Learner analysis

We conducted a survey of 36 international students at NYU spanning undergraduate and graduate populations.

In addition, we conducted interviews with 2 international students who are looking for employment in the U.S. after graduation, 2 former international students who have already secured employment in the U.S.

We also spoke with 2 subject matter experts at NYU.

Who are our learners?

Our learners are international students at NYU who want to secure a job in the U.S. after graduation.

Demographic characteristics:

- Undergraduate and graduate students
- Studying STEM and Non-STEM majors
- All international students with F-1 visa
- From other countries, less familiar with American culture
- Less likely to get student loans/scholarships, thus heavier financial burdens
- English speakers vs. Non-English speakers (different approaches)

Motivation:

They are extrinsically motivated learners with some intrinsic motivations of personal interests or passions.

Challenges:

Negative emotions: anxiety/stress/overthinking
Don't know how to gathering information, job applications
Heavy workload
Communication (e-mail, face-to-face)
Not having a clear idea of the job-hunting timeline
Fear to begin due to uncertainty, overwhelming situation, language barrier
Less opportunities (not many company would sponsor)
Lack of feedback/reward
Fewer resources, or don't know how to utilize resources
Insufficient soft skills (i.e., networking, interview, pitching...)

Opportunities:

Mentorship
Peer communication
Academic advisor
OGS advisor

What are the implications for our learning design?

We will design to build more extrinsic motivations by:

Making parts of training as required
Providing opportunities to discuss/communicate with peers
Developing a platform to shares others' experiences
Delivering the right content at the right moment in their career prep journeys

We want to make the content more engaging, straightforward, not scaring people away, and less overwhelming to make learners enjoyable when studying to increase intrinsic motivation.

Survey insights:

97%

of international students need authorization to work in the U.S.*

36.1% are non-STEM majors and 63.9% are STEM majors

78%

are not confident in understanding the U.S. job market and the job search process

Three aspects of the job search and work authorization process emerged as the greatest challenges for international students.

Visa restrictions

Lack of work experience

Language barriers

Students find job opportunities through a number of ways, with online job boards like LinkedIn and Handshake being the most popular.

Interview insights:

From our interviews of two international students who were seeking employment in the U.S., and two former international students who were successful in securing employment in the U.S., we developed the following affinity maps.

We also gained valuable voice of the learner anecdotals that validate and build upon the themes that emerged in our survey results and the gaps we identified in our content analysis.

"Networking is very important." - Former student

"Improve your English proficiency." - Former student

"I don't know how to reach out to people; it's awkward." - Current student

"I don't know how to build a U.S.-style resume." - Current student

"The career center doesn't really help. They just gave me templates." - Current student

In addition, across all interviewees, visas and work sponsorship came up as a common pain point. Current students we inteviewed, like survey respondents, shared that that are simply not confident in the job and visa process, that they face challenges with language barriers, and are intimidated by interviews, since they have not experienced them personally.

Page updated

Report abuse