Nov 15, 2022

https://mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/t/1_s12h3uwq

As a frequenter with a lunch box of the library, Kamila Makahmbetova’s mornings begin with the smell of sizzling vegetable oil.

Kamila Makahmbetova, 24, a graduate student of Statistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is currently finding a full-time job in Data Science. But she encountered  many difficulties as an international student, one of which is known as visa issue.

“My typical day ends up with writing follow-up emails,” she said.

Makahmbetova has been studying in her master’s program at U of I for two years, and she will graduate in May 2023. She earned her bachelor’s degree in an international school in her native country before moving to the United States. 

College life has opened her mind through communication with scholars over the world, and she followed the suggestions from alumni to apply for graduate school in America, she said.

But her bachelor’s study in Kazakhstan makes her resume unfamiliar for recruiters, she said she was usually rejected in the first roll.

“And the companies always prefer to accpet green-carders or American residents,” Makahmbetova said. Almost every international student who is going to find a job in America faces the fact that many companies don’t sponsor job visas or accept OPT holders.

Along with the difficulty in obtaining visa documents, Makahmbetova said she was also struggling with no reply habit from recruiters. That means the applicants must wait and guess for the recruiters’ decisions.

“You just wait for two weeks,” she said, “ if there is still no reply, and you need to send follow-up emails, but most of the companies will ignore them.”

It is universal for an international student to use the “spray and prey” strategy to apply for a full-time employment. “She has applied to hundreds of companies and written many forms of resumes,” said Yuyuan Wang, sophomore in Economics, and Makahmbetova’s classmate.

Makahmbetova’s first off-campus internship came after sending cover letters over 500 times. 

As an international student holding a plan to find a job in America, Wang believed that international students need to prove their ability with a higher standard. “The cost of hiring international employees is much more costly than that of local employees,” Wang said.

Makahmbetova has two native languages, Russian and Kazakh, and she learned Mandarin when taking her undergraduate program. Also, she can speak English fluently.

Acknowledging her weakness compared with local job seekers, Makahmbetova said she intended to focus on positions in Russian-speaking companies.

Makahmbetova worked as a Teaching Assistant last year and participates in the research program now. “I think she is very diligent to plan her future job in the US,” Wang said.

Tosha Bilsbury, the Senior Academic Advisor at U of I, said Makahmbetova could be more ambitious and more actively involved in activities. “She does quite well under her condition, but the competition is cruel,” she said.

Despite there being various roadblocks on the way for Makahmbetova to find a job, she said she was firm to stay.

“Kazakhstan is a conservative country, although it is changing year by year,” Makahmbetova said. 

One example of Kazakhstan’s conservative tradition is the judgment on the individual’s appearance, Makahmbetova said, and she felt awkward wearing short skirts and crop tops as she does in America. “I think people in America are more open-minded,” she said.

Makahmbetova also thought the work culture in America is healthier, compared to the situation of companies in Kazakhstan: the employers will not pay extra salaries for overwork workers.

“I hope I would made it,” Makahmbetova said, “I really hope my work can be seen by those companies.” 

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