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Strangers on the home ground: the challenges and opportunities international students face in seeking employment within the U.S. public relations industry

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Strangers on the home ground: the challenges and opportunities international students face in seeking employment within the U.S. public relations industry

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Content 1 STRANGERS ON THE HOME GROUND: THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FACE IN SEEKING EMPLOYMENT WITHIN THE U.S. PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY by Sha-Lene Pung A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS) May 2015 Copyright 2015 Sha-Lene Pung 2 Dedication In western lands beneath the Sun The flowers may rise in Spring, The trees may bud, the waters run, The merry finches sing. Or there maybe 'tis cloudless night, And swaying branches bear The Elven-stars as jewels white Amid their branching hair. Though here at journey's end I lie In darkness buried deep, Beyond all towers strong and high, Beyond all mountains steep, Above all shadows rides the Sun And Stars for ever dwell: I will not say the Day is done, Nor bid the Stars farewell. - Journey's End by J. R. R. Tolkien. The following work would not have been possible without the support of my loving husband, Darren Bowers; my encouraging Malaysian parents who championed my studies across the seas; and my friends in the international student community at the University of Southern California who inspired me to write this thesis in the face of their daily struggles. It is my hope that this thesis will provide international students and ivory towers with the tools to strategically approach the challenge of employment for international graduates with renewed vigor. While I wrote this thesis and am submitting it as part of my Masters at USC, I consider it a product by and for the international student community in the United States. 3 Acknowledgements The pathway to carving out this thesis amidst anecdotes, interviews and months of research has been overwhelming in two ways: first, in starting off as a daunting task that was frustrating, confusing and led to many moments of self-doubt; and second, in being a priceless and rewarding product of a year‘s hard work. I would like to offer a special thanks to my committee chair, Dr. Aimei Yang, for her rock-solid faith in me and her gentle guidance in steering me in the right direction, always. I would also like to thank my professors Dr. Burghardt Tenderich and Dr. Kjerstin Thorson for their patience and encouragement in reviewing my work. Finally, I am eternally grateful to my interviewees for their willingness to share their experiences and thoughts with me during this process. 4 Table of Contents Dedication ………………………………………………………………………………...……... 2 Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………….………... 3 List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………….………... 6 Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………………………... 7 Preface ………………………………………………………………………………………….... 8 Research Methodology ……………………………………………………………..…… 8 International Graduates ……………………………………………………………..…… 9 Special Consideration ………………………………………………………………….. 10 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………...….… 11 The Importance of the Public Relations Industry ……………………………………… 12 The Importance of Public Relations Education ……………………………………...… 13 Overview ……………………………………………………………………………….. 14 Chapter 1: The Framework of PR Pedagogy ………………………………………..……… 16 Existing Discussions about Graduate PR Education …………………………….…….. 16 Contemporary Curricula of Graduate Public Relations Programs ………………..……. 18 An Argument for the Internationalization of PR Education …………………………… 20 Chapter 2: New Players in the Local Field ……………………………………………..…… 22 A Whole New World: Globalization of Public Relations ………………………..…….. 22 The Three Types of International Students …………………………………………….. 25 Going Global and Going Big: Industry Players that are Pro-International Hire ……….. 26 Chapter 3: Challenges beyond the Ivory Tower …………………………………….……… 30 ―American English‖: Comfort Level with Language ………………………………….. 30 Cultural Literacy ………………………………………………………..……………… 34 Prejudice and Predispositions ………………………………………………….………. 37 Legal Limitations …………………………………………………………….………… 40 Industry Infrastructure …………………………………………………………………. 42 Chapter 4: Strangers on the Home Ground – The Importance of Diversity ………….….. 45 Multilingual Fluency …………………………………………………………………… 45 Leveraging a Comparative Advantage …………………………………………………. 47 Public Relations plus Global Citizenship ……………………………………..……….. 48 The Importance of Diversity ………………………………………………...…………. 49 Chapter 5: The Intersection of Industry and Academia …………………………………… 52 Symbiotic Relation between Industry and Academia ……………………………….…. 52 Pro-International Graduate University Programming …………………………..……… 53 Suggestions by Industry Practitioners, Educators and International Hires …………….. 57 Chapter 6: Learning the Home Advantage ……………………………………..….……….. 63 Six Success Stories ……………………………………………………….……………. 63 Eight Principles to an International Graduate‘s Success ………………….…………… 65 Chapter 7: Conclusion – A Future beyond the Ivory Tower ………………………………. 76 No Magic Solution ………………………………………………...……………..…….. 77 Cultivating an Environment for Success ……………………………………….………. 78 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………...…………. 80 Appendices ……………………………………………………………………………..……… 83 Appendix A: Interview Guides ………………………………………………………… 83 5 Appendix B: Industry Interviews (Transcripts) ………………………………………. . 85 Appendix C: International Graduate Interviews (Transcripts) ……………………….. 100 Appendix D: Faculty Interviews (Transcripts) ………………………………….……. 112 Appendix E: Counselor Interviews (Transcripts) ………………………………..…… 125 Appendix F: Content analysis codebook ………………………………………..……. 133 Appendix G: Content analysis spreadsheet …………………………………..………. 134 6 List of Figures Figure 1: A search conducted on Going Global on January 14, 2015 for ―Public Relations‖ revealed 306 positions with H-1B petitions …………………………...…… 28 Figure 2: Suggested Attitude Model for International Students ………………..……… 71 7 Executive Summary The field of public relations is becoming increasingly globalized, not only in terms of international clients but also within the student body of public relations programs. This White Paper seeks to establish groundwork to argue that modern public relations practice is ripe for the immersion of not only public relations students, but also for international graduates. The potency of a workforce made up of multilingual and multicultural practitioners is both an exciting and increasingly pressing matter, as the numbers of international students graduating in the United States increase each year. The bottom line is this: is there a place for international graduates beyond the ivory tower, after graduating from public relations graduate programs? This thesis explored the perspectives of the three main players in the situation: the students, employers and educators. In terms of students, the writer looked at the challenges and opportunities that present themselves to international students as they pursue employment in the United States, as well as what students can do to increase their chances of finding jobs in the public relations industry. Employers were also studied. Research subjects included the types of companies that are open to making international hires and industry practitioners who recommend what both students and educators can do to fill the gap. Additionally, the symbiotic relationship between the public relations industry and academia was explored in terms of how university programming and curricula can enhance the competitiveness of international graduates. Major findings included the main challenges of literacies, prejudices and infrastructure faced by these international job-seekers, as well as comparative advantages that can be leveraged in their favor. Keywords: International students, foreign students, public relations education, public relations graduate programs, international graduate employment, international graduate opportunities, public relations diversity. 8 Preface Research Methodology In preparation for this thesis, the researcher conducted both primary and secondary research. Before commencing secondary research, the researcher conducted several interviews for preliminary edification and direction. Secondary research included review of journal articles, blogs, studies, reports, news articles and websites. Primary research consisted of in-depth interviews with public relations professionals who are hiring managers in the industry, conducted in-person and over the phone. Qualitative data presented herein stemmed from interviews with the following practitioners: Sylvester Palacios, Jr. and Kristen Wiley; Senior Account Executives at a public relations agency; John Smith 1 , digital brand strategist; Jim Johnson*, reputation management specialist and agency counsel; Carl Pewterschmidt*, Vice President of a public relations agency; Barbara Van Dyke, Vice President of Marketing for a software company; Sarah Connor*, VP of a public relations agency. These interviewees were selected on the basis of valuable hiring experience, as they were able to share their insights into industry needs and trends. They were also selected based on the diversity of their positions and backgrounds, which ranged from work in startups, agencies and in-house communications departments. Following discussions with industry professionals, the writer conducted one-on-one interviews with four faculty members, three academic and career advisers and six international students who have gone on to graduate and find employment in the domestic public relations industry. These interviewees were able to provide perspectives about the challenges and opportunities of the international student employment situation. 1 This is a pseudonym, as interviewee opted to remain unnamed. All names hereinafter marked with an asterisk (*) on their first appearances are pseudonyms. 9 Additionally, the writer employed content analysis to establish the core courses taught in public relations graduate programs in the United States. 2 The researcher looked at the curricula of 10 universities, compiling a list of 53 courses in total. The course offerings were then counted and the top six courses with the highest frequency were considered the core courses. Likewise, the courses with the lowest frequency were also identified. There were a total of 33 courses that were only counted once. International Graduates Before learning more about the challenges facing international graduates in the public relations industry, it is important to first explore what it means to be an ―international graduate.‖ To do that, we must first define what is an ―international student‖ in the U.S. context. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, an ―international student‖ refers to students who left their countries or territories of origin and crossed national borders for the specific purpose of studying. 3 For the purposes of this thesis, the writer will not make a distinction between ―international student‖ and ―foreign student,‖ treating them as synonymous. 4 The ―international student‖ in this context is considered the counterpart of the ―domestic student‖ who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. With that said, an ―international graduate‖ is an international student who has graduated and completed his/her program of study. 2 See Appendix F for the Codebook for content analysis. 3 “GLOBAL: What defines an international student?” University World News, accessed January 2, 2015, http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20090917182725104. 4 The reader should be made aware that there is a movement toward distinguishing the two terms, but it is a debate we will not get into here. 10 Special Consideration It is difficult to explore all of the elements that play a part in the employment challenges of non-domestic public relations graduates. A variety of external factors impact the employment issue, largely consisting of federal and immigration laws. Therefore, the researcher restricted this thesis to what could be done on the part of students and universities, without delving into the realm of changing immigration policies. It also must be acknowledged that this White Paper is limited in its qualitative research on the challenges and opportunities faced by international graduates. Participants in the interview are limited by the writer‘s access. Industry practitioners were limited to interviewees in California and Texas. Faculty and counselor interviews were only with persons from the University of Southern California. International graduates interviewed were from the University of Southern California and the University of Texas at Austin. They were originally from China, Singapore, Mexico, South Korea and Germany. Therefore, it is possible that responses from these groups could differ from groups in other universities or other countries of origin. 11 Introduction In August 2013, Sha-Lene Pung stepped off the plane and found herself in Los Angeles International Airport. This was the world-famous LAX, framed by the Hollywood Hills and palm trees that billowed in the California breeze. Sha-Lene was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. She had completed her undergraduate degree in Australia’s Monash University, where many Malaysian youths pursue higher education after high school. Then, in the final leg of higher education, she decided to pursue a Master of Arts in Strategic Public Relations at the University of Southern California. Like many before her, Sha-Lene was an international student setting out to follow the “American dream” to graduate and passionately build a flourishing career in the land of opportunity. Little did she realize, for thousands of international students before her, there were a plethora of circumstances that rendered the American dream just that – a dream. While the public relations industry in the United States leads the global immersion of PR into all facets of modern business practice, the immersion of global graduates into the U.S. field is less widespread. The following thesis will explore the challenges faced by international students as they seek careers in public relations beyond the ivory tower. The researcher will examine the opinions of the public relations industry and faculty. This thesis will also provide recommendations to facilitate the process from all sides, including an evaluation of public relations pedagogy in preparing international graduates for the domestic job market. 12 The Importance of the Public Relations Industry According to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) – public relations is ―a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.‖ 5 This crowd-sourced and modernized definition of the formal practice of public relations (PR) focuses on PR as a communication process that encompasses management and the formation of relationships between organizations and individuals with stakeholders. As a process, public relations is a vital part of a company or individual‘s efforts to reach out to the public. 6 PR activities encompass relationship-building to advance an organization‘s reputation; communicating key messages to gain allies in the community; as well as execute marketing strategies and reputation improvement. As an industry, public relations has proliferated and evolved exponentially in the past decade – ―public relations firms not only proliferate but also reach a size and scope undreamed of in the 1980s‖; ―membership in established and new professional societies and trade associations spirals upward; and ―virtually every kind of institution, for-profit and not-for-profit alike, recognizes the need for dialogue with the groups of people who can and will influence its future.‖ 7 Public relations professionals contribute to the achievement of an organization‘s objectives. 8 They do this by managing, controlling and/or influencing public perception with the end goal of successfully creating, changing or reinforcing opinions through persuasion. PR 5 “What is Public Relations?” Public Relations Society of America, accessed January 1, 2015, http://www.prsa.org/aboutprsa/publicrelationsdefined/#.VO-fPfnF--5. 6 “The importance of Public Relations,” APS Physics, accessed January 3, 2015, http://www.aps.org/programs/outreach/guide/pr/importance.cfm. 7 “Public Relations Education for the 21st Century: A Port of Entry,” Public Relations Society of America, accessed January 1, 2015, http://work.colum.edu/~amiller/pr-education.htm. 8 “The Importance of Public Relations,” World Wide Learn, accessed January 1, 2015, http://www.worldwidelearn.com/business-career/article/the-importance-of-public-relations.html. 13 practitioners are so much more than drafters of press releases and media representatives – they are the voices behind the message; knowledgeable in attitudes, concerns and trends facing consumers, employees, public interest groups as well as the larger local and global communities. Although the image of public relations may be tainted in mainstream media and negative perceptions surround the industry, the situation is gradually changing as publics realize the specialized skills that public relations practitioners bring to the table. 9 The Importance of Public Relations Education In this light, this thesis is situated on the intersection of industry and academia because public relations education plays an important role for elevating practitioners and the industry as a whole toward progress, modernization and immersion into an organization‘s necessary operations for success. Public relations has gained more recognition as a profession in the U.S. and around the world, with a trend toward strategic management of public relations and a greater emphasis on the value of applied research. 10 Public relations professionals who have completed their studies in communications and/or public relations are able to strategize, develop, and execute programs designed to improve communication within and for organizations and stakeholders. 11 Public relations education is highly relevant for the industry‘s development because it is an opportunity to introduce well-rounded graduates, practitioners and leaders into the industry – ―grounded in the liberal arts and sciences; well-prepared in public relations theory and practice; tested not only in the classroom but in the field‖ and armed with an understanding of ―the 9 Lisa Fall and Jeremy Hughes, “Reflections of Perceptions: Measuring the effect public relations education has on non-majors' attitudes toward the discipline,” Public Relations Journal 3:2 (2009). 10 Tonya Garcia, “Graduate PR programs adjust to industry changes,” PR Week, April 13, 2009, accessed January 1, 2015, http://www.prweek.com/articles/1272334/graduate-pr-programs-adjust-industry-changes. 11 “The Importance of Public Relations.” 14 inherent connection between public relations and management, sociology and the many other pillars of modern society‖ 12 . Public relations graduates would, additionally, have the necessary skills of writing, analyzing and research ready at the table. Additionally, while there is no data to support that graduate qualifications are necessary for management positions in the public relations industry, public relations professors and researchers Aldoory and Toth asserted that advanced study in public relations was a means to career advancement because managerial roles require further training and experience. 13 Based on a study of 153 educators and 58 practitioners, they found that the objectives of a master‘s degree in public relations involved the acquisition of advanced skills and knowledge in research, management, problem-solving and management-level expertise. A master's degree can also factor in the hiring process because it shows potential employers that a job candidate is really invested in their career and developing their skill sets. 14 Overview The global society we live in is increasingly interdependent and interconnected. Thus, this White Paper argues that modern public relations practice is ripe for the immersion of not only public relations students, but also for international graduates. While there is research produced in academia and in the industry about public relations education and pedagogy, this writer attempts to update the academic information about public relations graduate education 15 and fill in the existing gap about international students in this framework. 12 “Public Relations Education for the 21st Century: A Port of Entry.” 13 Aldoory and Toth, “An Exploratory Look at Graduate Public Relations Education,” 117. 14 Elizabeth L. Toth and Rowena L. Briones, “It depends on the degree: exploring employers' perceptions of public relations master's degrees,” Public Relations Journal 7:3 (2013): 14. 15 Most studies were published from 1999 to 2008. 15 Chapter 1 (The Framework of PR Pedagogy) presents an overview of existing discussions about graduate public relations education before going on to address the contemporary curricula of these graduate programs based on content analysis performed by the writer. In looking at public relations education in the past and present, the writer supports existing scholarly arguments for the internationalization of public relations education. Chapter 2 (New Players in the Local Field) delves deeper into the idea of internationalization by looking at the increasingly globalized environment of public relations today. With the globalization of both public relations as an industry and as a field of education, the writer introduces the players that drive this thesis‘ gameplay: international students. More specifically, this thesis introduces the subsets of international students the writer has identified through interviews. The third part of this chapter discusses employers in the public relations industry that are open to international hires. The next two parts of this thesis take a closer look at the circumstances international students and graduates are involved in. Chapter 3 (Challenges beyond the Ivory Tower) examines the five main challenges faced by international graduates in their search for employment opportunities, while Chapter 4 (Strangers on the Home Ground – The Importance of Diversity) sheds light on the advantages they can leverage. In light of that, Chapter 5 (The Intersection of Industry and Academia) examines the symbiotic relationship between the public relations industry and academia, particularly in discussing existing and potential university programming efforts that are beneficial to international students on the job front. On similar solution-focused lines, Chapter 6 (Learning the Home Advantage) outlines how international students can take matters into their own hands and optimize their circumstances for their benefit. 