If you’re looking for an internship or job in the United States, you may be inspired by Yangzi Jiang’s story. He describes his journey of going, studying, and working in the United States.
From this interview you will learn:
· The underrated value of smaller colleges/universities;
· Strategies and resources for finding an internship or job in the U.S. as an international candidate;
· How to take advantage of your time in college;
· The challenges of work sponsorship and importance of perseverance;
· How two books can give you a deeper understanding of self and society.
Yangzi Jiang, Software Engineer
Tell us about your immigration story.
I came to the U.S. in early 2010 for bone cancer treatment. I grew up in Tianjin, China, and had never been on a plane before coming to the U.S. This is my eleventh year here and I have only been home once.
I was 14 when doctors realized I had a cancerous tumor. My parents asked other doctors and did their own research to find treatments. Initially, my parents looked up major cities in China and Hong Kong. After six months at the best hospital in Beijing, my parents became frustrated with the treatment of patients there.
I know there are many issues with the U.S. healthcare system, but it still surprises me how behind and different the process was for cancer treatment in China at the time. For example, I was misdiagnosed initially. Also, they were using domestic chemotherapy drugs, not the standardized drugs used across the West.
My parents decided to bring me to the U.S. for cancer treatment instead. I wasn’t very involved in the decision-making process. Nobody spoke English, so we had to ask people to translate websites and communicate with hospitals on our behalf. At that time, it was easier to get a U.S. visa. We didn’t look into other countries. Perhaps a part of it was that when you’re in China, you want to be in the U.S. to see the “other side” the mainstream media always discussed.
I ended up spending a year at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where I had my amputation, chemotherapy, and rehab. My first year and a half in the U.S. were spent in a hospital bed or wheelchair.
I ended up staying in the U.S. for high school. After high school, I got into Davidson College with a full scholarship. I graduated in 2019 with a double major in Economics and Computer Science. I chose job-ready majors. I’m currently under the student F-1 visa and in the second year of my OPT work permit with the extension for STEM majors. I’m working as a Software Engineer for a company in Charlotte, North Carolina.
I guess I’m chasing the American Dream right now. People come to the United States, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work out sometimes due to things outside of our control: the lottery system for a work visa. I’m trying to remain optimistic and focus on building up my skill set, which is in my control. Long-term, ideally, I would like to obtain a permanent work visa. I’m just hopeful immigration policies will become better over time.
Why did you choose a small, liberal arts institution? International students often aim to end up at big universities in big cities.
This is also another example where life made a decision for me. I didn’t know about Davidson College until a month before I applied. I attended a small Christian high school in Philadelphia. Someone in my host family told me about Davidson. I decided to apply three days before the admissions deadline. Funny story, Davidson had an admissions deadline of a day later than other schools I looked at, so I figured, why not?
Davidson ended up offering the best scholarship deal for me. I was part of the Alvarez Scholars program founded by Carlos Alvarez, a Mexican businessman who runs a brewery supply business in Texas. There are some very generous individuals that are affiliated with smaller colleges/universities that provide scholarships. They don’t know who we are, but they contribute to funding our education anyways. I don’t think bigger universities have resources like this for international students.
A lot of us overcome obstacles, such as cultural differences, socialization, sometimes even professional etiquette in the workspace. Did you experience anything like this during your time as a high school student, in college, and now as an employee? And, if so, how did you manage it?
I feel like I’ve become more ingrained in the U.S. at this point. The conversations between my parents and I really showcase our differences. I can see that a culture gap exists now because of how much time I have spent in the U.S. For example, their attitude towards politics in general. I was shocked to find out they supported Trump. From our conversations and arguments, I figured that it’s because of the way my parents grew up. They went through the Chinese Cultural Revolution, so they are against any government’s socialist policies. They also idolize capitalism.
There are cultural barriers between China and the U.S., like the language and the way of thinking. One well-known example is how people give compliments or how you perceive/respond to compliments. In Chinese culture, you need to deflect compliments. You should never accept them. Otherwise, you are seen as condescending; they would think, “who do you think you are to accept someone’s compliment?”
