What International Students Should Be Doing Now to Get Hired

We recently spoke with Marcelo Barros, an international student career expert and founder of The International Advantage, about the latest news affecting international students, the 2025 H-1B lottery, what international students should be doing now to get hired, and more. Below is an edited version of our conversation.

VAULT: Before we begin, let me ask, and I ask this not as a small talk greeting but because I generally want to know: How are you doing?

MARCELO: I appreciate this question, and believe me, these days a lot of people have been asking me the same.

As you know, The International Advantage has a very large group of followers comprised mostly of international students who seeks great jobs in the U.S. Through various social media channels, it’s easy for me to keep in touch with international students and get a feel for how their job search is going. Additionally, the universities that partner with The International Advantage and I are always taking time to figure out different ways to improve the job search outcomes of our international students.

I can tell you this: just last week, I finished working with 28 international students who graduated this month and were looking for jobs in the U.S. Eight students out of this group have already secured solid full-time (W-2) job offers with top firms in the U.S., and our expectation is all 28 of these students will land a job before August 1st. There are great job opportunities out there for our international students, though sometimes it takes a long time to get to the finish line.

So, to answer your question, I am doing great because on a daily basis I get to see international students get hired. Some of these students prove me wrong and end up securing amazing jobs (with sponsorship) in the U.S. against all odds, with amazing salaries. It’s really magical what the international student community can accomplish, even in the midst of all this turbulence. Most are not distracted by the craziness that is going on and are focused on the big prize: a great job in the U.S.

VAULT: There’s been a lot going on when it comes to international students. In fact, the past week has been a whirlwind of international student news. What should international students nationwide (not just at certain universities) take away from the recent news? Should they be taking any specific actions as a result and, if so, what would those be? Or should they wait and see how this all plays out and (try to) stay calm for the time being?

MARCELO: Understand America and understand Americans. If international students develop the habit of always seeking to decode and understand what’s happening around them, then they become better equipped to navigate the turbulent waters that often appear when they’re looking for a job in the U.S, which requires sponsorship.

We urge international students to be aggressive observers of life in the U.S. I feel that is so important. We did not come to this country to be a bystander, and there’s a lot happening now. Like it or not, it’s a great time to peel the onion, engage our minds, and develop a great sense of general awareness of what it takes to be successful in the U.S. as an immigrant.

Of course, your question reflects an understandable concern, especially during uncertain or potentially hostile shifts in immigration policy that could make it even harder for international students to start their careers in the U.S. In general, universities will closely monitor any possible changes to F-1 visa rules, work authorization, or even political targeting of specific groups. International students must keep in touch with the right departments from their universities so they’re up to date on any changes that could impact their ability to work in the U.S. after graduation, for example.

It’s important not to panic. Many proposed policies never take effect, are reversed, or are blocked in court. Many are shocked when I say that I pay very little attention (if any for the most part) to possible immigration changes that could impact our international students’ chances of securing great jobs in the U.S. Taking a “wait and watch” approach is often valid.

How do I spend my time then?

My team is on the phone every day talking with hiring managers that have jobs to fill, and we want these hiring managers to hire an international student. Trust me, these managers are not focused on immigration changes, or what the administration did yesterday, or what they may do next week. Instead, they’re asking me, ‘Do you have the kind of candidate I am looking for? My company does sponsor and I have to fill this job.’ Everyone is looking for a great hire.

VAULT: From your recent conversations with international students, can you speak a little about what they’ve been going through in general, how they’re feeling, and what they’re thinking (or rethinking) about?

MARCELO: What most international students really want is a great job in the U.S., so when I visit U.S. universities to work with international students I actually spend no time talking about government announcements that make the news. Instead, we work on strategies that address the difficulty of getting H-1B sponsorship. That’s what students need and that has always been the focus of The International Advantage. I don’t normally offer my opinion, for example, on the recent decision not to allow Harvard to enroll international students. Our international students tend to be calm, cool, and collected, and they avoid drama.

VAULT: Let’s turn to H-1Bs. Can you speak about what happened in this year’s lottery? Are the numbers encouraging? And how did the lottery compare to last year’s? What does this mean for international students wishing to stay in the U.S. after graduation? Any other important takeaways?

MARCELO: It’s been a pretty good year for successful international students who participated in the most recent H-1B lottery, and that’s mainly because we saw a significant drop in H-1B registrations, which can be attributed to the implementation of a new ‘beneficiary-centric’ selection process. In a nutshell, government has ensured that each individual is entered into the lottery only once, regardless of how many employers submit applications on their behalf. So, it seems that the issue with multiple applications has largely been addressed. Actions have been taken to reduce fraud. International students and all H-1B lottery participants deserve transparency and fairness. That’s very important.

There’s still much more demand than supply, but for international students graduating in 2025, the H-1B lottery remains a critical pathway to employment in the U.S., and U.S employers continue to leverage this program. While the chances of selection have not significantly changed (possibly around 30 percent for this year for master’s degree candidates) the overall number of unique employers who took advantage of the H-1B program actually increased a bit. And the decrease in total registrations may indicate less competition, potentially increasing individual chance.

VAULT: As always when we speak, I like to ask you: What recommendations do you have for those students who didn’t win the lottery and secure an H-1B?

MARCELO: I’d focus on the following: 1) Look into non-cap organizations, which might be able to provide you with an H-1B with no lottery, at any time of the year. 2) If you’re running out of time to stay in the U.S., explore options with your employer to work outside of the U.S. (even in your home country) and then possibly transfer back to the U.S. at a later time, under a different visa category. 3) Don’t immediately jump on the idea of going back to school. Ask yourself if more education may make you more marketable, or if you’re simply getting another degree for the chance to remain in the U.S.

VAULT: Turning to AI, how, if at all, have the advancements in AI affected the job search for international students in the past year?

MARCELO: Come graduation time, for candidates with limited work experience, many international students used to get ‘a foot in the door’ through jobs such as analyst, junior developer, etc. I feel these jobs are disappearing very fast or being reshaped. The AI disruption is very real. Much more real than any immigration disruption.

Students who can work with AI—prompt engineering, AI-aided data analysis, LLM integration—have a serious edge. In general, because our international students are always very eager to learn and tech savvy, I feel that the AI disruption could play to their advantage if they understand the magnitude of the transformations that are taking place and get ready to become top-notch problem solvers for employers.

It's become necessary to skill up and to prove to firms that you can always learn new concepts fast and apply them with confidence in whatever projects you may be working on. And I feel our international students can do this. It’s definitely not enough to get a graduate degree in info systems (or a similar discipline) and expect a job offer.

VAULT: Any final recommendations for current international students in school here or international students who just graduated with respect to securing internships and full-time employment opportunities in the U.S.?

MARCELO: Absent of a full-time offer, as a stop gap kind of strategy, if your back is against the wall and you have no job prospects in sight, consider securing unpaid or volunteer work related to your field of study. This is allowed under OPT. One must work at least 20 hours per week, though. Reaching out to alumni for this kind of help sometimes can be effective in these circumstances.

And remember, your life will continue to be amazing, even though you didn’t win the H-1B lottery. Your International Advantages are yours to keep, and those cannot be taken away from you. What is meant to happen will happen. You may feel sad at the moment, but amazing things are in store for you.

Marcelo Barros is the author of The International Advantage: Get Noticed. Get Hired!, which gives international students advice on how to find the job they want in the U.S. To learn more about Barros and his work, connect with him via LinkedIn and be sure to join his job search training programs for international students next time he visits your university. Next stops for The International Advantage include: Concord University (June 16, 2025), University of Charleston (June 23, 2025), and West Liberty University (June 28, 2025).