16 Chapter 1: The Framework of PR Pedagogy Public relations education is built upon a constantly evolving body of knowledge. It drives industry standards as much as it is driven by real-world public relations practice. While PR pedagogy encompasses both undergraduate and graduate level education, this thesis confines itself to a discussion of public relations programs at the graduate level only. This chapter will explore the framework of public relations pedagogy in two parts: (1) reviewing the existing discussions and recommendations about graduate public relations education; and (2) discussing the content analysis conducted by the writer involving present-day curricula of public relations graduate programs in the United States. Existing Discussions about Graduate PR Education In a pilot study in 2000, Aldoory and Toth 16 examined the general requirements, core public relations courses and optional courses in master‘s degree programs in public relations in the United States. The Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education, through the 1999 Commission on Public Relations Education, had recommended that a master‘s program should provide skills and management training – flexible enough to meet students‘ career interests while also supported with core courses standardized across master‘s programs. 17 These core courses included:  research methods;  communication theory;  communication processes; 16 Aldoory and Toth, “An Exploratory Look at Graduate Public Relations Education,” 115-125. 17 Aldoory and Toth, “An Exploratory Look at Graduate Public Relations Education,” 118. 17  public relations principles, practices and theory;  public relations management;  public relations programming and production; and  a public relations specialty option.  Students would also be required to have a minor; and  additionally complete a thesis, graduate project or comprehensive examinations. However, Aldoory and Toth found that there was a lack of adherence to these recommendations. Courses that were commonly offered were public relations theory of principles, public relations campaigns, public relations management. Less than half of the master‘s programs included public relations research or writing, but instead ―offered a variety of what could be considered public relations specialty courses‖ such as corporate, non-profit and political PR. 18 While the three most frequently required courses were research methods, theory of communications and ethics/law, there was ―little consensus about what journalism graduate education as a whole is or should be.‖ 19 On one hand, the researchers questioned if educators could even build a body of knowledge if there was little agreement on the intellectual content of graduate programs. On the other hand, the ―diversity they found could reflect an evolution of journalism and mass communication in society.‖ 20 This search for the ―ideal‖ graduate curricula has attracted other scholarly interests. In 2008, Shen and Toth 21 interviewed leading public relations practitioners and educators, attempting to uncover the perfect M.A. program in public relations. The majority of the 18 Aldoory and Toth, “An Exploratory Look at Graduate Public Relations Education,” 122. 19 Aldoory and Toth, “An Exploratory Look at Graduate Public Relations Education,” 116. 20 Aldoory and Toth, “An Exploratory Look at Graduate Public Relations Education,” 116. 21 Hongmei Shen and Elizabeth L. Toth, “An ideal public relations master’s curriculum: Expectations and status quo,” Public Relations Review 34 (2008): 309-311. 18 interviewees advocated for a combination of ―business plus communication.‖ Nearly half the participants felt that ―public relations should be an academic area of graduate study with an interdisciplinary focus (including communication, management, behavioral science, etc.) by the end of the next decade. There was little consistency in the content of the curricula of graduate PR programs in the last decade. Similar to earlier studies, Shen and Toth found that ―none of the schools matches the Commission‘s ‗ideal‘ curricula.‖ 22 Only one university offered a course related to management theories and strategies, even though public relations is often described as a ―management function.‖ Now that we are in 2015, the writer undertook the exploratory task of looking at present-day curricula to see how public relations education has evolved. Contemporary Curricula of Graduate Public Relations Programs Through a combination of downloading curricula off the web and contacting schools to obtain the relevant curriculum via email, the writer compiled a list of courses offered at ten public relations graduate programs across the country. The universities consisted of: Syracuse University; New York University; University of Southern California; University of Florida; University of Oklahoma; University of Maryland; University of Miami; University of Missouri; and University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill. There was a general consensus as to the naming of the graduate degrees: Master of Science (M.S.) in Public Relations; M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communication; M.A. in Strategic Public Relations; M.A. Public Relations; M.A. with emphasis in Strategic Communication (Advertising and Public Relations); M.A. in Communication; M.A. in Public Relations; M.A. model in Strategic Communication; and M.A. in Communication Studies. 22 Shen and Toth, “An ideal public relations master’s curriculum: Expectations and status quo,” 310. 19 However, this could also be seen as the first sign of inconsistency: Aldoory and Toth 23 had suggested, 15 years ago, that PR graduate programs could learn from its ―close cousin, the M.B.A.‖ in terms of standardization – perhaps the first lesson would be a consistent naming method across the board for the degree (and then its courses). Based on the curricula of the 10 programs, the writer listed 54 courses of study including required courses and optional courses in the journalism or communication school that were directly related to public relations. 24 Based on the most commonly required courses, there were six core courses in the schools:  Public Relations Management/Management of Strategic Communication (6/10);  Public Relations Ethics, Law & Regulation (5/10);  Public Relations Writing (6/10);  Introduction to SPR/Theory, History & Practice of Public Relations (5/10);  International Public Relations/Global PR (4/10); and  Public Relations Research/Measurement (4/10). It is important to note that there was not a single course that was required or offered across all 10 programs, suggesting the inconsistency among public relations graduate programs has remained largely unchanged since 2008. However, the second question is to determine if present-day curricula better meets the recommendations set out by the Commission in 1999. This writer‘s findings indicate that there has been an evolution in graduate degrees. While public relations management used to be a desired course but not implemented widely in schools, it has now grown into the most commonly offered course, present in 60 percent of the programs examined. Research classes remain to be under-emphasized, with less than half the schools 23 Aldoory and Toth, “An Exploratory Look at Graduate Public Relations Education,” 124. 24 See Appendix G for content analysis spreadsheet. 20 requiring them. Theory is required by half the programs, although a distinction is seldom made between communication theory and public relations theory – unlikely how the Commission had demarcated the two. Unfortunately, processes, programming and production and specialty options were not implemented – although the ―specialty options‖ were indeed options through a variety of electives offered in most programs. This is similar to the findings of Aldoory and Toth in 2000. Similarly, students were not required to have a minor. More interestingly, however, emerged a course that was both unexpected and unprecedented in mainstream conversations of public relations graduate education standardization. International Public Relations, sometimes referred to as Global Public Relations, was found to be a common course across 40 percent of the programs. While the Commission had called for curricula that would prepare students to be effective communicators in the ―age of global interdependence,‖ this was nevertheless not a reality in the previous decade. 25 This finding leads us to an interesting segue with this thesis: is the internationalization of education simply a necessity that goes hand-in-hand with the changing industry needs and student body? An Argument for the Internationalization of PR Education In 2001, professor at the University of Oklahoma Maureen Taylor 26 set forth the argument to ―internationalize the public relations curriculum‖ and provided options for educators to ―incorporate the topics of culture, international practices and culturally sensitive theory development into their public relations programs.‖ Her reason was clear: new communication technologies meant more international communication, opening up new publics for organizations 25 Krishnamurthy Sriramesh and Dejan Vercic, “International public relations: A framework for future research,” Journal of Communication Management 6:2 (2002): 103-117. 26 Maureen Taylor, “Internationalizing the public relations curriculum,” Public Relations Review 27 (2001): 73-88. 21 – international publics. 27 Taylor advocated for the creation of courses with an international focus, and laid out three ways to do that. The first and most comprehensive method was to offer a dedicated international public relations course. Second, incorporate assignments addressing international issues within basic PR education courses that already exist. Third, use ―international learning communities‖ which would allow students to work on PR case studies with students in other countries. 28 The argument for international public relations is further supported by the fact that in an increasingly global world, public relations practitioners are ―at the forefront of managing the relationships among peoples of varied nations and cultures.‖ 29 The new PR graduate-turned- professional needs to face the challenges of globalization head-on by communicating with publics and stakeholders from a variety of countries and cultures. It is this thesis‘ assertion that the globalization of public relations practice calls for the globalization of its practitioners – which is where international graduates come in. 27 Taylor, “Internationalizing the public relations curriculum,” 73. 28 Taylor, “Internationalizing the public relations curriculum,” 74. 29 Sriramesh and Vercic, “International public relations: A framework for future research,” 103-117. 22 Chapter 2: New Players in the Local Field Globalization is a reality of the 21 st century as much as it is a catalyst for this thesis. As part of the changes and challenges brought about by this globalization, both international students and international businesses are joining the international marketplace. This is as evident in the public relations field as it is in most other industries. A Whole New World: Globalization of Public Relations It is estimated that there about 2.3 to 4.5 million public relations professionals globally, assisting organizations in building and maintaining relationships in both local and transnational environments. 30 Public relations is playing an increasingly important role in the dynamics of an interdependent world. This can be seen through the development of institutions that represent and advocate for the profession, such as the Center for Global Public Relations of the University of North Carolina since 2009, the Commission on Global Public Relations Research of the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) since 2005 and the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School since 2003. 31 This globalization is accordingly making its presence felt in public relations education in two ways. First, in 2006 the U.S. Commission on Public Relations Education in a report titled ―The Professional Bond: Public Relations Education for the 21st Century‖ presented a section on global implications, recommending that public relations curricula be updated to reflect ―the international and intercultural reality that is modern public relations today‖. 32 This indicates a 30 “Global Public Relations,” Institute for Public Relations, accessed January 2, 2015, http://www.instituteforpr.org/global-public-relations/. 31 “Global Public Relations.” 32 “Global Public Relations.” 23 strong suggestion for U.S. public relations programs incorporate international elements or even international or global public relations courses in their curricula. In terms of the latter, as outlined in the first chapter of this thesis, International Public Relations is now one of the most commonly offered courses in university programs. At the same time, this transformation to internationalize curricula is far from complete – out of 10 universities sampled, only four of them offered this course. In terms of the incorporation of international case studies into other coursework, it is likely that with a larger population of international students in classrooms this happens naturally through in-class discussions – even if not spelled out in the curricula. 33 This leads into a discussion of the second way in which globalization is making waves in the education sector. To put it literally, international students are coming to the United States in bigger waves each year. According to Pew Research, the 2012-2013 academic year, nearly 820,000 international students were enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities, compared with 283,332 U.S. students studying abroad. 34 In a trend that has continued to this day, China was the leading source of foreign students in the U.S. with 235,597 students (28.7 percent of the total) — followed by India (11.8 percent), South Korea (8.6 percent) and Saudi Arabia (5.4 percent). The numbers are only growing. American graduate schools' admission offers are up over all by nine per cent from 2013 to 2014. Students from China, in particular, account for one in three foreign graduate students. 35 In the 2013-2014 school year, the U.S. enrolled in a record-breaking number of international students, welcoming 886,052 undergraduate and graduate students to colleges and 33 It remains to be seen if this in fact needs to be spelled out in curricula in universities where international PR students’ voices are less heard, e.g. through a lower population of foreign students. 34 “Record number of international students studying in U.S.,” Pew Research Center, accessed January 3, 2015, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/11/12/record-number-of-international-students-studying-in-u-s/. 35 “After Years of Going Up and Up, Graduate-School Offers to Chinese Students Flatten,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 21, 2014, accessed January 3, 2015, http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/after-years-of-going-up- and-up-graduate-school-offers-to-chinese-students-flatten/84393. 24 universities throughout the country. 36 Forty-one states saw increases in international students, with California, New York and Texas attracting the highest numbers. New York University became the leading host university for international students, surpassing University of Southern California, which had been the leader for 12 years. 37 More than 10,000 international students were enrolled at NYU, USC, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign and Columbia University. According to USC Annenberg‘s Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Gordon Stables, one in five USC Annenberg students is indeed an international student. 38 While statistics on the number of international students enrolled in public relations programs are not currently available 39 , based on personal and anecdotal experience the writer suggests that there are increasing numbers of international students in graduate programs. For example, according to demographic data provided by the University of Southern California of its class profiles in the Strategic Public Relations graduate program, the proportion of international students in the program have increased from 30 percent in 2012 to 38 percent in 2014. 40 Consistent with national data on international students across programs, China remains the primary country of origin. 36 Devon Haynie, “Number of International College Students Continues to Climb,” US News, November 17, 2014, accessed January 3, 2015, http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2014/11/17/number-of- international-college-students-continues-to-climb. 37 Haynie, “Number of International College Students Continues to Climb.” 38 Gordon Stables, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E1, transcript. 39 As of January 14, 2015. 40 “USC Annenberg Class Profiles, 2012-2014,” University of Southern California, accessed on January 14, 2015, http://annenberg.usc.edu/prospective/masters/~/media/2013%20Prospective/Documents/ClassProfilesStrategicP ublicRelations.ashx. However, this does not appear to be part of an exponential pattern and the writer’s data is limited to the two years only. 25 The Three Types of International Students While data exists on the numbers of international students in the United States, little has been said about the subsets that have become apparent within this large group. According to Jennifer Dayle Floto, a veteran public relations practitioner and Professor of Professional Practice at USC Annenberg, there are generally three types of international students 41 : (1) students who intend to return to their home country upon graduation; (2) those who plan to gain working experience in the United States before returning to their countries of origin or other countries; and (3) those who seek to stay in the U.S. for an indefinite period of time and practice public relations locally. A 2009 survey in the Chronicle of Higher Education found that 52 percent of Chinese students, 32 percent of Indian respondents and 26 percent of European students believed that they would find more promising job opportunities in their home countries because they are pessimistic about the U.S. economy and the chances of getting a work visa here. 42 Among the latter two subsets relevant to this thesis, USC Annenberg‘s Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Gordon Stables further explained that for the category where there is a fixed period of time students intend to stay, they do so with the intention of developing skills locally before returning home or traveling to other home regions to work. Stables provides the example of Chinese students who do not necessarily want to return to where their families are situated, but intend to work in other metropolitan cities like Beijing or Shanghai. The final subset of students, who are the most relevant to this thesis although this research‘s principles apply across 41 Jennifer Floto, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix D3, transcript. 42 Katherine Mangan, “Foreign Students are less inclined to seek jobs in the U.S., survey finds,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 19, 2009, accessed January 3, 2015, http://chroniclecareers.com/article/Foreign- Students-Are-Less/47122/. 26 the two groups, intend to ―identify a sponsor in a professional environment to develop a long- term visa pathway to stay and work here professionally.‖ 43 It is important to briefly outline this distinction within international students because companies may not necessarily want to sponsor candidates who are only in the U.S. for a short period of time. According to Stables, companies that sponsor work visas – known as the H-1B visa – usually want a minimum commitment of three to five years. ―In a quick turnover field it doesn‘t make sense,‖ said Stables. 44 Because the H-1B visa process is an additional hurdle to employment, in the next section this thesis will cover an exploratory examination of those who do make sense of hiring international candidates. Going Global and Going Big: Industry Players that are Pro-International Hire Even though the public relations industry has not monitored its own statistics closely, some information can be indirectly deduced that are relevant to this discussion. The writer was able to research preliminary information about players in the public relations/communications industry that actively hire international graduates. According to USC Annenberg‘s Director of Career Development Office Suzanne Alcantara, there is a valuable subscription-based resource called Going Global 45 that could very well elevate the job-search game for international students. This resource is particularly relevant because it enables students to view which companies are already sponsoring H-1B visas. Every quarter, the U.S. Department of Labor, the government agency responsible for all H-1B submissions, makes a listing of companies which submitted applications in the most recent three months. The Going Global database directly contains these state, metro and nation-wide H- 43 Gordon Stables, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E1, transcript. 44 Gordon Stables, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E1, transcript. 45 “Going Global,” GoingGlobal.com, accessed January 3, 2015, http://online.goinglobal.com/. 27 1B records for the past 12 months. The database allows for searches based on: industry, job title, company, location, wage and number or applications. 