Due to the pandemic and difficulties getting student visas, international enrollment in U.S. universities fell slightly during the 2019-2020 school year. The bad news is this. But the good news is that international student enrollment at American universities appears to be increasing again, which suggests that many international students will be seeking work in 2022 and beyond. To better understand the job-search scene for international students, Firsthand spoke with Marcelo Barros, an international student career consultant. The following is a portion of that chat.

Covid is still a reality, and it continues to impact our lives in a variety of ways. What do you think will happen in terms of employment this year and next year that overseas students should be aware of?

There is a significant gap between large and small businesses. On the one hand, Covid has benefited several large corporations. As a result, we continue to witness aggressive hiring of international students in a number of areas from established, larger organizations (such as the Amazons of the globe). These companies are well-positioned to continue hiring new personnel to drive their expansion, and many rely on overseas students to fill vital jobs.

Meanwhile, due to Covid, smaller and mid-sized businesses continue to struggle to capitalize on new business prospects. As a result, these companies have become increasingly hesitant to hire international students who may require H-1B visas. It's become more difficult than ever to persuade these companies to hire international students recently.

So, should students limit their efforts to larger, more established businesses?

We have been advising international students to spend 80% of their time pursuing larger, more established firms in their industry and 20% of their time pursuing smaller, up-and-coming firms where sponsorship opportunities may exist. We've altered our advice to international students in terms of which firms to target due to the new set of circumstances we've been watching. International students can explore amazing employment options in the United States by carefully altering the types and sizes of organizations to target and methodically establishing competitive profiles as job searchers seeking sponsorship. In general, it's a job seeker's market right now, especially for those who require sponsorship and don't have much experience.

International students should also ask themselves 'Is the field that I'm attempting to break into in great demand or not?'. Students interested in high-demand disciplines will have a greater chance of obtaining sponsorship from a small, specialized company that is ready to grow and secure big contracts. For example, health care is a very high-demand industry that puts job seekers in the driver's seat with a real sponsorship opportunity. Over the next decade, job prospects for healthcare professionals will continue to rise at a considerably quicker rate than for other occupations.

So, if you're an international student interested in health care, you have more options in terms of which companies to add to your target list than a student interested in traditional retail, which has a low growth rate in terms of job prospects and sponsorship chances.

Our advice to international students who are about to graduate but have few, if any, job opportunities

After graduation, looking for an internship is a highly productive strategy—ideally paid, but unpaid internships should also be considered. Hiring someone as an intern is a low-risk investment for the firm, and it usually doesn't need any onerous immigration paperwork if the overseas student can obtain an Employment Authorization Card. From the standpoint of an international student, it's a great way to get your foot in the door and demonstrate your worth. This is a tried-and-true technique that can lead to a full-time paid position if you play your cards well, the company recognizes your value, and they're open to sponsorship, of course.

It's also worth noting that international students have a finite length of time after graduation to stay in the United States without working, so they must be cautious not to breach their visa status. As graduation approaches, they should sign up with ITPathFinder to get the best opportunity in no time.