For Oregon State MBA student Yuan-Feng (Betty) Chao, launching a career in the United States after graduation is a lofty, yet worthwhile goal. A native of Taiwan, Betty loves travel, enjoys meeting new people and exploring different cultures. Betty has enjoyed her time at Oregon State and plans to continue her journey in the US after graduation. Her goal is to work in Management Consulting; an industry where she can leverage her sales and customer service background to the benefit of her clients.
Betty acknowledges the cultural, language and communication hurdles faced by international students looking to work in the US. However, she’s taken an innovative and disciplined approach to her career strategy. As graduation approaches, her hard work is starting to pay off. Below are some of her top tips for international job-seekers:
- Start your career search early
Though the academic demands placed on MBA students often cause them to postpone their job search until just before graduation, Betty took a different approach. She realized the importance of starting her career search early, and has dedicated several hours each week to this vital task. She used this time to identify companies and industries in which she would like to work, attended company information sessions (even if they were looking for different majors or stated they are only hiring domestic students), and built her professional network (see below).
- Network, network, network
Networking has been a huge part of Betty’s success. As a non-native English speaker, it wasn’t always easy for her to approach alumni, recruiters and fellow students. However, the more she did it, the easier it became to strike up a conversation. Some of Betty’s best leads are from the Business Roundtable, a luncheon and speaker series hosted by the College of Business and the OSU Alumni Association. Attending Business Roundtable provided Betty the opportunity to interact with executives from Nike, Boeing, Intel, Adidas, Daimler and other leading and emerging organizations.
- Take advantage of available resources
In addition to networking events like Business Roundtable, Betty utilized the Career Success Center to facilitate her job search. In addition to connecting talented Oregon State students with career opportunities, the Career Success Center also offers resume reviews, mock interviews and professional development workshops on topics including resume development, networking, professional communication and job search strategies. Betty has taken advantage of all of these resources and keeps in frequent contact with her career advisor, Brandi Fuhrman.
With Betty’s dedication and strategic approach to the job search and her MBA degree, she has the skills and a growing network that will facilitate her goal of working in the US after she graduates with an Oregon State MBA.
