jump into bigger companies. Most large companies select to sponsor experienced hires over entry-level candidates. 3) Spend only 10% of your time on online job application On average, only 2% of online applicants are called in for interviews. For international students, the odds are even tougher. It is sad that not all jobs posted online clearly indicate whether or not they hire international students. You need to use other methods. Spend 90% of your time connecting with your target professionals. Use your connections and really put yourself out there. You might hear about great opportunities from the most unlikely sources. Remember: if you don’t put yourself out there, people won’t know you exist and are available. 4) Develop a Plan B for Your OPT Find options that allow you to stay past the 90 days period. The term “employed” is not as specific as you might think. Find a job that is related to your course of study. Paid or unpaid job doesn’t matter. It will help stop the 90-day unemployment allowance clock. Please always contact your International Student Services Office at your college or university. Your DSO is the person who can approve if the job is compatible with your OPT. In a normal situation, the OPT job needs to require at least 20 hours a week. However, duration the COVID-19 emergency, SEVP considers students who are working in their OPT opportunities fewer than 20 hours a week as engaged in OPT. See this announcement, Find other options, such as temporary jobs or volunteering positions, that will allow you to remain in the country. Please contact your International Student Services at your school to ensure eligibility. If you are not familiar with the job market and specific industries, it is tough for students to find jobs within 3 months. If you don’t have connections, your search time will augment to an average of 5 to 6 months. Maintain your status with your plan B and continue your full-time job searching! 5) Find a Community to Support You Join a community that helps you move forward. You can build your professional skills and connect with professionals via many professional affiliations. For example; joining Ascend Leadership will give you the opportunity to learn from so many inspiring Asian leaders in the US. At ICAway, we also have a WhatsApp group for International Students so please make sure that you check this out today and request to join our group! Do you want to get more tips on this topic? Check out these resources:
International Students:
Applying and Awaiting for my OPT
Post-completion Optical Practical Training (OPT) allows international students to work on their F1 visa status after graduation. Depending on the degree, this period can be from one to three years. This article will be exploring one international student’s process of applying for her OPT. We encourage you to follow her tips and tricks in addition to doing your own research.
Resources To Support Ukrainian International Students
There were 1,739 students from Ukraine in the U.S. for the 2020–21 academic year, according to the Open Doors Report. Some of them may be close to the end of their program of study or OPT, and they are not able to return to their home country during the Russian invasion.
International Students’ Stories: Career Fair Strategy
Even before coming to the U.S., I asked myself: what is in store for me beyond graduation? If I graduate and then go back home to work, will what I have learned academically in the U.S. be applicable at all?
5 Steps to a Successful Informational Interview
I feel like I’m doing something wrong when I try to network. I’ve asked my professor to connect me with a few professionals in his network. When I got on a call with those professionals and asked if they can refer me to the company, they all said that they would keep an eye out for me. Unfortunately, I never hear anything back. What is your advice for my situation?
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?
👩🏽🎓International Student Stories: The Key to Landing a Job Before Graduation
Receiving a job offer before graduation can lead to lessened-anxiety and a much easier time staying in the US. If you are unsure about when you should apply for your OPT and when your start date should be,
Introducing “Lift as We Climb”: Mentorship for Our Community
Nobody achieves success alone. We all need communities of people to support, and who support us, to build each other up and provide unique and helpful insight. In this way, anyone can succeed. ICAway aims to support a community of international students, immigrants, and leaders who want to pay it forward.
“Lift as We Climb” Mentorship program seeks to help build students’ ability to create mentor/mentee relationships.