46 Additionally, the ―Going Global USA City Career Guide collection‖ contains listings of companies that have submitted the highest number of applications in the United States. There are more than 400,000 H-1B records on the H-1B Plus section of the website. International students can research companies in their preferred industry or region to see whether or not they have experience with work visas. As Alcantara aptly puts it – ―You can put those organizations on your radar.‖ 47 Upon running a search on Going Global, the writer found that the relevant occupations in the industry are listed consistently as ―public relations specialists,‖ ―market research analysts,‖ ―marketing specialists,‖ ―marketing managers‖ and ―public relations and fundraising managers.‖ The job titles and ranks are varied but for the purposes of understanding H-1B visa applications in the public relations industry, these occupations will be considered as encompassed in this industry. In an international student‘s pursuit of U.S. employment, it is of crucial importance to identify companies that are likely to sponsor international graduates. According to Alcantara, based on her experience with international students, they have tended to find success in ―industries where they have a connection‖ and that ―part of the answer is niche markets.‖ 48 She illustrates that a Chinese student would have more success looking for employment sponsorship with a company ―which has some sort of a global presence of expansion to China‖ such as China Luxury Advisors. In the same vein, public relations agencies such as Allison+Partners 49 have a Chinese practice and seek individuals with a ―cultural understanding of China.‖ Other examples 46 “H-1B Info,” GoingGlobal.com, accessed January 3, 2015, https://online.goinglobal.com/H1BInfo.aspx. 47 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 48 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 49 Allison+Partners, accessed January 3, 2015, http://www.allisonpr.com/. 28 include agencies or organizations like East West Bank that target Asian-American clients and markets as well as campaigns for ethnic segment markets. Figure 1: A search conducted on Going Global on January 14, 2015 for "Public Relations" revealed 306 positions with H-1B petitions. According to Stables, another aspect that needs to be highlighted about players on the hiring end in the PR industry is that while ―no company on the front end wants to be dismissive… many companies are open [to the idea of sponsoring a work visa for international graduates until] they realize the time and investment‖ that is involved in doing so. 50 This is particularly the case in the agency world, which is built on high turnovers. Because smaller agencies operate on the common assumption that public relations employees will stay at a 50 Gordon Stables, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E1, transcript. 29 company for 12 to 18 months 51 , this indicates that international graduates are more likely to be sponsored by larger agencies or organizations. In larger companies such as Burson-Marsteller, employees are able to move within the network of agency officers worldwide. ―That‘s one way they combat the wanderlust in PR,‖ said Stables. ―Leaving the office, the country, move from the Paris office to Tokyo or Dubai.‖ The theory that larger companies are more likely to hire international graduates is shared by others. According to Director of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy and Associate Professor Jian ―Jay‖ Wang, ―the public relations industry is [not] set up to make international talent acquisitions compared to some other industries like computer science. There isn‘t a shortage of domestic students in public relations.‖ However, Wang illustrates that while most PR SMEs in the United States avoid the extra costs that come with international hires, ―major corporations, major consultancies … and major organizations have more diverse range of needs and therefore are set up to do this talent acquisition among international graduates.‖ 52 51 Gordon Stables, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E1, transcript. 52 Jian (Jay) Wang, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, November 6, 2014, Appendix D4, transcript. 30 Chapter 3: Challenges beyond the Ivory Tower The current environment is ripe for international hires in the public relations industry, but there remain challenges and opportunities that face foreign students as they graduate from PR programs across the United States. While official statistics are unavailable about the number of international hires in the public relations industry, the writer‘s interviews 53 with hiring managers, educators and counselors shared a common experience that the public relations industry has low numbers of international employees. Additionally, to the interviewees‘ knowledge, out of the estimated thousands of international graduates who apply for work in the public relations industry, few of them are successful. In this chapter, the writer will discuss the five main employment challenges facing international students beyond the ivory tower: language; cultural literacy; predispositions; laws; and industry infrastructure. ―American English‖: Comfort Level with Language While there was little difference noted in talent, knowledge and industry skills, the biggest obstacle explained by all interviewees was a language barrier for the majority of international job applicants. For international students whose native language is not English, academic language and conceptual structures of the industry is often a struggle. 54 It is important to note, however, that many international students come from ―relatively privileged and well- educated backgrounds‖ and have learned English in foreign language classes. While these 53 These approximate statistics are based solely on interviews with six hiring managers and three career counselors. See transcripts in the Appendix. 54 Shu-Yuan-Lin and Susan Day Scherz, “Challenges Facing Asian International Graduate Students in the US: Pedagogical Considerations in Higher Education,” Journal of International Students 4 (2014): 16-33. 31 students read, write and speak English, their ―listening and oral skills are hampered by lack of experience, by non-native English-speaking teachers and by the culture shock that comes from being immersed in a foreign culture, the language of which sounds different from their studied English language.‖ 55 USC Annenberg Director of Career Development Suzanne Alcantara noted that international students who are not native English speakers tended to have a lower level of comfort with both conversational and written English language skills. As a result of this discomfort with the English language, she has noticed many international students struggle because they ―feel timid about their speaking skills or they are trying really hard but their written skills aren‘t up to par with domestic students.‖ In line with that, hiring manager Kristen Wiley 56 noted that local candidates usually were more outspoken in meetings compared to international graduates. ―We don‘t want our interns to sit silently, we want them to have great ideas, they were more willing to be heard,‖ Wiley said. According to an academic counselor with four years of experience, Jordan McIntyre 57 , ―spoken language skills that are not on par with domestic students can sometimes be regarded as a barrier to employment by international students.‖ ―I think that‘s particularly hard in fields like public relations where [language] is the be-all and end-all of what your work is,‖ said Alcantara. The importance of a crisp grasp of English in the public relations and communication field is a view that is shared by educators 58 , hiring managers 59 and international hires 60 alike. 55 Joy M. Reid, “Which non-native speaker? Differences between international students and U.S. resident (language minority) students,” New directions for teaching and learning 70 (1997): 20. 56 Kristen Wiley, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B5, transcript. 57 Jordan McIntyre, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 28, 2014, Appendix E2, transcript. 58 Jian (Jay) Wang, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, November 6, 2014, Appendix D4, transcript. Wang said, “But for this particular industry, writing is such a fundamental skill that I think that is a key differentiator.” 59 John Smith, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 29, 2014, Appendix B4, transcript. Smith said, “If English is not your first language in a communication profession it’s tough to communicate your ideas.” 60 Johnny Lim, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C3, transcript. 32 The language struggle transcends from the speaking to writing as well. According to former Vice President of an international public relations agency Sarah Connor 61 sometimes she encounters grammatical issues with international candidates in cases where English is not their native language. ―This is particularly critical for jobs where there is a heavy writing or editing component,‖ Connor said. Connor‘s sentiment is echoed by other hiring managers. Jim Johnson 62 asserts that while a language barrier either is or isn‘t a problem with international candidates, ―language is all about how you interpret the language and solve the problems‖ – and international candidates who did struggle with English struggled to write analytically. Apart from the verbal and written language barrier, there is the added obstacle of mastering ―American English.‖ Even in candidates who have English as their first language, this can be a potential obstacle – which indicates the escalation of the problem when it comes to those who have learned English as a second language. Hiring manager Barbara Van Dyke 63 gives the example of an Irish job candidate with stellar writing skills but lacked familiarity with ―American English.‖ Language is therefore a barrier in the application and interview process because, as John Smith 64 put it, ―If English is not your first language in a communication profession it‘s tough to communicate your ideas or vast array of experience in a short form that is your application or interview.‖ The issue extends to more intangible aspects of American English, namely ―slang‖ or ―trendy‖ colloquialisms. ―For American students it‘s their first language,‖ said Director of PR studies at USC Annenberg Jerry Swerling, ―for international students, it‘s not.‖ 61 Sarah Connor, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 19, 2014, Appendix B6, transcript. 62 Jim Johnson, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B3, transcript. 63 Barbara Van Dyke, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B1, transcript. 64 John Smith, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 29, 2014, Appendix B4, transcript. 33 Professor Jennifer Floto 65 shared this anecdote with the writer: ―Not only is English full of exceptions to rules, but it is chock full of idiomatic and pop culture expressions. These expressions are employed by professors, classmates and workers that International students encounter. I believe we're doing our students a real disservice if we don't find a way to quickly get them up to speed on these nuances. Here's an example of an incident that actually happened in one of my classes: An international student from Asia is what I would deem "very fluent" in English. She looked perplexed in class but waited until after the session to pose her question. It seems that one of my students used the term, "Really?? No, REALLY?" while their group was discussing the final project. The international student quickly consulted her pocket dictionary and found the first definition as "Very." She confessed that she didn't understand why the student was saying, "Very? No, VERY?" It was hard to explain that the other student meant "Are you kidding me?" which also is a colloquial expression!‖ When asked about the impact of a lower level of literacy in American English, Floto 66 outlined the struggle international students faced with ―phrasing and coming up with colorful language...‖ because most international students had been taught traditional textbook English in their education in their home countries. As a result, she said that this would limit their job search in sectors where the cultural norms relied heavily on a shared culture whether it was ―hipster language‖ or ―U.S. fashion faux pas of the 1990s‖ – such as the fashion, entertainment, food, travel and tourism PR industries. However, she suggested that this would be unlikely to disadvantage international graduates in corporate settings. 65 Jennifer Floto, e-mail message to author, November 5, 2014. 66 Jennifer Floto, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix D3, transcript. 34 Of course, with every generalization there are exceptions to the rule. According to Professor Burghardt Tenderich, there are varying degrees of cultural and language knowledge among international graduates. He gives the example of recent public relations Master‘s degree graduate Julia Kiefaber, who is also an interviewee for this thesis: ―For example, she graduated just this year from the SPR program and was able to find a job right away. She is originally from Germany and had spent a year in high school in the United States. She‘s very good at American English and understands American culture and was able to get a job right away on the visa you guys are all on. So I think – having been a hiring manager for both international and domestic people – I don‘t think that it matters much whether she‘s local or not. She had a visa to work, and in the interview nobody questioned her ability to speak English or to understand American culture.‖ 67 Cultural Literacy As referenced above, language literacy is not the only issue facing international graduates – another literacy is a cultural one. Since 1989, studies have shown repeatedly that international students in the United States face difficulties in adjusting to their "new cultural environment" – having come with different world views, cultural and linguistic backgrounds and proficiency levels, and prior educational experience. 68 Studies have also shown that there are cross-cultural differences between job applications, which can lead to the disadvantage of foreign students 67 Burghardt Tenderich, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix D1, transcript. 68 Lin and Sherz, “Challenges Facing Asian International Graduate Students,” 16. 35 when employers review their cover letters and resumes – or these differences can present themselves in the interview process. 69 Not only does a local job candidate tend to have a stronger grasp of American English, Senior Account Executive and Intern Coordinator Sylvester Palacios, Jr. pointed out the norm: someone who grew up in the city, state or country tended to have a better understanding of ―the local media market, publics and U.S. industry practices.‖ 70 This finding is echoed by USC Annenberg Director of Career Development Suzanne Alcantara 71 , who compared the reality of how much easier of a time a domestic student from Los Angeles would have compared to a foreigner who would have to learn the entire media market in Southern California. The navigation of a new and unfamiliar environment is as literal as it is cultural – from not knowing how to get around on the freeways to not understanding pop culture in the United States that is a large part of a ―shared cultural history‖ among those who grew up in America. 72 Director of PR studies at USC Annenberg Jerry Swerling outlines cultural differences in terms of society and knowledge of the field, from the type of government, popular culture, how the economy is run. 73 Additionally, international and domestic graduates hold a somewhat different perspective of the public relations field – one that is consistent with US experience versus another that has been shaped by the culture and experience of public relations in one‘s home country. Jim Johnson 74 underscores two professional impacts of a lack of cultural literacy in the American context. First, in crisis management many international graduates fail to understand the crux of the issue and how it should be navigated, because how a crisis is handled 69 Ulla Connor, Kenneth W. Davis and Teun De Rycker, “Correctness and clarity in applying for overseas jobs,” Text 15:4 (1995): 457-475. 70 Sylvester Palacios, Jr., interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B7, transcript. 71 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 72 Jennifer Floto, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix D3, transcript. 73 Jerry Swerling, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 20, 2014, Appendix D2, transcript. 74 Jim Johnson, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B3, transcript. 36 in the United States is starkly different from how it would be handled in countries like China. The foreign students have, after all, ―grown up in a different culture than the American culture.‖ 75 Second, international graduates often do not have an understanding of the local political scene – which renders it almost impossible for them to do public affairs in localized cities like Houston or Denver. Carl Pewterschmidt underscores a third professional impact in media relations: having a steeper learning curve when it comes to ―understanding the nuances of the U.S. media market, the native market here.‖ 76 He draws a parallel example of an American going to Singapore to work in the public relations industry there: there would be a learning curve involved, even though it is possible. However, this is more difficult in junior or entry-level positions because work is more tactical, compared to senior-level positions that require more strategic thinking. ―You don‘t have to pick up the phone and interact with the media [unless you‘re entry level],‖ said Pewterschmidt. ―The way a person interacts with the media in South America is very different than in North America. The way the media works in different markets is very different.‖ Pewterschmidt emphasizes the importance of: (1) understanding the U.S. media market; (2) knowing who the U.S. media players are; and (3) understanding the way of working in an American office. ―If I‘m looking to hire somebody,‖ he said, ―I want somebody to help out right away – and not someone I need to spend three months teaching. The quicker you can hit the ground running, the better.‖ But before an international graduate can get a foot in the door, another cultural barrier presents itself in the interview process. According to USC Annenberg Director of Career 75 Jian (Jay) Wang, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, November 6, 2014, Appendix D4, transcript. 76 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 37 Development Suzanne Alcantara, who frequently stages ―mock interviews‖ with international students, interviewers feel that: ―… they had to work harder to pull the information out of international students because they tended to be more reserved about sharing their accomplishments. Culturally where they come from it may seem like it‘s bragging, but in the American culture it‘s really important to put yourself and your accomplishments out there. More often than not, I feel like they are less likely to talk and elaborate more about their professional accomplishments.‖ 77 Alcantara surmised that it came down to a lack of a cultural understanding on the best way for international students to market themselves, often inhibited by feeling timid to talk themselves up and to ―really understand how to market the transferable skills they have and the experiences they have to apply it to the position they are applying for.‖ 78 Prejudice and Predispositions The third major challenge international graduates encounter are external (prejudice from hiring managers) and internal (their own predispositions) pre-sets that factor into the employment process. First, in terms of external prejudice, in a 2007 study by Lee and Rice, students from Asia, India, Latin America and the Middle East reported discrimination in matters such as job opportunities whereas students from Europe, Canada and New Zealand did not report any negative experiences directly related to their race or culture. 79 The pervasive prejudice is still here, although it may not be so much about race as it is about migration flows: hiring managers I 77 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 78 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 79 Jenny J. Lee and Charles Rice, “Welcome to America? International student perceptions of discrimination,” Higher Education 53 (2007): 381-409. 38 interviewed expressed the belief that there is a potential that international hires will not want to stay with the company for the long-term and want to return to their country. 80 As mentioned earlier, companies generally find work sponsorship beneficial in long-term talent acquisition and not high turnover employees. This stigma that foreign graduates will leave after just a few years is a possible disadvantage in the employee selection process. 81 Second, an external prejudice felt by the international hires interviewed are racism and an inherent bias against international applicants. Mexico-born Felipe Morales commented that ―it‘s an unfortunate truth for anyone with a Hispanic-sounding name.‖ 82 This sentiment is shared by Singaporean native Sharon Chin: ―They might avoid us to avoid dealing with paperwork or pay you less when they know that they‘ve done you a ‗favor.‘‖ 83 The bias extends to doubting an international candidate‘s language skills on the basis that he or she is not a U.S. resident or citizen. 84 Although there are a segment of international graduates who are not as fluent in English, there are exceptions to the generalization – an exception that often gets overlooked. Chinese-born public relations specialist Yuxin Dai argued that: ―Language is an issue when many companies have the perception that we can‘t speak English as well as an American. I think the active word is the ‗perception‘ because I think our written and spoken English is just as good as a native speaker. 80 Sarah Connor, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 19, 2014, Appendix B6, transcript. 