At the same time, I’ve seen more recent examples in Chinese TV shows where accepting compliments is more normalized in China. They are starting to say things like ‘thank you’ or ‘I appreciate that.’
In terms of workplace differences, China is going through an even more capitalistic stage compared to the U.S. You can tell by how much average employees are being overworked.
Do you recall any memorable experiences as an international job candidate?
Some of the experiences may be funny now, but I think they were painful at the time they occurred.
Last year, I had a challenging experience with my previous employer. It was a small boutique consulting company. I joined their company because they said they were willing to sponsor my work visa when they were doing well and expanding. Then, half a year later, they downsized about 50%. They were not able to follow through with sponsoring my visa. Not only that, two months later they let me go because they were still downsizing. This was right when COVID happened.
Some employers may see this as a normal thing to do when things change, and they are no longer doing well. However, international workers are facing bigger consequences and risks. If people like me cannot find a company to sponsor us, we cannot live in the U.S. When Biden came in, he wanted to reform the work visas, i.e. raising the caps. Hopefully, it happens.
When I read the news and see the figures/numbers, I think to myself, there are thousands of people’s lives being affected by one policy, by one decision. Unfortunately, it’s just a number to most people. Individual stories are not being heard.
What strategies did you use to find your internships and/or job post-graduation?
A quick anecdote, my sophomore year, I was interning at a small software company in Charlotte. I think I was trying to – this is funny – make coffee for everyone because I thought that was what typical interns did, but I got overwhelmed at a coffee machine. I didn’t see any grounded coffee, and I didn’t know that you had to grind coffee beans before putting them into the machine. It was the first week, so I felt embarrassed to ask for help. I ended up putting the whole coffee beans into the machine. When my boss and coworkers found out, they made fun of how I butchered the coffee.
It worked out in the end. They referred me to the job I have now. This goes to show that building a good repertoire with a company, even if you’re interning, is super helpful. They probably don’t remember what I did, but the impression I left helped me build long-term relationships.
In terms of strategies, I was looking for smaller companies where I could impress my boss or people in charge, maybe even at the CEO level, since small companies don’t have written policies on hiring internationals. Global companies, like Google, might be more willing to hire international students because they can place you in another country. From my experience, I have learned it’s best to look for a bigger company or a smaller startup because they’re most willing to hire internationals. In contrast, I think some of the well-known companies that are more US-centric don’t really want to hire international students, or students who don’t have citizenship. For example, Wells Fargo, a U.S.-focused company, is not willing to do so.
Overall, the whole job searching process was very frustrating. Unfortunately, I think recruiters often don’t know about the policies to hire internationals. Sometimes, I wrote a cover letter, submitted my resume, then, two days later, they came back to me and said, “Actually, we don’t hire international students.” There were cases where they would interview me, and then they would apologize for not being able to hire me as an international candidate.
Looking back, I know companies are making decisions based on their best interests – a work visa costs money and time for them, and it’s also a lottery system for the company to keep the employees they’ve trained. Perhaps they were willing to hire international students before, but then Trump’s shifting, anti-immigrant policies made it more challenging. I can blame companies, but at the same time, I think this is more from the top-down; the U.S. government oversees the immigration policies that govern how companies operate.
Eventually, I figured I needed to accept the situation and plan according to what I can control. I looked harder at industries, locations and companies willing to hire international candidates. This experience forced me to be a little more fearless and have conversations with people I would have previously been afraid to speak with. I learned to throw myself out there, try again, and learn from my failures. I submitted 400 applications in the past two years and only obtained two dozen interviews and a couple job offers. You eventually accept that as part of the game.
This year, I faced the same challenge. Luckily, my employer agreed to sponsor the work visa for me. Now I just have to wait to see if I’m selected from the lottery.
I think that’s something that’s often forgotten. Unfortunately, behind all these policies and numbers, are individual lives being affected with one outcome or another.
I think the best thing we can do is have more conversations like this and connect with people. Sharing experiences is important. You can discover the lesser known resources, like going to graduate school financed by an employer or being staffed outside of the United States. Some companies may have hiring pipelines for DACA or international students. Through sharing our experiences, we can all have more access to this useful knowledge.
Are there any resources that you would recommend to other students that really helped you on your job search?
