
leadership
There are not enough companies that grant work visas or promote international collaboration. My long-term goal is to work abroad, specifically for a foreign company. I have seen upfront how difficult it is for foreign students to work in the United States. I have a friend from Mexico who has worked for huge multinational companies including Coca-Cola and Nike and has attended Texas A&M for college, and he is currently struggling to find a post-graduation job in the United States. I also met several people abroad that have dreams of working in the United States someday but do not believe it is likely or possible. On the other side of the issue is Americans wanting to work abroad, including myself. As I began my job search this year, I dreamed big and started looking internationally. As I read more about the process, I confined my search to American companies and multinational companies with their main operations in the US. Our world is becoming more global each day, and I think in order to be successful, companies need to build more bridges instead of barriers. I also think that for a worker to thrive abroad, he/she needs to possess certain qualities. With my experiences abroad and at university, I think that I have gained these skills and qualities.
my personal plan
Everything that I have learned in and out of the classroom in the last four years has led me to gain a global mindset. I want to apply this global mindset in my career everyday. I want to work for companies that encourage international cooperation and coordination. I want to work alongside people from many cultures and continue to see different perspectives. I have gained some insights over the past few years that I will apply to a collaborative workplace. During my time in college, I have seen many different perspectives in my school and my social life. I have learned to appreciate these differences and believe that they truly add value to work. I plan to continue to keep my mind open to different perspectives, particularly in my career. I also learned that although people across the world have many differences, it is always possible to find common ground. I will never ignore the possibility of working or becoming friends with someone because I think we have too many differences; it is always possible to find a connection. Finally, I realized that I do not want to sit back and let problems ride out themselves. I want to actively work on finding a solution to this problem and other problems for my future and the future of thousands of other people who want to work abroad one day.
solutions/implementation
I think a simple solution involves providing a way for employers and students to connect. I would create a platform similar to LinkedIn, where employers and potential hires can create profiles. With this social media site, employers can post job openings and applications and directly interact with potential hires through messaging. The website would solely be designed for companies and students interested in international work and collaboration. There would have to be a large capital investment initially to fund this social media platform, but I think there is definitely a need for something like this. I also think the universities can play a more active role in building partnerships with foreign companies. As a university partners with another foreign university for a study abroad program, universities can build similar partnerships to foreign companies. Students that possess qualities, such as a global mindset, should have the ability to more easily connect with companies looking for foreign hires. I would continually ask for feedback from students and employers to constantly improve the site to fit the needs of the users. Through feedback, I could also see if the site is working by asking for statistics from employers on the numbers of international hires.
With the world rapidly globalizing, I think for companies to stay relevant, they need to incorporate diverse workforces. There are many students that share the same passions as me and have a desire to work abroad. With a platform to connect these students to employers and increased partnerships between universities and international employers, I think the process would be much easier and students would believe that working abroad is not just a dream, but instead a reality.
My passions and goals have evolved throughout my time at USC. If I had not had the opportunity to study abroad in Madrid, I might not have realized that I would one-day love to work abroad. I want this dream of mine to become a reality and want to take action to ensure that others and myself have these opportunities.