Which companies hire international students?

Question

Hello guys.

After been admitted, I decided that it would be nice to do some research on my target companies. But the i realised that I don't know if they recruit international students that don't have a work visa for full-time positions (students that need to get an H-1B).
I've searched a few forums and I realised that there is almost no information regarding this. So I was thinking if the members of this community who are already in the recruiting process could share any info about any company. I am sure that this information may help lots of international students to set their objectives.

Thanks!!!

MacFauz · Answer

I  know  think the big consulting companies and BB banks are quite willing to sponsor work visas for their hires. I've been told that if those are your target fields, then you will not have to worry about the work visas. Getting into MBB or BB banks is a whole different story altogether.

I also  know  have heard that it is almost impossible for internationals to get into energy companies especially because they don't want to sponsor work visas. Even big oil firms such as Exxon and Chevron try to avoid hiring internationals is what I've heard.

AbhiJ · Answer

Lets do a list thing. Maybe current students can chime in.

Tech/Supply Chain

Amazon

Consulting

McKinsey
Bain
Boston Consulting Group
Deloitte
Ernst and Young
PricewaterhouseCoopers
KPMG
Cognizant Business Consulting
Accenture Business Consulting

Finance

Goldman Sachs
Morgan Stanley
JP Morgan Chase
Bank of America
Blackrock

bagdbmba · Answer

Hi AbhiJ - I've added one in the consulting group.

What about Citigroup/Deutsche Bank/Credit Suisse/Barclays - don't these banks provide H1 B authorization for Internationals ? And I think in the Technology sector, firms such as Google/Microsoft/Apple/Oracle/IBM etc should be in the list. Thoughts?

BTW,do you have any update on other sectors as follows -

• Media/Entertainment
• Health Care/Pharma/Biotech
• Consumer Goods/Retail
• Manufacturing
• Real Estate
• Telecom
• Non-Profit/Gov’t

P.S: Do we have anybody from our club who have worked/ are working or willing to work and have extensive research on any of the above segments ?

AbhiJ · Answer

Regarding Technology companies have heard that people from Stanford, Berkeley go to Google. However not sure about others as to how many MBA they hire. Believe likes of MSFT, IBM, Oracle would prefer someone who has a MS in CS over MBA.

bagdbmba · Answer

What about other banks that I've mentioned ? Don't they provide H1B?

P.S: I think this could be best answered if we can get some international GMAT Clubbers who're now b-school alums and working in US.

bb · Answer

I have done some googling and found a decent list:

https://www.visasquare.com/top-h1b-visa- ... /companies - this lists number of applications by company (not necessarily MBA applicants but many top employers are here and the list is MASSIVE)

Also, here is another list: https://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports/2012- ... onsor.aspx

subhashghosh · Answer

Let me pitch in here as well with my 2 cents.

1) I think Accenture doesn't sponsor H1-B, and non-profits do that very less too.

2) Consulting companies do sponsor, but they have target B-Schools and rarely hire outside that

3) So the good news is that, if you're trying to find a foothold in IT sector with some marketing experience as well, there should be companies in Bay area/West COast that would hire internationals for roles such as Product Management. All the same, mostly those companies are looking for PhDs for their R&D work, and MBAs can complement them very well.

4) Another area to look out for is the Business Analytics, especially if you have quant background/interest. This is a growing area and might have a lot of demand in the coming days.

MBACrystalBall · Answer

Apart from the regular suspects (consulting firms, technogy companies, big banks, MNCs in various industries) that have a well-defined MBA recruitment process, there are several companies that may not figure prominently on bschool websites.

These companies may not even have a regular MBA recruiting calendar. But for the right candidate with the relevant skills (specially those with a strong overlap with the position they are trying to fill), they'd be willing to go the extra distance and apply for a work-permit, not just in the US, but in other countries as well.

It becomes tougher for folks trying to manage a complete career change i.e. industry, role and geography.

On a related note, QS TopMBA.com published a pretty  detailed report  on placements and salary trends.

If you don't have the patience to go through the huge file with tons of statistics and graphs, here's a summary of the  salary ranges for MBA jobs  and the  placement trends .

Here's a little behind-the-scenes tip.

Though schools seem to take credit for the placements in their brochures, it's often the leg-work, networking and research of the student that finally bears fruit.

Use the historical placement reports and lists for reference, but take the ownership of getting placed in your own hands.

bagdbmba · Answer

Thank you bb. It contains all segments availing H1B but as you said it doesn't segregate the MBAs...! It'd have been much better if we could get it for the MBAs only.

I've found this  one (although it's from 2012 data) also that specifies our requirement at least on the Tech side.

bagdbmba · Answer

Hi,
Well, actually I heard that Accenture does. Although I'm not 100% sure as don't work for it but there are some of my friends/acquaintances in Accenture and from 'em I got to know it.

As per the links posted above, I think most of the H1B goes with Product Management for Accenture Tech side and the rest with its business consulting side as you say for the role of Business Analyst and/or BD.

You have a PM.

bagdbmba · Answer

Thank you Sameer for your sharing the summary of the *big* QS report and your valuable thoughts.

Could you please bring in to the table the specifics of the companies (I mean which firms) of different sectors as mentioned in the thread - at least for the sectors where you've some direct information.

