by Samantha Nissen, M.Ed.
Rocketclips, Inc./Shutterstock
While the coronavirus has negatively impacted employment outcomes and opportunities for college students broadly, it has also exacerbated existing inequalities and challenges across specific student populations.
This is especially true for international students since student visa compliance can hinge on securing the right kind of employment after graduation.
“The last year and a half made it clear how precarious their situation as an international student is in the U.S.,” says Sarah Tolman, an international student adviser at the University of Chicago. “At the beginning of the pandemic, students were having many ‘panic moments’ in realizing how quickly things can change.”
Depending on the intersectional identities that an international student holds, this employment anxiety may have also been coupled with experiencing anti-Asian hate and discrimination, participating in Black Lives Matter protests or struggling to stay engaged in Zoom class due to VPN issues or time zone constraints.
As international students plan–or hope–to return to campus this fall, staff in career advising and development offices can leverage the following strategies to enhance support for international students.
Develop or Renew Cross-Functional Campus Partnerships
International students greatly benefit from strong collaboration between career development and international student and scholar services (ISSS) offices. In part, it is because these offices own different pieces in the international student employment puzzle.
“Career services staff and ISSS staff both have such unique knowledge bases that are so specific and there is so much that we can lend to each other,” says Jane Sitter, an international career consultant with the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, who supports undergraduate international student career development with educational programs for students, staff, and employers.
While acknowledging that offices may be understaffed following job cuts from the pandemic, there are still impactful strategies and initiatives to cultivate this collaboration in a low-resource environment.
Tolman suggests selecting a specific liaison in each office to share best practices and collaborate with one another on communication, especially about evolving issues and regulations. “It was really helpful to collaborate and figure out clear ways to communicate work authorization eligibility updates–it helps ensure that advisers feel confident as opposed to explaining something they don’t understand.”
Similarly, Sitter remarked that having an ISSS adviser sit on her university’s career professionals network is helpful in educating staff members on international student issues. With this enhanced knowledge, those doing employer relations work can advocate for the inclusion of international students in the employer’s hiring pools.
A successful collaboration can also begin with joint programming. For example, scheduling a work authorization workshop prior to a career fair so that students understand their work rights and can advocate for themselves with employers. Such workshops can be recorded and reused, especially with increased virtual recruiting events.
Additionally, many challenges that international students experience are also experienced by the broader campus community, so collaborative programming can seek to engage international students in anti-racism and civic engagement work.
Readjust Expectations Around Program “Success” and How Students Show Up
Often, student affairs professionals measure the success of a program by consistent student attendance. However, Sitter explains that adaptability and understanding are key values in determining the success of her virtual programs, which included a cohort-based career development workshop series for international undergraduate students.
Synchronous virtual meetings that considered the time zones of student participants were paired with videos and handouts, based on weekly themes, that were accessible any time. Between balancing health and safety, academic priorities, family needs, and more, this design enabled students to access support when they were ready and available.
Sitter also found that deconstructing the “seriousness” of career development was a helpful strategy to build community virtually and relieve anxiety.
“We try to keep it casual and create fun spaces to laugh and be joyful,” says Sitter. “We did improv and a lot of students had never experienced that before and really enjoyed it. By trying new ways to keep it light, it was a place for a student to feel like they can show up authentically.”
Be Prepared for Further Visa Difficulties in the Fall
Since China is the largest sender of international students to the U.S., many international education professionals and advocates were relieved when student visas were being processed in China again. However, visa appointments are limited in China and elsewhere, and vaccine requirements also present challenges for international students who do not have access to one of the eight W.H.O.-approved vaccines.
“The elephant in the room is whether international students will be able to get their visas in time for the upcoming academic year,” says Tolman, who expressed concern that international students’ needs could be forgotten as campuses return to in-person operations.
In addition to centering a distributed international student population with continued virtual and hybrid services and programs, professionals can remember returning international students’ unique challenges over previous years.
For example, if a student is not yet eligible for curricular practical training (CPT) due to missed enrollment requirements as a first-year student, then career advisers and ISSS advisers can collaborate on including “plan b and c” options in such an announcement so that students can still leverage educational and professional development opportunities like on-campus work, networking with alumni, and international experiences.
“Just by providing those alternatives–and being aware of those alternatives in the first place–we can create a more welcoming environment and show that we care, even when immigration regulations aren’t necessarily working in their favor,” says Tolman.
And perhaps most importantly, career services professionals can continue to advocate on behalf of international students in their daily work, across campus, and beyond.
“Sometimes we might think that our micro-advocacy for students is small or not significant, but know that it is significant,” says Sitter. “Even if you’re just talking to a family member or someone new in your department and you speak up for international students–that is all really helpful and contributes to a better student experience.”