81 However, it is noteworthy that the public relations industry functions on a relatively high turnover rate and therefore “a few years” is arguably considered a successful retention period for employees. 82 Felipe Morales, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix C2, transcript. 83 Sharon Chin, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 21, 2014, Appendix C5, transcript. 84 Yuxin Dai, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C6, transcript. 39 When they see your name on a resume, even before they interview you, they go in thinking your English wouldn‘t be as fluent.‖ 85 In line with the two primary challenges discussed above (language and cultural literacy), the concern appears to be about whether a foreign speaker will be able to grasp the nuances and cultural effects on American English. Jerry Swerling said: ―What I‘ve found is that the hiring manager will ask himself or herself, I have two candidates, one speaks English natively, the other has learned to speak English extremely well but is not a native. But which one is going to have an easier time dealing with the complicated issues we face? The easier solution.‖ Another hiring manager attributed this to a ―comfort level‖ driven by predisposed mindsets, i.e. the fact that a company can safely assume a local candidate‘s popular culture and local media background, having lived in the same area and consumed the same media: ―If we‘re looking at Person A (local student from the University of Texas) and Person B (an international student from National University of China). Person A can help me more quickly most likely. In an interview you have such a limited perspective on the person you don‘t have a lot of time to make a decision about somebody. Your predisposed mindsets will come in. This person knows what the Austin-American Statesman is, the New York Times, the value of a story in the Dallas Morning News. Whereas I would need to teach it to Person B.‖ 86 Internally, international graduates can be inhibited by their expectations of what employment positions they can secure and where they are willing to work. According to Gordon Stables, a foreign graduate‘s ―interested markets‖ predetermines where he or she can work: ―If 85 Yuxin Dai, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C6, transcript. 86 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 40 the student wants to say they only want to work in an urban area, it predetermines things by looking at where you are from, where you are and where you want to go next.‖ 87 This distinction is significant because limiting employment options to one or two major cities could restrict the international graduate‘s chances of finding work in the public relations industry. It is thus argued that the more flexible a jobseeker‘s geographical range is, the more likely he/she can find success. Legal Limitations The fourth and largest barrier to employment for an international graduate is the federal law put into place for hiring non-U.S. citizens or non-permanent residents. To hire an international graduate, a company has to undergo the process and expenses of petitioning for an H-1B work visa. This is ―as true for a Canadian student as it is for a Chinese student‖ according to Jordan McIntyre. 88 In the work visa application process, candidates and their sponsoring employers have to demonstrate that the work he/she does cannot be done by a domestic person – specialized skills are the only way to go, in an industry with a particular need for the candidate. This is especially challenging in a field like public relations, which does not always require training or education in a specialized sector. Even if a company agrees to sponsor an international job candidate, work visas are capped and function through a ―lottery‖ system. In 2005, the U.S. Congress created an ―advanced degrees exemption,‖ allocating 20,000 additional H-1B visas for applicants with advanced degrees from American universities. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 87 Gordon Stables, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E1, transcript. 88 While it is true that all foreign nationals have to acquire some form of work visa to be employed legally in the United States, different rules apply for different nationalities depending on the agreements their foreign governments have with the U.S. government. For example, Singaporean citizens have the additional option of an H-1B1 visa for professional visas as a result of a Free Trade Agreement between USA and Singapore. 41 Services randomly selects applications to process to meet the quota – because there are always more applications than available visas. 89 Jerry Swerling points out the unfortunate reality: ―The hiring manager would always say ‗I have two great candidates here, I think they‘re both great. Do I really want to go through the additional hassle?‘ Often, the answer is no. They don‘t want to have to deal with the government, the regulations, the expense. It‘s an added burden and added complication.‖ Barbara Van Dyke asserts that it is not easy for a company to justify bringing in an international hire and getting sponsorship for an entry-level position: ―It would be impossible at most companies I‘ve ever worked for.‖ 90 Even international candidates who have been successfully hired understand the truth of this barrier. The work visa is described as the ―number one disadvantage‖ and a ―dark cloud to overcome‖ because it is a policy that ―hangs over your head… no matter how good you are. 91 International graduates have ―find a way to persuade the employer to go above and beyond to do that paperwork and recognize [their] value.‖ 92 However, there are times when this justification is simply unrealistic – according to Yuxin Dai: ―If [a company] is just trying to look for a position filled in the U.S. there‘s no point for them to hire an international student to go through the visa process and hire a lawyer. Most companies I know don‘t think it‘s worthwhile especially if they aren‘t focused on a specific market like China.‖ 89 Jeroen Doomernik, Rey Koslowski and Dietrich Thranhardt, “The Battle for Brains: Why Immigration Policy is not enough to attract the high skills,” Brussels Forum Paper Series: The German Marshall Fund of the United States (March 2009). 90 Barbara Van Dyke, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B1, transcript. 91 Charlie Gu, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 19, 2014, Appendix C1, transcript. 92 Charlie Gu, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 19, 2014, Appendix C1, transcript. 42 Even when the international candidate is a suitable fit, the cost increases if the company has never hired an international graduate before. 93 They go into the process unaware of the issues and challenges in hiring a foreign resident. ―Smaller companies don‘t know how much it costs, how long they have to commit to you,‖ said Germany-born Julia Kiefaber. ―Many agencies and corporations are unfamiliar with the process. I‘m not saying it‘s the company‘s fault but it‘s a legal barrier for international students.‖ Industry Infrastructure The final challenge this thesis addresses is the existing infrastructure of the public relations industry in terms of budgets, hiring cycles and the internationalization of clients. First we look at budgets. Budgets are tight in the public relations world, and all costs have to be justified. This includes the excess cost of hiring a foreign applicant instead of a domestic one. ―There has to be a need for the person,‖ explained Carl Pewterschmidt. ―In this industry in particular, you can have the best person available but if you don‘t have the need – which basically means the budget – you‘re not able to hire them. That‘s the primary factor in any hiring decision: the funds.‖ 94 The funding may also be available for management-level hires but not entry-level positions – hiring manager Barbara Van Dyke admitted that ―some companies won‘t sponsor an international hire‖ particularly for entry-level positions. 95 The reality is that this happens even if the candidates are qualified for the job. In most cases, however, another factor comes into play: how quickly the new employee can start working. This turns our attention to the hiring cycles in the industry. Carl Pewterschmidt explained that in most cases when a position becomes available or there is a job 93 Johnny Lim, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C3, transcript. 94 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 95 Barbara Van Dyke, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B1, transcript. 43 opening in the public relations industry, it is due to an immediate need based off a new client. And thus: ―If you‘re solely looking at resumes in a pile off the web, and you need to hire somebody tomorrow, and you have a person in Austin and you have an international student, you‘re likely to default to the local because the person can be turned around more quickly,‖ said Pewterschmidt. 96 ―All things equal, you‘re most likely to go for the person who [you can hire right away].‖ Additionally, the public relations industry‘s hiring trends are dependent on business cycles. ―When business is very good, PR agencies will go through lengths to be able to hire international people,‖ said Burghardt Tenderich. 97 ―They will easily sponsor their visa and will basically hire up international people who are fluent in the language and understand the culture – and hire them as much as they hire domestic applicants.‖ The reality is that the public relations industry is not equipped to sponsor international hires on a larger scale. While larger companies and agencies with an international presence are able to make these talent acquisitions, smaller boutique agencies are usually removed from the equation. However, even with larger agencies, this isn‘t always the case. While there is an internationalization of clientele in the public relations field, this result of globalization doesn‘t always guarantee international hires. In most public relations agencies, the work is outsourced or divided to other regional offices or affiliate agencies. 98 This is the same for multinational corporations as much as smaller agencies. Carl Pewterschmidt gives this example: ―If Weber were to work with Coca Cola, they wouldn‘t add a bunch of people with knowledge of the Chinese market to work in their New York market. But they would take a portion of that business and put it in their Chinese office. It can 96 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 97 Burghardt Tenderich, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix D1, transcript. 98 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 44 service a Chinese business in China, an African business in South Africa, because there are offices worldwide. It doesn‘t necessarily create that opportunity for the Chinese student in the U.S. market because the Chinese business is going to happen in China.‖ 99 Instead, opportunities would be more likely to present themselves where there are locally-based companies that want to engage those audiences here in the United States. 100 Examples include a large Chinese audience in San Francisco, a Hispanic audience in San Antonio or the Asian population in Houston. 99 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 100 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 45 Chapter 4: Strangers on the Home Ground – The Importance of Diversity This chapter will address the other – and more positive – side of the coin. The first part of this chapter will discuss the opportunities that international graduates have in their favor when they enter the job market in the public relations industry. The second part will explore the argument of diversity in this conversation, and why diversity through the hiring of international graduates is beneficial in the industry. Multilingual Fluency The irony of this situation is that the disadvantages and/or weaknesses of international graduates in Chapter 2 are closely linked to the advantages they do hold. To begin with, a lack of familiarity or proficiency in using American English was strongly perceived as a disadvantage. This is because many international students learned English as a second language. However, the fact that it is their second language indicates one of the international job candidate‘s biggest strength – they know more than one language. The fact that international graduates are bilingual or even multilingual is ―a big advantage for global companies or firms that work with clients that are global companies.‖ 101 According to the writer‘s interviews, the languages that are most useful in the current climate are Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. 102 Additionally, while an international graduate may not be as familiar with local cultures and politics as a domestic job applicant, the former has an ―intimate cultural knowledge of a different part of the world.‖ 103 This awareness of the ―culture, business, language, lifestyle‖ 104 in 101 Sarah Connor, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 19, 2014, Appendix B6, transcript. 102 Kristen Wiley, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B5, transcript. 103 Jordan McIntyre, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 28, 2014, Appendix E2, transcript. 104 Jordan McIntyre, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 28, 2014, Appendix E2, transcript. 46 other parts of the world could be immensely valuable to most companies – particularly since the majority of international graduates come from East Asia, a thriving new international marketplace and powerful consumer base. As clients start to get more internationalized and look to expand to global markets, international graduates offer an understanding of markets that domestic practitioners may not be familiar with. 105 The linguistic and cultural competitiveness that foreign students have doesn‘t stop just there. According to Gordon Stables, international students can further leverage their comparative advantage when they enhance their language skills from mere ―multilingual competency‖ to ―multilingual fluency.‖ 106 This stems from not only being able to speak and write in two or more languages, but being ―multicultural‖ on top of it. International graduates have the ―ability to operate in multicultural environments‖ thanks to their ―subtle mastery of multiple language skills‖ for being able to ―work with the idioms and nuances‖ in ―advanced copy-editing for public relations campaigns.‖ 107 For example, Mexico-born Felipe Morales 108 finds his strength in Hispanic media relations in public relations agencies because ―being able to understand and seamlessly shift between the two cultures [of American and Mexican] is an essential skill.‖ ―We have to be fluent in two languages,‖ agreed China-born Yuxin Dai. 109 ―They hire us because we understand the way that Chinese business culture works, and how Chinese people do business.‖ 105 Sylvester Palacios, Jr., interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B7, transcript. 106 Gordon Stables, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E1, transcript. 107 Gordon Stables, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E1, transcript. 108 Felipe Morales, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix C2, transcript. 109 Yuxin Dai, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C6, transcript. 47 Leveraging a Comparative Advantage Therefore, the large majority of international graduates can be described as ―truly global citizens‖ 110 because they have lived and studied in more than one country – in addition to speaking at least two languages. This ―global perspective‖ 111 is commonly referred to by industry practitioners as a ―broader perspective‖ 112 or ―fresh/unique outlook‖ 113 on projects and discussions. Hiring managers describe this as appealing particularly to global firms when it came to drawing out different perspectives in brainstorming sessions and deliverables to clients. 114 Having a unique outlook also makes international candidates more memorable in job interviews, according to international hires like Sharon Chin. 115 ―It also helps if you‘re well- traveled,‖ she added. And what does a well-stamped passport have to do with getting hired? Hiring manager Carl Pewterschmidt sheds light on the reason why: ―I think that what you typically find with an international hire is a broader perspective – someone who might think a little more out of the box or more freely. They‘ve done more, seen more, travelled more and been to more regions of the world.‖ As a result, international graduates are perceived to be exposed to more cultures and influence of other countries and businesses more so than a domestic job candidate who has never traveled outside the United States. 116 It is important to note, however, that international graduates can only leverage a comparative advantage if they understand two or more markets well. If graduates only understand local and foreign markets on a surface level, it does not benefit them substantially. If 110 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 111 Sarah Connor, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 19, 2014, Appendix B6, transcript. 112 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 113 Kristen Wiley, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B5, transcript; Sylvester Palacios, Jr., interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B7, transcript. 114 Kristen Wiley, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B5, transcript. 115 Sharon Chin, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 21, 2014, Appendix C5, transcript. 116 Jim Johnson, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B3, transcript. 48 graduates only demonstrate familiarity with a foreign market without showing that they understand local media, they fall short – the international knowledge is supplementary and not a substitute. 117 As Jay Wang said, ―In order to be very competitive you have to know the U.S. domestic market well and an additional comparative advantage by knowing another market well.‖ 118 Public Relations plus Global Citizenship Likewise, international graduates need to have the ―most important set of skills‖ to begin with – writing and communicating, before any additional comparative advantage can come into play. 119 The idea is to be equally qualified with domestic counterparts, and then getting an edge with adding international experiences and skill sets. ―What happens if your English is not that good and your Chinese is not that good?‖ asked China-born Charlie Gu. ―People sometimes forget their native language … and don‘t spend much time to polish it up, because they think English is more important here.‖ 120 Gu emphasizes the importance of sharpening any additional tools one has, because being able to work in public relations in two languages is something he leveraged to get a job in the United States. ―The global perspective is a trait that I think has been very key for international students who are now housed in the U.S. but have such a vast knowledge of other countries, other geographies, products, countries, messaging, because they haven‘t only been stuck in the U.S.,‖ said Jennifer Floto. 121 ―I see it over and over again companies that say ‗oh we have so many customers outside the U.S. and we wish we had someone who understood the Korean market or 117 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 118 Jian (Jay) Wang, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, November 6, 2014, Appendix D4, transcript. 119 Johnny Lim, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C3, transcript. 120 Charlie Gu, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 19, 2014, Appendix C1, transcript. 121 Jennifer Floto, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix D3, transcript. 49 understood how to sell to Eastern Europe.‘ In march our students who have this grounding in PR and also understand this global nature of business.‖ The Importance of Diversity Diversity in the workplace is a recent and relevant revelation to this thesis. ―Frankly, diversity is good,‖ said industry practitioner Carl Pewterschmidt. 122 ―The more diverse types of thoughts, the more diverse perspectives, the better the product is going to be, I believe.‖ For the purposes of this discussion, we will ascribe to the definitions of diversity as laid out by the Institute of Public Relations. 123 Diversity in this case represents categories of people who are differentiated in their identities in terms of age, race, gender, ethnicity, geography, national identities and so on – based on how we see ourselves and how we are perceived by others. 124 To begin with, public relations operations are increasingly internationalized – functioning as a work process ―across time zones, within different political, economic, and social systems and with varying media constraints.‖ 125 And thus, modern public relations professionals need to reach out more and more to ―multinational populations that differ in national income, literacy, religion, environment, poverty, technology, governance and language.‖ 126 With more than half of the world population as Asian, 14 percent African, 11 percent European and only 5 percent North American, it only makes sense to set out an argument for the internationalization of public 122 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 123 Elizabeth L. Toth, “Diversity and Public Relations Practice,” Institute for Public Relations, January 6, 2011, accessed January 3, 2015, http://www.instituteforpr.org/diversity-and-pr-practice/. 124 Bey-Ling Sha and Rochelle Larkin Ford, “Redefining "Requisite Variety": The Challenge of Multiple Diversities for the Future of Public Relations Excellence,” in The future of excellence in public relations and communication management: challenges for the next generation, ed. Elizabeth L. Toth (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 2007), 386. 125 Robert I. Wakefield, “Theory of International Public Relations, the Internet, and Activism: A Personal Reflection,” Journal of Public Relations Research 20 (2007): 141. 126 Toth, “Diversity and Public Relations Practice.” 50 relations professionals. 