You and I are probably in agreement that the optimal outcome from attending a career fair is an interview call back. But what if I told you that you're actually setting yourself up for failure
How To Convert Career Fairs/Networking Events into Job Interview-Generating Machines - w/ HrohaanGuide
How international students get hired in the US
Getting hired in the US as an international student is one of those problems that makes ordinary advice feel insulting very quickly. You already know how to work hard. What you need is a cleaner read on the small moves that change whether the market can place you at all.
Who this is forStudents trying to land
Best for people balancing interviews, networking, paperwork, and a job market that keeps acting weird.
Core lessonClarity travels farther
The market does not reward vague ambition. It rewards people it can place quickly.
What to useHumans before forms
Career fairs, referrals, alumni, and recruiter conversations still matter a lot.
Who this is for
International students who are done guessing which part of the search is actually broken.
If you are sending applications, hearing nothing back, and wondering whether the problem is your resume, your story, your outreach, or the visa line, this page helps separate those threads.
What tends to work
Sharper story. Warmer routes. Better follow-through.
The guests in this lane keep saying versions of the same thing: people need to understand what you want, where you fit, and why you are worth the hassle before the market will move.
First moves
Start here if the problem on your desk is real right now.
Short enough to scan. Direct enough to use.
Say the target role clearly enough that someone can repeat it for you.Use career fairs and alumni conversations like they matter, because they do.Tighten the resume around fit, not just effort.Ask better follow-up questions so the next step is obvious.Keep your immigration context in the story without making it the whole story.
From the transcripts
The lines worth clipping.
These are short on purpose. If one of them lands a little too hard, good.
actually setting yourself up for failure by hoping and optimizing for this outcome? outcome? For every career fair success criteria was am I able to connect with a few new was am I able to connect with a few new people on LinkedIn?
How To Convert Career Fairs/Networking Events into Job Interview-Generating Machines - w/ HrohaanHave you ever wondered exactly what recruiters look for on your LinkedIn profile? I was very surprised to learn just how much weight often underlooked sections such as your bio, your skills,
How To Get Hired Despite the Most Brutal Job Market Ever (Ex-Microsoft, Amazon & TikTok Recruiter POV) - w/ Shreyasections such as your bio, your skills, even your endorsements can carry. My source, glad you asked. Shria Ma, professional growth coach and a former recruiter at Microsoft, Amazon and Tik
How To Get Hired Despite the Most Brutal Job Market Ever (Ex-Microsoft, Amazon & TikTok Recruiter POV) - w/ Shreyayou've used up all the time much time to get to work talk me through the plan here your Master's application process resume is going to look a lot different from when you were applying to corporate
How To Crack Your First US Internship (& Transition to Product Manager Roles) - w/ Mayafrom when you were applying to corporate jobs I do not have two different resumes I had just one single resume the minute you land in the United States and you start off with your first semester it
How To Crack Your First US Internship (& Transition to Product Manager Roles) - w/ MayaSource episodes
These are the conversations this page is built from.
Go to the source if you want the longer version, the full transcript, or the guest in their own words.
Episode 82
How To Convert Career Fairs/Networking Events into Job Interview-Generating Machines - w/ Hrohaan
In this episode I talk with Hrohaan Malhotra, a Data Scientist at Wells Fargo who actually landed his role through a career fair. Hrohaan rewired the usual career-fair playbook: he didn’t show up to collect business cards — he showed up to build one great, memorable interaction.
Hrohaan • Oct 27, 2025
Open episodeEpisode 80
How To Get Hired Despite the Most Brutal Job Market Ever (Ex-Microsoft, Amazon & TikTok Recruiter POV) - w/ Shreya
If you want a ruthless, recruiter-grade breakdown of how to actually get hired in 2025, press play. This episode features Shreya Mehta — professional growth coach and former recruiter at Microsoft, Amazon, and TikTok — and she does something rare: she publicly evaluates (nay, lovingly roasts) my podcast producer Deep’s LinkedIn profile and uses that teardown to teach every listener the exact moves that win interviews and offers.
Shreya • Sep 24, 2025
Open episodeEpisode 21
How To Crack Your First US Internship (& Transition to Product Manager Roles) - w/ Maya
First internships are often less about being brilliant and more about not getting spooked by the process. This episode is for the person who keeps thinking the US product manager path is only for some polished, obvious candidate from the start.
Maya • Aug 22, 2024
Open episodeEpisode 71
How To Be an Intl Student - w/ Gurasis
People get strange about accents because they confuse sounding local with belonging. Gurasis talks openly about being judged for how he spoke, the pressure to sand down your voice, and the bigger question underneath it: who gets to decide what 'professional' sounds like?
Gurasis • Jul 23, 2025
Open episodeEpisode 9
How To Hire as a Tech Recruiter (& Get Hired as a Student) - w/ Kati
A resume usually does not get rejected because you are terrible. It gets rejected because it is speaking the wrong language, and nobody bothered to tell you that until after the damage was done.
Kati • May 29, 2024
Open episodeEpisode 87
How To Deal With A Lay-Off While on OPT (& Get A New Job Within 90 Days) - w/ Aman
How He Stopped the Clock & Got Hired in 40 Days (The Blueprint) Description: Getting laid off is a punch to the gut. Getting laid off on an F1 Visa with the 90-day unemployment clock ticking?
Aman • Dec 9, 2025
Open episodeFAQ
The obvious questions are usually the right ones.
So here are the straight answers.
How do international students stand out in the US job market?
They make it easier for the market to place them. Clear target role, cleaner story, stronger proof, better warm outreach, and less generic language go a long way.
Do career fairs and networking still matter for international students?
Yes. They matter even more when online applications start swallowing your time without giving much back.