By Aleksandra Sidorova
One of the most challenging aspects of international students’ college journey — searching for a job — could become easier with the Career Development Center’s newest tool, Interstride.
About 4% of SUNY Plattsburgh students are international, according to the university profile published on the college website. International students engage in campus life through clubs, such as Club International, Desi Club, the Japanese Cultural Association at Plattsburgh and Nepalese at Plattsburgh. Many also hold jobs on-campus. Ten of 16 members of the Student Association Senate are international as well.
“International students have a tougher time finding both internships and full-time work because so many employers will say, ‘We won’t employ anybody or hire anyone who might need sponsorship in the future,’” said CDC Director Tobi Hay.
Interstride is a platform that allows students to search for jobs at companies that have filed petitions for work visas.
When an international student graduates from university in the United States, they are eligible for one year of work called Optional Practical Training. For some STEM majors, the authorization can be extended to up to three years.
“But even then, a lot of employers won’t open up their minds,” Hay said.
To work in the U.S. for longer, graduates need their employers to sponsor them for an H-1B visa, and Interstride can help find employers who have done so in the past.
The U.S. government issues a limited number of H-1B visas, however. It is up to a lottery whether someone is approved for the visa, unless they are applying to work for a non-profit organization or a higher education institution, such as a university, in which case there is no limit, or “cap.” Interstride has filters for such cap-exempt employers, too.
Students can also use Interstride to search for jobs in their home country or elsewhere.
Similar to social media, the app has a news feed and tools to network with international students and graduates. Interstride compiles up-to-date resources for questions related to job searches, whether in the U.S. or other countries, which could interest domestic students, too.
Examples of resources include a calculator for how quickly a student can expect to be approved for OPT, a guide for employers willing to employ an international student and a guide to working in another country.
Interstride is listed on the CDC’s page on the SUNY Plattsburgh website under “career tools” and “identity-based resources.”
SUNY Plattsburgh connected to the platform Sept. 23 and notified students via a mass email. The connection is possible thanks to funding from SUNY Central aimed at supporting applied learning opportunities in schools across the state.