127 Globalization is making the sounding call for diversity among practitioners, and this thesis will echo it. According to the Tilford Group, there is a set of ―competencies‖ that public relations practitioners need to develop to work in this diverse new world. 128 This thesis argues that the international public relations graduate who is able to leverage a competitive advantage certainly meets those competencies. For example, studies have found that more traditional business areas used more of the native language, while newer areas relied more on English. 129 This indicates that students with a fluent grasp of Mandarin Chinese, German, Spanish, Korean or other languages would be able to better communicate with certain sectors of clients. As such, some of these competencies include:  cultural self-awareness (the ability to understand one's ethnic self-identification);  flexibility (being able to adapt to a changing world);  cross-cultural communication (verbal/nonverbal communications with different groups); and  language development (being able to speak and write more than one language). Although, as mentioned earlier in this thesis, industry statistics are difficult to estimate 130 it is widely recognized that there is a lack of diversity among public relations professionals. According to the Public Relations Society of America‘s (PRSA) Directory of Multicultural Public Relations Professionals and Firms, only 227 African-Americans professionals, 48 127 Toth, “Diversity and Public Relations Practice.” 128 Toth, “Diversity and Public Relations Practice.” 129 Riika Frederiksson and Wilhelm Barner-Rasmussen, “The multinational corporation as a multilingual organization,” Institute for Public Relations, January 31, 2013, accessed January 3, 2015, http://www.instituteforpr.org/the-multinational-corporation-as-a-multilingual-organization/. 130 Toth, “Diversity and Public Relations Practice.” 51 Hispanic practitioners and 30 Asian-American practitioners are listed. 131 There is an undisputed acknowledgement that the public relations industry in the United States is predominantly white and female. While the PRSA has provided industry organizations with a planning toolkit 132 to encouraging outreach to minority groups in hopes to increase diversity in agencies and companies, this thesis asserts that there is no outreach effort to international students in public relations programs. International graduates are a valuable resource to improve diversity levels in the public relations industry across the United States, and should not be overlooked. 131 Toth, “Diversity and Public Relations Practice.” 132 “Multicultural Public Relations Planning Toolkit: Reaching Diverse/Multicultural Audiences,” Public Relations Society of America, accessed January 5, 2015, http://www.prsa.org/Diversity/Archive/PRPLANNINGTOOLKIT_FINAL.pdf. 52 Chapter 5: The Intersection of Industry and Academia The core challenge that faces an international graduate‘s pursuit of employment lies in the tension between industry and academia. Is academia lagging behind industry standards and needs, and therefore partly to blame for introducing ill-prepared graduates into the workforce? Or is academia a step ahead in the latest technologies and issues, driving up industry standards in propelling more skilled graduates into the job market? In this chapter the writer will argue that the relationship between industry and academia is in fact a symbiotic one, essential to the international student‘s success in the public relations realm. In doing so, we will explore the programming implemented by universities – in particular, graduate public relations programs – to assist in the employment process for international graduates. We will also discuss various programs and courses that are suggested by industry practitioners, educators and international graduates for academia to implement within the ivory tower. Symbiotic Relationship between Industry and Academia Interviewees on the industry side have commented that there‘s a lag between industry and academia, and that academia is always struggling to keep up. A common perception in the public relations industry is that students are unprepared by public relations programs to face the reality of the working world because of this lag. However, the truth is less about finger-pointing but more about understanding the parallels between two symbiotic worlds. According to Annenberg professor Burghardt Tenderich, academia is both following and leading the practice by ―teaching classes and skills and concepts that most practitioners do not 53 have – simply because the advanced social media and multimedia skills weren‘t around when current practitioners started working.‖ 133 This can be seen in both strategic and conceptual classes. For example, in a transmedia class offered at USC Annenberg, students are taught to ―reengineer the methodology that companies use in transmedia storytelling techniques in PR and marketing campaigns.‖ 134 These techniques are reengineered, built into a methodology and applied to other campaigns. On the conceptual side, ethics and legal foundations of public relations are parts of PR that practitioners would be unfamiliar with if they did not complete an academic program. Pro-International Graduate University Programming With that said, this thesis addresses the programming that is available or can be improved upon to better serve the international student community in preparation for employment prospects post-graduation. There were four major themes that emerged in discussing programming options with interviewees: (1) increasing the usefulness of international student orientation; (2) expanding and targeting an employer network; (3) bringing international student alumni who have successfully found work in the United States; and (4) continuously incorporating feedback from hiring managers into the curricula. While the interviews were largely specific to public relations graduates and the public relations industry, it is likely that they can be more broadly applied to other communications fields or to the international student community in general. 133 Burghardt Tenderich, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix D1, transcript. 134 Burghardt Tenderich, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix D1, transcript. 54 International Student Orientation One of the first touch points an international student has with his/her academic institution is at the international student orientation. This orientation is usually an additional one on top of program-wide or general student orientations. In 2014, the University of Southern California‘s orientation programming introduced a ―Los Angeles media guide‖ to help international students. 135 It was derived from a guide available in the Los Angeles Business Journal. According to Director of Career Development Suzanne Alcantara, ―This was a result of international students coming to me and saying ‗I just landed here from China [for example] and I don‘t know what‘s going on here.‘ So we hope with this guide they can get an idea of what the local advertising or PR agencies are, just so they can get name recognition and begin to do their own research.‖ Creating local media guides is a quick way to get international students oriented with the local media market – an essential point in public relations. International student orientation doesn‘t stop after the first day or week at school: according to Alcantara, universities are continuously introducing new initiatives to better prepare international students. 136 For example, USC launched a series of sessions called ―International Career Club.‖ The mission of these workshops is to have conversations with international students about cultural differences in the job-seeking framework – from interviewing tips, adapting to local culture and being open to internships at smaller companies instead of those they were familiar with through international fame. The reason behind this: larger, more ―famous‖ companies get a lot internship applications and it‘s easier to stand out in a pile with smaller agencies; and then work your way up. 137 135 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 136 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 137 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 55 Employer Network The second programming outlet universities take up is creating an employer network for students – both international and domestic. For example, at USC, the career center works in particular to assist international students by expanding the listing of potentially suitable companies for Chinese students – increasing the listing from 12 to 40 in the past year. 138 Academic advisor Jordan McIntyre 139 recommends that universities could hold a job fair or invite pro-sponsorship employers to campus to connect with international students. Program Director Jerry Swerling suggested developing future partnerships with Chinese companies that could be useful, by matching students with multinational corporations and setting up training programs. 140 USC alumnus Charlie Gu 141 agreed that networking opportunities for international students to meet industry leaders and practitioners are vital to success, and if universities could assist in adding that to their programming it would be beneficial for the international student community. Another way to assist students in networking is to create pathways to hone the strengths of international students. One way is to create mentorship programs, particularly in matching USC alumni with current students. In the Fall of 2014, the program launched with 350 mentor pairs. 142 International Student Alumni While the mentorship pathway symbolizes a first step in connecting international students to a supportive alumni network, educators and international graduates alike strongly recommended programming that would link international alumni with current international 138 Jennifer Floto, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix D3, transcript. 139 Jordan McIntyre, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 28, 2014, Appendix E2, transcript. 140 Jerry Swerling, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 20, 2014, Appendix D2, transcript. 141 Charlie Gu, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 19, 2014, Appendix C1, transcript. 142 Gordon Stables, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E1, transcript. 56 students. ―Bring them back in to speak to current international students, to speak about the unforeseen challenges that really only they are aware of, after having gone through it themselves,‖ said Jordan McIntyre. 143 McIntyre suggested that universities can reach out to alumni who are either working in the United States or doing OPT (Optional Practical Training, which allows foreign students to stay a maximum of 12 months after graduation to work in a related field) 144 to share the challenges of post-graduate job-hunting. The value of connecting with international graduates is unparalleled in helping foreign students ―figure out how [they] fit into the equation.‖ 145 According to Yuxin Dai, international students are not actually ―competing‖ with American students on the same playing field – foreign graduates are, in fact, hired for specific niche markets in most cases. She said that connecting with international alumni would teach current students about what kind of jobs they would actually be suited for in the job market and what past alumni have been doing – just so students can get a better idea. Incorporating Feedback from Hiring Managers The final piece of programming that universities implement to prepare their students optimally for graduation – whether international or domestic – is to keep in close contact with industry practitioners. This is in order to refer students directly or through recommendations, as well as to incorporate courses that industry professionals often recommend to their contacts in schools. 146 For example, USC introduced a Business and Economic Foundation of Public Relations class in response to feedback from hiring managers about teaching public relations 143 Jordan McIntyre, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 28, 2014, Appendix E2, transcript. 144 Alexandre Padilla and Nicolas Cachanosky, “Employment VISAs: An International Comparison,” Metropolitan State University of Denver, accessed January 5, 2015, http://www.depts.ttu.edu/freemarketinstitute/docs/EmploymentVisasAnInternationalComparison.pdf 145 Yuxin Dai, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C6, transcript. 146 Burghardt Tenderich, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix D1, transcript. 57 students about business concepts and understanding the importance of the bottom line and financial resources. This is to produce public relations practitioners who ―understand the boardroom and understand core business issues and opportunities.‖ 147 Other examples include revamping skills classes to incorporate advanced social media and multimedia content creation techniques to expose students to software and skill development. Suggestions by Industry Practitioners, Educators and International Hires In addition to existing programming in universities, the writer‘s interviews shed light on a variety of other options that can be explored in the future to benefit the international student community – and in particular, public relations graduate students. These suggested options consist of: (1) increased language training; (2) introducing a U.S. Media Market 101 course; (3) more emphasis on visual communications and other software; (4) campaigns, presentations and pitching; and (5) international case studies and skills. Increased Language Training Six out of 20 interviewees recommended a higher emphasis on language training and writing skills in public relations graduate programs. In terms of language training, hiring managers said that international students need to be assisted to the ―absolute highest level of English fluency they can possibly attain‖ and that ―it tends to be obvious when things are not written by a native speaker.‖ 148 Due to the fact that public relations jobs tend to be heavy on the writing component, ―giving international students the best base of English language skills possible is critical to their success in the U.S. market.‖ 149 147 Burghardt Tenderich, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix D1, transcript. 148 Sarah Connor, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 19, 2014, Appendix B6, transcript. 149 Sarah Connor, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 19, 2014, Appendix B6, transcript. 58 In terms of writing skills, suggestions ranged from having ―more intensive writing classes‖ 150 because writing is the key area in which everyone – particularly international students – can use the help. Others admitted that one semester of writing classes were not sufficient and that graduate courses could incorporate more immersive writing techniques across the program. 151 It is important to ensure that technical writing skills go hand-in-hand with the strategic thought process training. Yuxin Dai said: ―Being able to learn the different forms of PR writing is important: how to write a press release, a fact sheet, etc. That‘s a lot of what we do here too. It‘s not about what was taught in the classes but the thought process that they trained us on. Thinking strategically, writing an SPM. Right now in my position it‘s entry level I don‘t do a lot of that, they don‘t include us in the strategy part, but the thought process I learned was very important.‖ Not to be forgotten is another component of language training that international students tend to struggle with: spoken skills and the application of them into networking. ―I see a lot of Chinese students [in particular] struggle with that,‖ said Yuxin Dai. 152 ―Maybe that‘s why people have trouble finding jobs because they are shy to go out there so much. There are a lot of opportunities out there. I think international students aren‘t as confident in their spoken language.‖ In the same vein, a hiring manager interviewed said that international students need to improve their presentation skills. 153 The ability – or lack of – to speak well and clearly is crucial in the networking and interview process. 150 Johnny Lim, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C3, transcript; Felipe Morales, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix C2, transcript. 151 Charlie Gu, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 19, 2014, Appendix C1, transcript. 152 Yuxin Dai, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C6, transcript. 153 Sarah Connor, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 19, 2014, Appendix B6, transcript. 59 U.S. Media Market 101 Apart from verbal and written language training, the most popular suggestion by hiring managers was for international students to undergo a ―U.S. Media Market 101‖ course. No such course presently exists in graduate public relations curricula, but it could be well worth considering for implementation in the near future. Because there are worlds of differences between the media market in a foreign student‘s home country and the media environment in the United States, the international graduate has to learn it and demonstrate that knowledge in job interviews – from ―the way we draft news releases, the AP style, the way journalists write stories‖ to ―an understanding of how American PR firms work.‖ 154 As Carl Pewterschmidt explained: ―An understanding of the U.S. media… is just not innate. If you want to get a job in the U.S. in this industry in particular, you need to understand how the industry works here. The dynamic of paid, earned, shared, owned media. Where do local papers fit in the mix? What‘s the value of a mommy blogger?‖ On the contrary, someone who grew up in the U.S. would have been ―indoctrinated‖ with these types of local information from the time they were born. While domestic job candidates take for granted what ―The Today Show‖ is, an international graduate cannot and must acquire this knowledge in a short amount of time. ―If a person was applying for an entry level or mid-level job and came to me and talked about how they understand the U.S. media market, even if they‘re from South Africa or Abu Dhabi, plus can provide [me with] all this international experience and knowledge,‖ said Carl Pewterschmidt, ―that person‘s a pretty fantastic prospect – a type of person you would want to 154 Sylvester Palacios, Jr., interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B7, transcript. 60 consider hiring.‖ 155 It would be impossible and impractical to hire someone who knew nothing or was deeply unfamiliar with the media market he/she was diving into professionally. Visual Communications & Other Software As an additional tool to strap on to the international jobseeker‘s tool belt, learning technical skills is highly recommended by international hires and industry practitioners alike. Skills such as graphic design, video editing, analytics and social media monitoring are the four most useful ―fluencies‖ to hone in this day and age. Universities, therefore, can assist students in pushing the boundaries of what ―multilingual fluencies‖ mean – beyond just being multilingual and multicultural, the new and improved international graduate could be fluent in multimedia content creation and data tracking too. As Gordon Stables said, ―We don‘t assume that you operate as the primary tech author of a product but you can understand the mechanics of multimedia content creation and how technology lends itself to your work.‖ 156 According to Yuxin Dai and Charlie Gu, visual communications is a realm of public relations previously lacking in exploration in public relations graduate curricula. Dai, who does a lot of design work for her employer, is the only person in the company that can use Photoshop and InDesign because she took a undergraduate design elective at USC Annenberg. Gu, on the other hand, wishes he could have learned video editing because making simple narratives in videos is very important for communication strategy now. Another important skill set is to know ―how to find the data you need‖ using tools such as Google Analytics, Cision, Radian6, Nuvi and other programs. 157 International graduate Felipe Morales wishes there were more digital and social monitoring tools available to be learned in 155 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 156 Gordon Stables, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E1, transcript. 157 John Smith, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 29, 2014, Appendix B4, transcript; Kristen Wiley, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B5, transcript. 61 graduate programs, so that students wouldn‘t be as underprepared for the fast-paced digital world when they graduate. 158 Campaigns, Presentations and Pitching Chinese public relations graduate Yuxin Dai wishes that she learned about business development in graduate school, because it turned out to be a huge part of her job to reach out to potential partners or clients and get them interested in what her company does. 159 It would be useful, she said, ―If they could teach us how to approach a person you never met before and try to sell your services.‖ In other words, pitching is a skill that is often glossed over in most public relations graduate programs. With graduate PR programs‘ increasing focus on strategic and big- picture thinking, the technical and realistic work required in entry level positions are often overlooked. The importance of presentation skills is often underestimated. Charlie Gu explained that it comes across in ―the way you present yourself‖ as much as in presentations and ―how to sell yourself in an interview.‖ 160 Teaching international graduates how to ―sell‖ themselves seems to be a popular point among other interviewees too – Yuxin Dai calls for seminars or workshops for international students to learn how to dress appropriately for a career far and how to interact with human resources representatives. 161 On the client service end, hiring managers recommend a stronger emphasis on media relations and pitching. Kristen Wiley suggested a class that teaches students ―how to actually call reporters‖ while practicing on campaigns, such as getting a nonprofit client and working on a 158 Felipe Morales, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix C2, transcript. 