Top Tips for Foreign Students Seeking Internships in Pasadena

The journey to a full U.S. passport is a long and formidable one – building contacts towards a future job can be an invaluable step. – Courtesy photo

By Tom Williams

As the latest in a long line of hopefuls tightly gripping their visa at passport control, what have I learned about a foreign student’s perspective looking for internships as a start to life in the U.S.? Despite America being the land of dreams for millions of migrants throughout the generations, it has always been a difficult task to start life as a foreigner in this great country.

First things first: this is not my permanent move. With one year of university in the U.K. remaining, this is a summer reconnaissance trip – testing the waters and building bridges. It has definitely been helpful, thus Top Tip #1 is to try and do something similar if possible.

This sort of visit does create problems, aside from the vast expenses, such trips can only really be planned on a two-month notice (due to the looming unlikelihood of having to return to university to re-sit examinations). Thus, do not expect to land yourself any formal internships, as these are confirmed early in the spring, at a time when you really cannot say whether you’ll be able to travel. Assuming you are on an ESTA, the only remaining course of action is to gain as much volunteer experience as possible.

In my case, The Pasadena Convention and Visitors Bureau was a useful resource in finding volunteering posts. Being a History and English student, I applied to as many historical and literary institutions that I could. Top Tip #2 is to never give up! I pounded at the gates (sometimes almost literally) of every library, museum, and school in the area.

Websites like Volunteer Match are there to help you and you should make the best possible use of them, though unfortunately many of them require you to be a U.S. citizen. The best course of action is to phone the institutions and ask if you can volunteer in any way possible.

What we have to understand is the position of the people we are asking to hire us: they can’t just have random people interning with them, without background checks and easily contactable references. So Top Tip #3 is perhaps the most practical: use the contacts you already have! Have a friend living in the area? Ask them and every great-aunt they have if they can help!

Finally, some general advice to any students or parents of students reading this: at this age we are constantly told that we need to have a plan for our entire lives, and we are relentlessly pressured by our peers, parents, and ourselves to use this time productively.

I’m spending the summer in a foreign country trying to prepare myself for a new life, but back home, the friends alongside whom I graduated from school are planning their farewells before starting jobs. As important as internships and work experience are, allow yourself some time to live. Top Tip #4: this time is precious. I cannot say goodbye to my friends before they leave home. Make sure you do.

More from Education