There are two sides to this: your own interests and what’s being demanded in a job.
I think you must research current policies and industry trends. LinkedIn and Handshake were definitely very useful to find jobs and connect with people. Having conversations with alumni or people above me was helpful. I think the more conversations you have, the more you understand the current industry trends to know what skills are demanded most. These conversations can also help you find long-term mentors.
What did you learn throughout your four years in college, and beyond, that you wish to share with others?
I don’t really know what advice to give, since it can be subjective and may not work for everybody, but there are two things I learned from my experiences.
Initially, I felt a little out of place in college, but over time, I found that I had a lot more in common with others once I opened myself up. I appreciate that Davidson College helped me expand my social comfort zone. Even now, some of my best friends are from other countries or from the Davidson Outdoors Program. In contrast, my Chinese friends who studied at a different college in the U.S. often have more homogenous friend circles.
Another thing is the individual interactions with professors, and to this day, I still appreciate those relationships. Knowing them on a personal basis, having their support, and learning about their individual journey is inspiring.
In summary, just try more things out of your comfort zone and build personal relationships with professors.
I know some people try to leverage their background and identity in their job applications. Did you ever have an instance when you leveraged your multilingual background or your multicultural identity?
I didn’t leverage my multi-language background as a Mandarin and English speaker. But, I think my background has helped me personally to think about things differently. For example, reading books written in Chinese (The Three-Body Problem).
Hopefully, down the road, my perspective will add more value.
Just learn more and experience things. I think that’s my advice for people who have different backgrounds. Being bilingual and living in different cultures will bring more meaning and joy to your life. Life will also bring you more perspectives, giving you more appreciation of different things in life.
Are there any books that have helped you as an international student, in your job search or beyond?
I’ve been reading quite a lot this past year since I have a lot of free time on my hands. I’ve been FaceTiming friends, but I think my time is better spent reading books. One friend and I recently started a book club with some current Davidson students and alumni.
A famous one I read recently is Educated by Tara Westover. She grew up in Utah in a very traditional, survivalist Mormon family. The book talks a lot about this struggle. She experienced many different conflicting perspectives from her religion, family, and cultural norms. She faced contrasting expectations from her family and society.
She went through many transformations. The book is extremely powerful because she doesn’t simply offer a single perspective. She describes the different facets of people. That really resonates with me as my relationship with my family was turbulent at times. In that same vein, her own struggles with her family are still conflicting her to this day, despite her efforts to improve them. There is no simple solution.
Another famous one is A Man’s Search for Meaning. The book was written 50 years ago by a Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl. He was a psychiatrist in Austria before the war. He had a choice to leave Germany before the war, but he didn’t. He chose to let life make decisions for him.
The first part of the book talks about what he experiences in concentration camps. He doesn’t believe in collective guilt. Rather, he thinks morality exists at the individual level. In the second part, he talks about how he wants to translate the personal suffering he and his friends endured during the camp into something meaningful.
This book gave me new perspectives. It talks about how suffering is a crucial part of making life meaningful. If you see your suffering as simply personal, then it probably doesn’t mean much to you beyond that, but if you can bring value to others through your personal suffering, it can be extremely empowering.
This book gave me an appreciation of the year I spent in the hospital when I was young. At the time, I didn’t know what was going on. Looking back, I still wish I didn’t go through cancer, the emotional sufferings, and the sheer magnitude of physical pain, but I became who I am today because of those experiences.
Any final words, thoughts or advice?
I’ve been using an app recently called Clubhouse. It’s valuable because it provides a place to connect based on common interests or experiences. There are different subgroups like American, Chinese or German students in the U.S. Through this channel, many Chinese students and professionals in the U.S. are able to share common struggles we have: should we stay in the U.S. or return to China? Also, topics like injustice in China, since people didn’t have a platform before. It’s similar to how people speak out against social injustice or racism in the U.S. It inspires others to speak up too. Sometimes I wish I could have spoken up more in the past. Speak up and share more because you will find others in the same situation and make friends unexpectedly. If you are willing to be vulnerable and speak up, others will too.
Want more? Read Yeleen’s interview from a recruiter’s perspective on how to stand out as an applicant.