159 Yuxin Dai, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C6, transcript. 160 Charlie Gu, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 19, 2014, Appendix C1, transcript. 161 Yuxin Dai, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C6, transcript. 62 campaign for a year. 162 John Smith explained the underrepresented importance of working with real clients – calling for more focus on campaigns classes too. ―There‘s truly an art to making a client happy and properly servicing a client,‖ he said. ―[Yet] client service and new business [which helps you bring value to a company] are things that don‘t have classes for them.‖ He also recommended learning how to pitch – a skill that is normally learned on the job, but international graduates could gain an edge if they could hit the ground running. Smith contends that having cultural differences means there‘s a need to be even more familiar with client service and approaches, and ―understanding the subtext built on relationships.‖ International Case Studies & Skills Lastly, international students could benefit by learning how to analyze international cases through an American lens. This incorporates familiar cases and cultures with an unfamiliar lens – but paves the way for a cultural transition and paradigm shift in perspective. ―This is how you can translate what you know how to do,‖ said Kristen Wiley. 163 ―The one course that I‘ve always wanted us to teach is International Case Studies,‖ said Professor Jennifer Floto. 164 ―Now the people who teach case studies are directed to have at least one international case in their class, but I would rather have an entirely separate class that was open to people all over the university just about international studies.‖ Nevertheless, despite the programming solutions addressed in this chapter, the bottom line agreed by all interviewees is that the onus is ultimately on international students themselves to actively prepare for the pursuit of employment. This will be discussed further in the following chapter. 162 Kristen Wiley, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B5, transcript. 163 Kristen Wiley, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B5, transcript. 164 Jennifer Floto, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix D3, transcript. 63 Chapter 6: Learning the Home Advantage The previous chapters have discussed the public relations curricula, university programming and coursework that can be introduced to balance the playing field for international students. However, if the international graduate‘s goal is to successfully gain employment in the U.S. public relations industry, none of the proposed solutions would lead to fruition if international students don‘t take matters into their own hands. This chapter outlines several strategies and tactics that have been suggested by interviewees and online articles. Six Success Stories Before we begin, let‘s look at the short stories of international graduates who have been successfully hired in the PR industry in the United States. This enables us to gain an overview of patterns of success. Johnny Lim. While studying at USC, Korea-born Lim met a business development manager at an industry event. The manager, who worked at Nexon America, referred him to an internship at the company. After his internship at Nexon ended, Lim‘s manager introduced him to an internship position at Wonacott Communications, a public relations agency in Los Angeles that specialized in digital media and interactive entertainment. He then landed a full-time position and was sponsored for an H-1B visa. Charlie Gu. China-born Gu enrolled for Optional Practical Training (OPT) upon his graduation from USC. It was then that he did a variety of public relations internships to maximize his exposure to different companies and fields. His professors introduced him to the owner of a PR agency and Gu landed his internship which turned into a full-time job offer. After 64 that, a former intern he supervised connected him with China Luxury Advisors – the company that currently sponsors Gu‘s work visa. Gu‘s current job scope primarily concerns brand work with travel destinations to engage Chinese audiences through public relations, marketing and other communication efforts. Felipe Morales. Mexico-born Morales scoured job postings on Indeed.com, went for interviews and was hired due to his U.S. and international internship experiences in the technology and automotive fields. He is currently an account executive at a multinational public relations agency, working mainly with the technology practice teams in New York, San Francisco and Austin. Julia Kiefaber. Germany-born Kiefaber was introduced by one of her professors to an acquaintance at Text100. She secured an internship position. Three months into the internship, the company agreed to sponsor her for a work visa if she met her performance objectives for another three months. Her job scope consists of a combination of public relations and marketing, because funding for work visas usually come from marketing departments. Kiefaber also assists in translating projects from English to German. Sharon Chin. Singaporean citizen Chin interned for Visionweb as a public relations student at University of Texas at Austin. Upon graduation, she transitioned to a full-time position and was sponsored by the company. She is currently an Inbound Marketing Specialist in the in- house marketing department, responsible for content creation including eBooks, infographics, blogs and social media. Yuxin Dai. While doing her Masters in Strategic Public Relations at USC, China-born Dai found an internship opening through the USC Annenberg career newsletters at luxury marketing company China Luxury Advisors. With 30 to 40 competitors vying for the internship 65 position, Dai secured one of four internship positions at the company. She interned at CLA for about seven months and emailed her supervisor before she was going to graduate, expressing her hopefulness to get a full-time position if one was available. A day before graduation, CLA offered her a job. Because the company had sponsored previous employees for H-1B visas, they knew what to do and were able to do it. Her current job scope is to make business partnerships with travel agencies, consulting firms and banks in China that deal with high-end Chinese consumers for luxury shopping experiences with the brand. She researches and analyzes the Chinese market to advice brands on how to proceed. Eight Principles to an International Graduate‘s Success With the framework of international interviewees‘ success stories in mind, the writer categorized the major themes of ―advice‖ from educators, graduates and industry practitioners into eight actionable steps an international student can take while in school. 1) Climb the network to success Students cannot underestimate the importance of networking. As digital media strategist John Smith puts it: ―Making the right connections is key [to success].‖ While the thought of networking instantly brings to mind mixers and galas, the international student‘s network begins in the ivory tower itself. Professors are often the strongest connectors for students because they have a foot in classrooms and another in the industry practice. They are the respected professionals who get to know students much more closely than anyone else in public relations usually could. ―Don‘t spend class time sending resumes or looking for jobs,‖ said Charlie Gu., warning that that doesn‘t bode well with professors. ―I got all my internships through my 66 professors‘ recommendations.‖ 165 Director of the PR graduate program at USC, Jerry Swerling, couldn‘t agree more – professors serve as great references. So are guest speakers – and students should seize the opportunity to connect with these industry experts and get their name cards. While in graduate school, international students can also network outside the program by attending industry events and joining professional organizations such as the local chapter of Public Relations Chapter of America (PRSA). 166 This enables students to network professionally in the field as well as learn about industry trends and news by speaking and/or listening to experts. Second, students can also network on social media such as LinkedIn with their universities‘ alumni and other public relations professionals. Alumni are particularly helpful for informational interviews and mentoring. 167 Third, volunteering is a ―great way to extend your network to meet people you wouldn‘t necessarily meet otherwise.‖ 168 A fourth and highly effective method of networking is to do internships, whether paid or unpaid, because that builds a student‘s network with potential employers immediately. 169 Actively seeking to build relationships ensures that students ―get out of their comfort zone‖ and ―get involved‖ – lending their unique perspectives among diverse groups of people. 170 Additionally, being ―aggressive in meeting new people and networking‖ not only helps in the job-hunting process but also in ―finding what you want to do with your career.‖ 171 Suzanne Alcantara advises students not to be timid in networking. 165 Charlie Gu, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 19, 2014, Appendix C1, transcript. 166 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 167 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 168 Charlie Gu, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 19, 2014, Appendix C1, transcript. 169 Julia Kiefaber, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, November 1, 2014, Appendix C4, transcript. 170 John Smith, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 29, 2014, Appendix B4, transcript. 171 Johnny Lim, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C3, transcript. 67 2) Take business-oriented electives for specialized skills Foreign students have to be aware that they face stiff competition in the public relations industry, particularly because of the added barrier of securing a work visa sponsorship. Thus, it is immensely useful for international students to set themselves apart by developing specialized skills – particularly in merging public relations with marketing and analytics. 172 Academic advisor Jordan McIntyre described a growing trend he noticed in recent years: ―Social media monitoring is a big thing that has emerged. Data courses, Marshall business courses, are very popular among international students, [as well as] consumer behavior, corporate finance, some entrepreneurship classes. International students seek out business-oriented, quantitative courses more than domestic students. I think it may be based on advice from seniors. Anecdotally, I‘ve heard that if they could claim that they had a background of a market analyst, it would significantly improve their chances of getting a work permit.‖ International graduate alumni agree with the trend toward business courses, advising students to take elective classes from the business school whenever possible. ―A lot of [what we do] for clients is business, so you have to look at it from a business perspective,‖ said Charlie Gu. 173 Additionally, Julia Kiefaber took a business communications class and strongly recommended it: ―Your success is more dependent on your interpersonal skills and how to sell yourself, and I took [a business speaking class] because I know I‘m not a native speaker.‖ 174 In their 2013 study of employers‘ perspectives about public relations graduate degrees, Toth and 172 Jordan McIntyre, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 28, 2014, Appendix E2, transcript. 173 Charlie Gu, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 19, 2014, Appendix C1, transcript. 174 Julia Kiefaber, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, November 1, 2014, Appendix C4, transcript. 68 Briones found that public relations practitioners would be more likely to thrive in the industry environment if they had business acumen and truly understood how businesses function. 175 3) Get work and internship experience Even more importantly, international graduates have to be sure to get work and/or internship experience relevant to the field they want to work in. ―If an international graduate has little to no experience, then it can be challenging to get a company to agree to hire him/her,‖ said hiring manager Barbara Van Dyke. In order to get an added advantage, international graduates can bring unique perspectives from work experience in different countries. According to Sarah Connor, ―Any special perspective an international student can bring from having lived or worked in a different country is always good to hear about, especially if they have spent time in an emerging market or major global business hub.‖ 176 Ideal candidates would have experience from either: working in different roles at the same company for several years; working in a communications, marketing or public relations capacity at different companies; internship or work experience in the communications or marketing department of large Fortune 500 companies; or worked to gain expertise in specific industries such as healthcare and technology or digital and research work. 177 This global understanding, however, is merely a complement to an understanding of the local U.S. market. Hence, if a previously diverse working background isn‘t on hand, however, students need not despair – racking up internship experience in the U.S. is considerably more important than international work experience that may not be as relevant to public relations work. ―If they‘ve never done an agency internship, there‘s such a [huge] learning curve in the job market,‖ said 175 Toth and Briones, “It depends on the degree: exploring employers' perceptions of public relations master's degrees,” 7. 176 Sarah Connor, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 19, 2014, Appendix B6, transcript. 177 Sarah Connor, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 19, 2014, Appendix B6, transcript. 69 John Smith. Whether internships are paid or unpaid, they are a necessity for international students in public relations. Most agencies will only hire students with at least two internships under their belt. 178 International graduates who successfully got their work visas never downplay the importance of internships. Felipe Morales attributes the value of being an intern to developing traditional public relations skills such as PR-specific writing and critical thinking skills. Lastly, Sharon Chin advises interning at companies that have experience hiring international talent, because they are more familiar and well-prepared for the visa process. 179 4) Build a portfolio of relevant work samples Another crucial tip that could give graduates a leg up would be having a portfolio of work samples. These samples could include stories the students have written, hits that they secured locally with previous internships, news releases, pitch letters, case studies and so on. All of it has to be written in AP Style, of course. This can be done by filing away work students do at internships or in class projects over the course of graduate school. ―It‘s something that shows me you can write to the style that we need,‖ said intern coordinator Sylvester Palacios, Jr. ―Having candidates with experience in securing media coverage in the U.S. is great. This helps me to determine the level of understanding candidates have in terms of how U.S. reporters work, their beats, sources they use, how to get their attention, and more.‖ 180 5) Minimize the learning curve As the previous two points may have alluded to, international graduates benefit in the job-seeking process by minimizing the learning curve they have to undertake when they get 178 John Smith, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 29, 2014, Appendix B4, transcript. 179 Sharon Chin, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 21, 2014, Appendix C5, transcript. 180 Sylvester Palacios, Jr., interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B7, transcript. 70 hired. Students can minimize the curve in two interconnected ways: (1) learning the local media market and (2) assimilating into local ―American‖ culture. First, they can learn about the U.S. media market, brands and the public relations landscape by reading American news and being on top of current issues. ―The classroom and PR training isn‘t over when classes are over,‖ said Julia Kiefaber. 181 Annenberg professor Jay Wang suggests ―being observant in your everyday life‖ whether in stores or in absorbing as much information as possible in work, internships and through reading industry publications and blogs. 182 ―Keep yourself informed about what‘s going on in the industry and in the marketplace,‖ he advised. ―Learn the local market well.‖ Getting familiar with the local public relations landscape and keeping up with current affairs are also important when connecting culturally to mainstream society. This is especially so in professional environments such as during internships or when networking to build relationships. It can be particularly difficult to have conversations with others or participate in class discussions. ―If you don‘t pay attention to what‘s going on, you won‘t have an opinion to share with others. It‘s very important to getting a job,‖ said Charlie Gu. ―[While] speaking multiple languages is very helpful, demonstrating an understanding of multiple cultures is much more valuable,‖ said Morales. ―International students could do a better job of assimilating into American culture and making an effort to understand the similarities and differences to their own cultures.‖ 183 And what is the best way to assimilate in local culture? ―Definitely get involved in university activities,‖ said Jennifer Floto. 184 ―Go find a niche that‘s interesting to you… do 181 Julia Kiefaber, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, November 1, 2014, Appendix C4, transcript. 182 Jian (Jay) Wang, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, November 6, 2014, Appendix D4, transcript. 183 Felipe Morales, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix C2, transcript. 184 Jennifer Floto, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix D3, transcript. 71 something that broadens your view beyond the [program you‘re in].‖ Whether it‘s joining the university daily paper or attending arts and culture events, it takes patience and dedication to assimilating in another country. The bottom line is that minimizing the learning curve would increase an international graduate‘s chances of getting hired. ―It‘s all about what advantage do you have over the people who are competing for the same position,‖ said Carl Pewterschmidt. ―Ultimately an international individual seeking to work in this industry in the U.S. needs to showcase that you understand this market, and complement it with a much broader understanding. If you could do both those things, it‘s more than what someone who only understands this market can offer.‖ 185 6) Get into the right attitude framework While tangible results matter in the jobseeker‘s portfolio, getting into and giving off the right attitude framework matters just as much. Based on interviews with industry practitioners, educators and career counselors, this thesis proposes a ―FIERCE‖ attitude model. First and foremost, students need to be flexible about their employment goals and prospects. ―Students who are better able to work with [following industry trends] and [are] 185 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. F  Be Flexible about your employment goals and prospects I  Be comfortable and confident in Interviews E  Start Early in your job-seeking process R  Have Realistic expectations of the local job market C  Be Clear and focused about your goals E  Demonstrate a strong work Ethic Figure 2: Suggested Attitude Model for International Students 72 flexible about where they are based and how they operate will be more likely to succeed,‖ said Gordon Stables. 186 Being able to move to economies where the industry is developing, or relocating to smaller cities will open up options for international job-seekers. Second, international graduates need to learn to be ―very, very comfortable in the interview situation‖ according to Jerry Swerling. 187 Because international students are sometimes ―shy‖ or ―reluctant to lead a conversation‖ they may not connect as well to an interviewer as an American student would – and thus, international students need to learn to be comfortable in ―American style interview environment.‖ 188 Third, Director of Career Development Suzanne Alcantara strongly suggests starting the job-hunting process early through research and studying companies which have sponsored H-1B visas in the past. 189 This way, students can be well-prepared to apply to companies which value the unique skills international graduates bring to the table – instead of applying to any and all job vacancies in the industry. In line with that, the fourth attitude tip is to remember to have realistic expectations of the local job market. Students should learn ―what the challenges and opportunities are‖ 190 so they can make informed decisions about where to apply, what jobs to look for and what they are best-suited toward. Fifth, students need to have a clear idea of what their goals are and what they want to get out of each internship or work experience, and be clear to their employers about their goals. 191 Reading job descriptions can help students articulate their interests and goals more clearly. 192 186 Gordon Stables, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E1, transcript. 187 Jerry Swerling, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 20, 2014, Appendix D2, transcript. 188 Jerry Swerling, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 20, 2014, Appendix D2, transcript. 189 Suzanne Alcantara, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 23, 2014, Appendix E3, transcript. 190 Jerry Swerling, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 20, 2014, Appendix D2, transcript. 191 John Smith, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 29, 2014, Appendix B4, transcript. 