Hi Reader,

Yudi here,

Over the last 12 years in the US, I've seen international students land amazing jobs in terrible markets.

And I've seen incredibly smart people struggle for months.

That's why I've stopped believing there's only one correct way to job hunt.

Some people apply to 20 jobs and network deeply. Some apply to 2,000 and cast the widest net possible. Some wake up at 5am and grind LeetCode every single day. Some get jobs through one random coffee chat that went somewhere.

Some people are super disciplined about their process. Some are honestly just trying to survive mentally while doing all of this far from home.

None of those paths are wrong.

But after working with thousands of international students, there are a few things I've personally seen work over and over again.

1. Stop treating job hunting like only an application game.

Most international students spend 90% of their time applying.

And I get it. Applying feels like doing something. It feels like progress. It feels like you're in control.

But very few students spend enough time on the things that actually make companies want to call you back.

• Networking and building real relationships before you need them.
• Improving how you tell your own story in interviews.
• Fixing a LinkedIn that everyone wants to click on.
• Understanding which companies sponsor visas and how to target them strategically.

The students who eventually break through usually stop asking: "How do I apply more?"

And start asking: "How do I become impossible to ignore?"

That's a completely different game.

And it's one most people never switch to.

Before we move on to next part, I have something special for H1b visa holders.

2. Protect your mental health aggressively.

Job hunting in the US on an F1 visa is emotionally exhausting in a way that's hard to explain to people who haven't lived it.

You're not just looking for a job.

You're dealing with visa pressure and a ticking OPT clock. You're carrying a loan or your family's investment in you. You're watching people around you get offers and quietly comparing. You're managing expectations back home from people who think you're fine. You're doing all of this in a country that's still new to you.

That's not one pressure. That's five or six running at the same time.

Some days you'll feel motivated and clear. Some days you'll question everything you've done to get here.

That doesn't mean you're failing.

It means you're human and the weight is real.

The students I've seen fall apart in the job hunt aren't the ones who faced the most rejection.

They're the ones who stopped protecting their mental state and let the job hunt become their entire identity.

Don't do that to yourself.

3. Have at least one reset block every week.

No applications. No job boards. No doom scrolling LinkedIn at midnight.

Just protected time to think clearly.

Here's why this matters more than people realize.

When you're applying constantly, your brain is in reaction mode. You're responding to job postings, rejection emails, LinkedIn notifications. You're never actually thinking about your strategy.

Some of the best career decisions I've made came from moments when I stopped reacting and gave myself space to think.

Is my approach actually working? What's the one thing that would change my results if I did it differently? Who haven't I talked to yet that I should?

One hour of clear thinking is worth more than ten hours of anxious applying.

Block the time. Protect it.

4. Don't confuse motion with progress.

You can apply to 300 jobs and still be avoiding the real problem.

I've seen this happen a lot.

Sometimes the issue isn't how many applications you're sending.

• Sometimes the issue is a resume that's not passing the ATS filter.
• Sometimes it's a storytelling problem - you're technically strong but you can't communicate your value clearly in an interview.
• Sometimes it's a targeting problem - you're applying to roles that were never going to sponsor a visa.
• Sometimes it's a confidence problem that shows up the moment you're on camera.

Sending more applications doesn't fix any of those things.

Volume matters. I'm not saying it doesn't.

But strategy matters more.

If something isn't working after 6 weeks, the answer isn't to do more of it. The answer is to figure out what actually needs to change.

5. Decide the night before what matters tomorrow.

One of the biggest mistakes I see students make is waking up anxious with no plan and spending the whole day randomly applying.

That's not a job search. That's managed panic.

The night before, take 10 minutes and decide:

1. Which specific roles are you targeting tomorrow?
2. Who are you reaching out to and what are you going to say?
3. What project or portfolio piece are you improving?
4. What part of your interview prep needs attention?

When you wake up with a plan, the anxiety drops. Not because the situation changed. Because your brain has something to focus on instead of everything at once.

Clarity reduces anxiety. And it helps you actually move forward instead of just staying busy.

6. Stop believing everyone else has it figured out.

Let me tell you what I actually see behind the scenes.

I've talked to students from top-ranked US universities who are quietly terrified they made the wrong choice.

I've talked to people with internships at big tech companies who still feel like they're one mistake away from losing everything.

And I've talked to students who were absolutely convinced their career in the US was over.

Until one conversation, one introduction, one unexpected opportunity changed the entire trajectory.

Your worst moment in this process is not your final answer.

You are probably much closer to a breakthrough than the silence in your inbox is making you feel.

7. Your worth is bigger than this season.

This job market is genuinely hard right now. Especially for immigrants who are job hunting with a visa timeline attached.

But please don't let a delayed offer convince you that you're not talented, capable, or deserving of this.

I've watched people get to the US with nothing but drive and build careers that they couldn't have imagined back home.

It didn't happen on their timeline. It didn't look the way they planned.

But it happened because they kept going.

A job offer is important. I'm not going to pretend it isn't.

But it's not your identity. It's not a measure of how hard you've worked or how smart you are. It's a timing and strategy problem. And both of those can be solved.

Keep learning. Keep adapting. Keep showing up.

Your story is still being written.

— Yudi J