P.S: I've shared somewhat on the Tech side.

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the invite to join the chat! This is an incredibly practical topic and I'm happy to provide my input. I won't rehash what others have said about Banking/Consulting/IT positions - more often than not, they will sponsor but most do have a ranking cut off / target school list.

Earlier in the thread, you all brought up a list of industries so I'll discuss those below and also talk a little bit about the opportunities for internationals in the entrepreneurial space, because we're beginning to see some traction there as well!

ONE THING TO NOTE: when looking for sponsorships, the question the US based firm generally has to answer is "why could you not find a US based resource to fill this need?" For banking, consulting, and IT the answer is pretty easy in most cases. Banking loves analytics and is quant heavy so the argument can be made the US qualified applicant pool is small. For IT and Consulting, they need and want engineers. You'll see a lot more sponsorship in consulting, for example, in the tech arms of global firms. E.g. Deloitte.

ONE OTHER THING: A lot of folks say sponsorship is expensive. In hard dollar terms, it really isn't THAT expensive. Between the fees and the lawyers, it'll run a company a few thousand. So that generally isn't a hurdle. However, from a time perspective it is kind of a hassle.

• Media/Entertainment - sponsorship here is generally limited. These are highly competitive industries and job opportunities are fewer on average in general. Therefore, it's harder for them to justify foreign nationals. However, as these companies become more tech enabled, the roles of product managers and developers is growing rapidly!

• Health Care/Pharma/Biotech - they have always been graduate friendly but as someone pointed out, they're more PhD friendly but they need people to bridge the gap between international PhDs and leadership. International MBAs are being looked to for that more and more.

• Consumer Goods/Retail - limited in general but if this is your goal, you have to look Fortune 500 and above. The ones below that generally don't have the same resource needs

• Manufacturing - if you have an engineering background before your MBA, you're golden. Manufacturing is really evolving and as more people become aware of its use as a strategic enabler and lever, the more they'll need MBAs. They've been old and stagnant and are looking to shake things up in the industry!

• Real Estate - here it comes down to match. There aren't many real estate jobs to go around (even fewer with the recent recession) so you need to demonstrate value

• Telecom - definitely

• Non-Profit/Gov’t - Not so much for the former, almost entirely a no for the latter. Let's talk government first - unless you have a specific need, the government is anti-sponsorship (for very obvious reasons!). On the non-profit side, they generally don't sponsor unless they're absolute massive organizations that have the need. Partially because they don't need you, and partially because you don't need them. That's a gross generalization, but overall, that's the case.

Ah, ok, on to Entrepreneurship!

You might not think Entrepreneurship and sponsorship can coexist but they ABSOLUTELY can and do. Most start ups are tech enabled so you have a direct need there. Additionally, like I mentioned earlier, it's really not that expensive. So if you fit the culture, love the vision, and can demonstrate value, then you can carve your own path forward. You need to target the right stage of organization. A 3 person start up in a garage isn't right. As a rule of thumb, look Series B onwards. They have the size to support a defined role (which you need for sponsorship) and they probably are willing. However, they probably don't have a process in place. So if you can help them figure it out, go for it!

I hope that helps - I'm happy to answer any other questions or provide more info if I can!

Bhavik

CriticalSquare · Answer

I just got the following message from a user on this forum and I thought I'd share my answer in case anyone else was wondering about the same thing!

Let me answer that in two parts. Both are difficult to answer with certainty but they're directional so hopefully that's helpful.

Fortune 500 Finance: On average, these aren't exactly the roles that require or attract a lot of foreign MBA talent. That's not to say they DON'T hire internationals, but the frequency and the raw number are just less. This will help put it into perspective. The average I Banking tenure is pretty short. A few years on average. Attrition is really high. So the big banks need new talent constantly. Also, the stakes are really high. Much higher than average! So they want the best and the brightest. Fortune 500 finance roles, on the other hand, don't see anywhere near that level of attrition. There is increasing job jumping but even the most liberal estimates of that put it a far distance from other finance roles. Additionally, the compensation is lower because the demands and pressures are less (among other things). By no means am I saying I Banking or Asset Management are better, they're just different. So could you get a sponsored job at a Fortune 500 in their Finance department? Sure. But the odds of that are less, on average, than other Finance roles.

The University You Attend: This varies vastly from institution to institution and student to student. The general rule of thumb is the better the level of school you go to, the more opportunities are available, on average. Now, you could go to #40 and knock it out of the park or go to MIT and flounder - there are a lot of variables at play. But, on average, the better the degree, the more doors open. This also goes back to my earlier point - can they make a case for sponsoring you? If you go to Columbia for finance, the case is easier. It's a world famous program, an Ivy League, and your competition pool is much smaller. If they need a top 10 MBA, you're competing against fewer applicants. So you're more valuable and have more cards to play. However, if the role is open to anyone with an MBA, then why would they sponsor you from #40 when they could get a domestic employee from #39? Or #41?

What I've detailed above is directional at best and relies heavily on average scenarios. Your MBA experience is your own. You could go somewhere that isn't a top 20 and have an amazing career or go to a top 20 and have a mediocre one. It's all up to you!

Bhavik

Which companies hire international students?

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