192 Julie Miller Vick and Jennifer S. Furlong, “How New Graduate Students Should Spend Their Summers,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 27, 2012, accessed January 3, 2015, http://chronicle.com/article/How-New- Graduate-Students/132597/. 73 According to academic advisor Jordan McIntyre, international students who succeeded in securing full-time positions in the U.S. were ―exceptionally organized‖ – ―they knew they were going after this or that particular job‖ and were able to focus on what they were looking for. 193 By being clear about their end goals, these students were able to focus on the relevant opportunities instead of casting wide nets. Lastly, successful international hires always demonstrate a strong work ethic with a ―positive attitude.‖ 194 This encompasses being diligent, asking the right questions and staying motivated. 7) Understand your own strengths and weaknesses More so than any other students due to immigration barriers, international students need to understand their strengths and weaknesses so they can leverage their assets in a job application and interview. 195 Students should focus on finding positions that fit their strengths and honing strong foreign language prowess in addition to English. 196 Then, they need to position themselves as assets to the hiring company. One example of playing to one‘s strengths is showing – instead of telling – a multilingual edge. Kristen Wiley recalls an intern who submitted her resume in both English and Spanish, and was interviewed by Spanish-speaking employees at a company. Other ways could be to take an existing press release on an agency‘s website and translate it into a different language to show good translation skills. 197 And what‘s the most important thing to keep in mind? ―Know your worth,‖ said Julia Kiefaber: ―Don‘t think that just because you‘re international you have to downgrade yourself for a visa sponsorship. Don‘t get discouraged by bad interviews where 193 Jordan McIntyre, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 28, 2014, Appendix E2, transcript. 194 Jim Johnson, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B3, transcript. 195 Jerry Swerling, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 20, 2014, Appendix D2, transcript. 196 Jian (Jay) Wang, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, November 6, 2014, Appendix D4, transcript. 197 Kristen Wiley, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B5, transcript. 74 they don‘t offer visa sponsorships. You have to tell yourself it‘s not something you can change, you can‘t change the law, don‘t take it as a personal offense. It‘s just not the right fit and know you can be an asset to a company or agency that is the right fit.‖ 198 Weaknesses, on the other hand, should be improved. International students who are weak in English should focus on improve written skills and oral conversation skills – without overwhelming themselves right away. ―Read a couple of articles on USA Today first to get a regular sense of what‘s going on in America in general,‖ advised Kiefaber. ―Then if you have an interest go into specific publications.‖ For example, the Hollywood Reporter is a great resource for people interested in the entertainment industry. She also said that following up on current issues mentioned in classes is a great way to get started. Another tried-and-tested way to improve one‘s English is to start a blog and practice writing on it regularly. 199 Weak presentation or spoken language skills can be honed by joining a local Toastmasters International group – because practice makes perfect. 200 8) Be strategic and specific in job hunting & internships Last but not least, international students have to think strategically and long-term about how to achieve their goals. Although there are short-term efforts that help such as putting a local address on your resume 201 , the long-term strategy actually begins with research to answer three primary questions: 202 1. ―Does this company‘s work interest me?‖ 2. ―Would this company be interested in me?‖ 198 Julia Kiefaber, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, November 1, 2014, Appendix C4, transcript. 199 Kristen Wiley, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B5, transcript. 200 Vick and Furlong, “How New Graduate Students Should Spend Their Summers.” 201 Carl Pewterschmidt, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, August 5, 2014, Appendix B2, transcript. 202 Yuxin Dai, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 7, 2014, Appendix C6, transcript. 75 3. ―Is this company able to sponsor my work visa?‖ If a student‘s goal is to find a job in the United States, Yuxin Dai advises against pursuing opportunities that aren‘t likely to bear positive outcomes. It is crucial for international students to think strategically about their career goals instead of jumping into random internships just because everyone else has one. Instead, students can apply to public relations firms with a global presence – and research which accounts those firms hold as global clients, then pitching your value directly about those client portfolios. 203 It would be realistic to understand that international hires need to prove their worth in sectors such as a major retail organization that does a lot of business with the international community. Students have to take advantage of their cultural backgrounds, finding opportunities where that background is an asset. 204 Another long-term strategy could be to start in the offices of global companies that are situated in their home countries, and then apply for a transfer to the U.S. office at a later date. 205 Finally, it would be important for students to develop their own personal brand and tie in their strengths and multilingual, multicultural backgrounds into the picture. ―Make it unique and relevant,‖ said USC Professor Burghardt Tenderich. 206 ―That could be anything from your personality in meetings to particular interests that you have, particular points of views. Be aware that you – in a hiring process – will be looked at based on your personal brand and what you bring to the table.‖ 203 Vick and Furlong, “How New Graduate Students Should Spend Their Summers.” 204 Jerry Swerling, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 20, 2014, Appendix D2, transcript. 205 Barbara Van Dyke, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, July 30, 2014, Appendix B1, transcript. 206 Burghardt Tenderich, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, September 30, 2014, Appendix D1, transcript. 76 Chapter 7: Conclusion – A Future beyond the Ivory Tower Public relations as an industry has increasing potential to change the paradigms of communications, advertising, marketing and brand relations for the better – and its job market is riper than ever. According to the Communication and Public Relations Generally Accepted Practices (GAP VII) study by USC Annenberg, budgets are up – public corporations reported higher public relations/communications budgets than respondents did two years ago, with a quarter of them anticipating budget growth for the near future. 207 With budgets and staff sizes that are growing 208 , the hiring trend is that there are more positions to fill. The relevant issue for this thesis is the challenge faced by international graduates as they try their hand at filling some of those positions in a burgeoning market. We looked at the challenges of language, cultural literacy, prejudice and predispositions, legal limitations and industry infrastructure. We turned to the competitive and comparative advantages that international graduates can use for their benefit. We explored how university programming and curricula can indirectly assist in the employment pursuit process of international graduates. We even discussed guiding principles and strategies for international students to increase their chances for employment success in the United States. 207 Jennifer Moyer, “Definitive Study on the State of the PR Industry Released by USC Annenberg ,” Institute for Public Relations, March 26, 2012, accessed January 6, 2015, http://www.instituteforpr.org/definitive-study-on-the- state-of-the-pr-industry-released-by-usc-annenberg/. 208 Jerry Swerling, “USC Annenberg Releases Results of Eighth GAP Study Assessing PR Industry Trends and Practices,” Institute for Public Relations, June 17, 2014, accessed January 7, 2015, http://www.instituteforpr.org/usc-annenberg-releases-results-eighth-gap-study-assessing-pr-industry-trends- practices/. 77 No Magic Solution The fact of the matter is that the issue is prevalent because it persists more strongly each year. It is challenging because there are no instant solutions that can be navigated in the present day. As USC Annenberg Director of Public Relations Studies Jerry Swerling said, ―If I had a magic way to solve the job problem, I would push that button right now.‖ 209 Unfortunately, there are no magic solutions. Previous studies, such as Shen and Toth‘s 2008 study of the "ideal" PR curriculum, encourages educators to make master's curricula relevant to students' professional and academic goals, while meeting the expectation of PR industry leaders -- and strive, perhaps, to meet the Commission's recommended standards. 210 For progressive and contemporary curricula to truly be achieved there needs to be more collaboration and dialogue between practitioners in the field and universities in developing curricula. Additionally, the standardization of public relations graduate curricula across universities in the United States would lend a heavier legitimacy and set the bar in emulating the success and high regard for MBA programs. However, it is realistic to deduce that even if all the suggestions and recommendations laid out in this thesis were adopted – in terms of university programming and proactive measures international students can take – only half of the circle would be colored in. The other half, which consists of employers and lawmakers, are largely beyond the purview of academia in which this thesis is situated. In other words, even if public relations graduate programs released highly skilled and competitive international graduates into the workforce, are companies in the industry open to making these talent acquisitions? If and when more agencies and companies have the need and resources for international hires, will employment and immigration laws be 209 Jerry Swerling, interview by Sha-Lene Pung, October 20, 2014, Appendix D2, transcript. 210 Shen and Toth, “An ideal public relations master’s curriculum: Expectations and status quo,” 309–311. 78 adapted to meet those demands for a more diverse and global workforce? The picture of the solution is incomplete at this point, and true progress can only be made when all four stakeholders in the international graduate employment situation come to the table: students, educators, employers and lawmakers. This thesis, in its limited scope, has not discussed in detail the two remaining quadrants of employers and lawmakers beyond exploring existing legislature and employers who have demonstrated a track record for international talent acquisition. It is the writer‘s hope that this White Paper will inspire and set the groundwork for more solution-based research from both academia and industry leaders. Cultivating an Environment for Success In the meantime, universities and international students can do more to cultivate an environment for success. For the subset of international students who want to pursue the ―American dream‖ of finding gainful employment in the United States, within the public relations industry as they have dedicated themselves to advanced graduate education in, perhaps the first step is to redefine what ―success‖ means. It is possible that a success in achieving their goal of working in the United States can be an eventual success, achieved after spending a period of time working in other countries. This would overcome the challenge of being merely an entry- level candidate, for whom work sponsorship is less common than for management-level applicants. 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World Wide Learn. ―The Importance of Public Relations.‖Accessed January 1, 2015. http://www.worldwidelearn.com/business-career/article/the-importance-of-public- relations.html. 83 Appendix A: Interview Guides Category 1: Hiring managers/PR practitioners in hiring positions in agencies/companies 1. Can you explain a little about your job to me? (Are you in a hiring position?) 2. Ballpark: How many people would you say you‘ve hired in your experience? How many of them are international graduates? 3. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) 4. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you have hired? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) 5. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies like yours? 6. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? 7. What are the obstacles preventing you from hiring more international students? Do you have any recommended resolutions to those obstacles? Category 2: International hires 1. Can you explain a little about your job? What do you do? 2. Can you tell me a little about the process you went through to get hired? (Job-hunt process, additional documentation, etc.) 3. What would you say are the advantages of being an international graduate, when it comes to job-hunting? What would you consider as the most important assets of your professional skills? 4. What would you say are the disadvantages of being an international grad, when it comes to getting hired? 5. What did you learn in your PR courses/internship experiences that helped you get a job here? 6. What did you wish you learned in your PR courses that would have helped you more? 7. What would you say are some things that should be changed or improved in PR courses to help more international students find jobs after graduation? 8. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? Category 3: Public relations faculty 1. Can you explain a little about your experience in academia and/or in the industry? 2. How many international students do you know who have gone on to get a job in the U.S. after graduating? 3. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) 4. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you know got hired? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) 5. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies? (Is there anything you would change?) 84 6. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? 7. What do you consider as obstacles that prevent your university from carrying out important changes that could benefit international students? Category 4: Academic/career counselors 1. Can you explain a little about your job to me? (Especially how it pertains to students' job search) 2. Ballpark: How many students would you say you‘ve assisted in your experience? How many of them are international students? How many of them successfully got jobs in the U.S. in the PR industry? 3. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) 4. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you have helped get jobs or have heard of their stories? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) 5. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to get jobs in the PR industry? What do you think has been really useful? Any particular coursework you recommend? 6. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? 7. What are the obstacles preventing more international students from landing jobs in the PR industry in the U.S.? Do you have any recommended resolutions to those obstacles? 85 Appendix B: Industry Interviews (Transcripts) Industry Interview 1: Barbara Van Dyke, VP of Marketing Can you explain a little about your job to me? (Are you in a hiring position?) I am currently the Vice President of Marketing for a small software company based out of California. Because we operate like a start up, I am not planning to hire anyone at this time, but yes, I am the person who would hire a PR or marketing person. Ballpark: How many people would you say you’ve hired in your experience? How many of them are international graduates? I have hired 10-20 people over my career. Most were not international grads, but that would have little bearing on hiring them. As long as they had the right to work in the US, I would hire them if they were qualified. That said, some companies won‘t sponsor an international hire, so at times a hiring manager has to deal with those limitations, especially for an entry-level position. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) I think the differences (or pros vs. cons) depends on if this is a new grad, or someone with experience. I personally like the different perspectives that an international hire brings to the table. If an international grad has little to no experience, then it can be challenging to get the company to agree to hire them. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you have hired? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) I helped hire a girl from Ireland, but I did not have the final hiring ―say.‖ She was a dotted line report to me. Her perspective and attitude was refreshing, though her writing needed more editing to bring it into American English style. In another case, I hired an international student. She worked until her visa expired and then had to return to Africa. The agency was unable/unwilling to sponsor her because she was at a relatively entry level, and did not provide a unique skill set that could not be duplicated by a US citizen. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies like yours? I truly don‘t think the issue is that the students are lacking anything. The challenge is that to get hired here in the US, you must have the right to work (US citizenship, a green card or an H1B Visa). It is not easy for a company to justify bringing in an international hire and getting sponsorship for an entry-level position would be impossible at most companies I‘ve ever worked for. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? Apply to PR firms that have a global presence and research which accounts those firms hold globally. Applying directly to the client relationship manager of one of those international teams would be the best shot. 86 What are the obstacles preventing you from hiring more international students? Do you have any recommended resolutions to those obstacles? Obstacles--see my answers above about the right to work in the US. Solutions—colleges should not over promise. Students who would like to work in the US may have a better shot by starting out in the local offices of global companies and then applying for a transfer to the US at a later date. 87 Industry Interview 2: Carl Pewterschmidt, VP at a public relations agency Can you explain a little about your job to me? (Are you in a hiring position?) Typically where I come in is interviewing and providing input. Sometimes I would source a candidate like identify somebody. I‘m part of the decision-making process but not the sole decision maker. In the past though, I have been – when I was at Weber – I managed the Weber Chicago intern program. At one point I was hiring 20 intern positions at once and I‘ve staffed other full-time positions at other agencies as well. So it‘s something that I‘m pretty familiar with. I would say I‘ve had hiring experience for about 8-10 years, I‘d say a decade. You can describe me as VP of an independent PR firm in the Southwest. Ballpark: How many people would you say you’ve hired in your experience? How many of them are international graduates? Nearly a 100, including interns. I would say 75% of that were interns. 10% were international, a small group. 15-20% of pool of applications were international applicants. It just depends, there‘s no rhyme or reason to it, it‘s typically based on need. There has to be a need for the person, in this industry in particular, you can have the best person available but you don‘t have the need – which basically means the budget – you‘re not able to hire them. That‘s the primary factor in any hiring decision is whether you have the funds. In rare cases you‘ll staff them forward. In most cases it‘s an immediate need because you bring in a new client, you don‘t hire someone just to sit around for 6 months. I think the visa sponsorship issue comes into play to a certain extent. If you‘re solely looking at resumes in a pile off the web, and you need to hire somebody tomorrow, and you have a person in Austin and you have an international student, you‘re likely to default to the local because the person can be turned around more quickly. You would have to go through the process even if they have all their paperwork because who knows how long it would take to get the person over here. You‘re most likely to go for the person who is here, all things equal. One thing you can do to help yourself is put a local address on your resume because if you have an out of town address they‘re not gonna think you‘re someone they can hire quickly. In agencies when a job vacancy happens it‘s because there‘s an immediate need that needs to be filled because a client is committing budget to a project. And the company can‘t incur the revenue if they don‘t have a body to fill it. Especially if they have a family to move as well. But this wouldn‘t apply to students who are already here. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) Understanding the nuances of the US media market, the native market here. Just similar to how it would be if I were to go to Singapore and try to work there. There‘s a learning curve that‘s involved even though it‘s possible. The more junior you are, the more difficult it is. The more senior you are, there‘s less of a curve because you‘re much more strategic and experienced – much more strategic and less tactical. You don‘t have to pick up the phone and interact with the media. The way a person interacts with the media in South America is very different than in North America. The way the media works in different markets is very different. I think if you‘re an international student you really need to showcase that you understand the US media market: who the US media players are. If I‘m looking to hire somebody, I want somebody to help me out right away – and not someone I need to spend 3 months teaching. The quicker you can hit the 88 ground running, the better. Strengths internationals could have: a different perspective, a more diverse view. Also a slightly less serious… the American mindset and work mentality can sometimes be a little rigid and inflexible. This must get done. Whereas if you talk about the European mindset it‘s a little bit.. they approach things differently. Frankly diversity is good. The more diverse types of thoughts, the more diverse perspectives, the better the product is going to be, I believe. Strengths locals have over internationals: There‘s a comfort level. There‘s a language barrier. If we‘re looking at Person A (local student from UT) and Person B (international student from National University of China). Person A can help me more quickly most likely. In an interview you have such a limited perspective on the person you don‘t have a lot of time to make a decision about somebody. Your predisposed mindsets will come in. This person knows what the Austin-American Statesman is, the New York Times, the value of a story in the Dallas Morning News. Whereas I would need to teach it to Person B. Person B can show an edge by showing they understand all these various local media as well as help me understand more international media. Have that knowledge and supplement it with something additional. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you have hired? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) At the end of the day it‘s not very different: what you‘re looking for most of the time is the skill set that you can build on. I don‘t know if I necessarily have a good answer to this question. I think that what you typically find with an international hire is a broader perspective: someone who might think a little more out of the box or more freely, they‘ve done more, seen more, travelled more, been to more regions of the world. Someone like that would have that as a positive attribute. At the same time they may not have an understanding of the way of working in a US office. You have to be here by x time, certain accountabilities we have to keep in mind, and there‘s that learning curve. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies like yours? U.S. Media 101. Something like that, a lot of the stuff is just not innate: an understanding of the U.S. media. I do a lot of work in Australia: if there was a White Paper or something that introduces – the dynamics of the Australian media market – a British colony, no language issue. But if you want to get a job in the US in this industry in particular you need to understand how the industry works here. The dynamic of paid, earned, shared, owned media.. where do local papers fit into the mix? What‘s the value of a mommy blogger? A tertiary understanding of that would be valuable. A person who grew up here has been indoctrinated in that from the time when they were born. What‘s the Today Show? Things like that that locals take for granted. What‘s important? If a person was applying for an entry level or mid level job and came to me and talked about how they understand the US media market, even if they‘re from South Africa or Abu Dhabi, I know this reporter at this publication… plus I can provide to you all this international experience and knowledge. That person‘s a pretty fantastic prospect, a type of person you would want to consider hiring. Better than someone who knows nothing about the market they‘re diving into. Just like someone who‘s done national media their whole lives and needs to specialize in community and local, Williamson County Sun. Just like switching to international or national PR. Nowadays it‘s about a more integrated service approach – we can service you anywhere, anytime, for anything you need. That requires our agencies to be linked up to offices globally. 89 Does the internationalization of clients means there‘s more opportunity for international hires? Not necessarily because the work gets farmed out. If Weber were to work with Coca Cola, they wouldn‘t add a bunch of people with knowledge of the Chinese market to work in their NY market. But they would take a portion of that business and put it in their Chinese office. We‘re service your Chinese business in China, your African business in South Africa. ―We can service you globally and seamlessly, anywhere you want, anytime you want, with everything you need‖ and ―we‘re a one stop shop for you‖ but it doesn‘t create that opportunity for the Chinese student in the US market because the Chinese business is going to happen in China. Where the opportunities would present themselves would be companies that want to engage those audiences here in the U.S. – if you had experience working at a Chinese firm, and you wanted to move to the US because your wife got a job here, you could position yourself in San Francisco because there‘s a very large Chinese audience there. Even with the Hispanic audience in Austin. Houston has a huge Chinese population. You really have to find that opportunity and make the most of it, it‘s not that straightforward of a fit. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? You have to have an understanding of the US market, and have that complemented by your global understanding. If that‘s complemented with great experience… there‘s a girl I hired who worked at CNN India, Reuters in London and AP in the US – she kinda sold herself at that point. That type of experience, that‘s the type of thing companies are looking for. If you had only just worked in CNN India, that‘s great, but that doesn‘t help me tomorrow. Ultimately, selfishly, an employer is looking for Who can help me tomorrow? Who can help me today? What are the obstacles preventing you from hiring more international students? Do you have any recommended resolutions to those obstacles? International students tend to gravitate toward larger firms because of the relocation opportunities. I don‘t know if Pierpont is a destination for them. Our client roster is very focused on the Texas market, although we do a fair bit of international work, it‘s not the type of work that would require someone to be fluent in Chinese. We just don‘t have that need, and if that need occurs we have a partner agency to farm the work out to. Ultimately it‘s something we haven‘t really thought about. Our clients are in Texas and looking to work in Texas. If all of a sudden our clients say they wanna open a bunch of factories in China, we might start looking into hiring people who are fluent in Mandarin, are familiar with the Chinese market. What about at Weber? There were about 10% international. It was about who was the best person for this opportunity? At Weber you‘re usually hiring specifically for a spot. Either a person leaves and a spot is created, or a client ups their budget, some sort of situation would occur. There would be an amount of budget that would create a position and we would need a double AE who would work on Kraft, Campbell‘s, milk, Harley-Davidson. We‘d need this person really good with media, media tracking, travel 25% of the year. You‘d have a pretty good idea what the person looks like and what they would do. It would happen pretty quickly to hire that person. It‘s not to say an international person wouldn‘t fit that mould, but unless you can come in and tell me that you understand these brands and the market that you want to sell in. But if you can tell me how to sell those things in Osh Kosh Wisconsin and how you can potentially broaden their market share in other markets, that‘d be pretty impressive. But at Weber they might have other agencies in other countries doing those other markets. We needed someone at 90 Weber who would just do what they‘re supposed to do, what‘s needed. The situation dictates the hire. But with all that said, I do sincerely believe that if you had a person with international experience and experience here in the US and understood the market, they would have equal standing alongside someone with a national experience. But if you just have that international experience, it‘s going to be very hard to put someone in that position because they‘re not going to be able to fulfill that need – at least not right away. There‘s a learning curve there. Same if I were to move to Milan and try to work in that market. So minimizing the learning curve would increase their chances of getting hired? Yeah. You see at the senior level you see those moves a lot. XYZ ran the Singapore office and now he‘s moving to London. At the higher level it‘s mostly strategic – ―I need you to get coverage in the top 5 papers‖ but he doesn‘t need to go call those papers. If you‘re talking about a person with 5 years‘ experience and someone you want to get something out of right away, it‘s a very different equation. It‘s not impossible but ultimately an international individual seeking to work in this industry in the US you need to showcase that you understand this market, and complement it with a much broader understanding. If you could do both those things, it‘s more than what someone who only understands this market can offer. It‘s all about what advantage do you have over the people who are competing for the same position. 91 Industry Interview 3: Jim Johnson, Executive Counsel and reputation management specialist to a public relations agency Can you explain about your job to me? Hiring position? I run HR for a major energy company, set up criteria to select people: writing tests, multiple interviews, certain questions. In air force for 20 years. Linked to a PR agency, UT Austin and Rice University Hired and fired a lot of people. Foreign jobs and jobs in the US. In the PR field. Been teaching for 20 years at UT Austin and Rice University MBA program. High number of Asian candidates. In UT I teach 10-15 foreign in a class of 40 students. Biggest issue is language: there‘s a struggle with English. Especially the analytical part, and struggle to write. Many graduate students, mostly Asian, have issues with language – it‘s unfair to put them in a class where they are not in a position to succeed. Ballpark: How many students would you say you’ve hired and how many are international graduates? Give 40 students/year jobs. Total over a thousand people. 15% international students. Service Corp Int‘l – a lot of foreign workers. Key differences between local and international grads? Culture: how do you handle a problem? In crisis management a lot of Asians don‘t understand what the issue is, because how we would handle it in the US is very different than in China. Language: It‘s all about how you interpret the language and solve the problems. Language barrier: is or isn‘t a problem. International exposed to more cultural things than U.S. students and influence of other countries in the business world. Vs an American born and raised in San Antonio. Local: has advantage of specific clients to that city. E.g. to do public affairs in Houston you have to understand the Houston political scene. Sponsorship problem: the agency becomes responsible for you. E.g. a Middle Eastern grad student in UT disappeared and the company was responsible. Specific cases/patterns of international students hired? 95% success rate. Worked out very well but they tended to go back to home country. Rigorous interview and qualification process e.g. AP Style Writing Test. Very good work ethics, positive attitude, motivate and positive. Degree in PR/comm/corporate comms. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies like yours? UT curriculum is great. Need analytical English skills. Digital + social media skills (trade school). Why you do + how + when, why do you even do it at all? What can an international student do to set themselves apart? Be smart, analytical, work hard. Being able to solve a problem. Networking to get recommendations. Obstacles that prevent you from hiring more? There‘s a job market for agencies with international clients: will look for international students to handle those clients. It depends where you are from, internationally. Language: analyze and understand the culture within which we are trying to solve the problem. Interpreting and writing. Be able to WRITE. 92 Industry Interview 4: John Smith, Digital Brand Strategist at a public relations agency Can you explain a little about your job to me? (Are you in a hiring position?) Best way of obtaining junior staff was to bring people up through our internship program. My role was to outreach to universities, frame up our program, go out and meet candidates, review resumes and interview candidates. I was in this position at VM Foundry for 6 years. As a small agency if you realize no-one has that as part of their job description, I could do it. Ballpark: How many people would you say you’ve hired in your experience? How many of them are international graduates? 2-3 per semester. We would keep any good interns so they would be around for like a year. Let‘s call it 40 people. Less than 5% international, and 95% local. We had some international applicants but our primary source of interns was UT, Southwestern, St Ed‘s, Texas State, and others. We tried to cast as wide a net as possible but most of our interns went to UT. Probably about 5% were international applicants. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) Application: they tended to be more formal than American students. They tended to be older, tended to have degrees from elsewhere and tended to have more formal, CV-style things than what American students produce as cover letters and resumes. Language is partly a barrier for the application and interview, but that was a tough spot, cos if English is not your first language in a communication profession it‘s tough to communicate your ideas or vast array of experience in a short form that is your application or interview. Interview Post-hire: this isn‘t a scientific sample size, but they tended to be hard workers but quieter. Kept to themselves more. I don‘t know if they felt like language or communication was a barrier because we wouldn‘t have hired them if there was an actual barrier. That‘s probably the main differences between locals and internationals. International students also had past work experiences and what they‘re looking for to get out of an internship might be different than locals. Especially those who showed up with a million internships (locals). Internationals may have work experiences but in different fields. Advantages by internationals? If you are a strong communicator and you‘re bilingual or understand a different market or region, even if you‘re Canadian and speak English, you can still understand a different market and different culture. You may also have highly relevant work experience you wouldn‘t have gotten otherwise. One girl was from the Persian Gulf had worked in comm departments in huge multinationals and it‘s harder to get those kind of positions here. Considering she was like 21 she had experience in CNN, etc, sets them aside. My generalization of international students is that they‘re usually older than the average person they‘re competing with so they have an understanding of how to show up for an interview and how to dress. Knowledge and experience that comes from time. Knowing a different language or culture is hugely relevant if you can find the right opportunity. Like Bromlin Communications if you speak Spanish or from Latin America, and you understand local markets like in Nicaragua or Columbia. 93 Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you have hired? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) What were some patterns that made them hireable? Being diligent, punctual, asking the right questions. The ones that excelled were great at these areas. Being a clear idea of what their goals and what they wanted to get out of the internship. There were people who started as international interns and brought on full-time, the companies were supportive of the work visa process. If you have someone as an intern, you‘ve a vested interest in their success, you‘ll cross bridges and do a lot of steps to hire them rather than start from ground zero. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies like yours? Analytics. How to find the data you need. Using Analytics, Cision, Radian6, other programs. Academia has traditionally been a few years behind and that‘s a long time to be behind on something as fast-moving as digital comm and PR. More focus on campaigns and campaign classes. Working with real clients. Client service and new business are things that don‘t have classes for them. There‘s truly an art to making a client happy and properly servicing a client. How to pitch. Usually people learn these on the job but if you could hit the ground running, if what you‘re trying to do as an international student is to get a job, you want to be able to help long-lasting relationships with clients. Having cultural differences means having more familiarity with client service and approaches and understanding the subtext built on relationships will help. And new business, an RFP, etc that‘s where you can add value to the company, you should learn how to do that. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? Focus on internships and relationship-building. Internships are just one piece of building experience. As international students these relationships may not show up. If your family works at UT or alumni you can have built-in professional or social network. So international students should get out of their comfort zone, get involved, meet diverse groups of people, don‘t be shy, lend their unique perspective. A lot of things are built on connections. Making the right connections is key. What are the obstacles preventing you from hiring more international students? Do you have any recommended resolutions to those obstacles? The obstacles are usually we‘d only hire people who have done 2 or more internships. A lot of international students didn‘t necessarily have internship experience, they had unrelated professional work experience. They may be more qualified in other ways. But if they‘ve never done an agency internship enough, there‘s such a learning curve. By the time you get them to do something more engaging and interesting, the semester is over. I‘ll be curious to read the final result so be sure to share with me the final results. 94 Industry Interview 5: Kristen Wiley, Senior Account Executive at a public relations agency Can you explain a little about your job to me? (Are you in a hiring position?) I started as an intern at Cohn & Wolfe and moved up to AAE and AE. As an AE I was on the hiring committee for all our interns. I loved that, once we hired them we got to be their managers. So every semester I managed one or two interns. And then I went and did more marketing for a software company and managed our interns there. And now I‘m here at Pierpont as a Senior Account Executive. Ballpark: How many people would you say you’ve hired in your experience? How many of them are international graduates? Probably 8 interns total. 3 of them were international. I was for C&W for 4 years but 2 years of it was hiring people. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) Local students come in and they obviously know Austin. They‘re usually great workers but don‘t usually bring a unique outlook to things. They‘re UT grads, act like I acted, know what I know from college and my classes. Our international students are usually more interesting because they came from a different school usually and they wanted to come to Austin for the summer. And some of them were even going to school in different countries. They always brought really unique outlooks and that was appealing to us especially because we were a global firm. It really helped to have someone to bring out different perspectives to brainstorms and client work. What do you mean by unique outlook? Different languages, which was huge when we had clients who operate in different languages. Chinese and Spanish speaking are incredibly helpful. Usually they‘ve gone to different schools and taken different classes than people at UT. Everyone had a really keen eye for design. They were incredibly hard workers, some of my hardest working interns. They didn‘t have a sense of entitlement. They were just so happy to be there. And then at Cohn & Wolfe we could train them, it was easier to place them in a job after they graduated because we could place them at any of our offices in the U.S. or internationally. Weaknesses: sometimes a bit of a language barrier, having to go back and editing their writing- based work quite a bit. There was no difference in talent, just a bit of a language barrier sometimes. Strengths that locals have over international: more confident in their surroundings, spoken out more in meetings and stuff, we don‘t want our interns to sit silently, we want them to have great ideas, they were more willing to be heard. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you have hired? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) Two of our international interns went on to be employees. They didn‘t just take on regular projects. They were also, like, oh I know this language and I can help out here. Other offices would call for help. They really put themselves out there and took initiative to try new projects, more than some of our students from Austin. They showed they had value beyond just being able to call media and things like that. Particular patterns of mistakes: We had one student who was just really, really quiet and that wasn‘t a great agency fit. There was nothing wrong with her work ability. We just had other 95 students at the time who were a little bolder. I think she‘s gone on to get an amazing job in New York City, there was nothing wrong with her. One of my best friends at C&W was from Hong Kong originally. Worked for C&W for 5 years then worked for T3 which is a digital shop in town. He was not afraid to travel. He‘s travelled the world. When it came time to send someone on a conference or new business pitch kinda far away, they knew he could handle it and wouldn‘t be a fish out of water, he was comfortable traveling. He was a really good writer. He got better at writing by writing his own blog and writing everyday. He didn‘t start off great, he worked hard at it. Both of his parents still live in Hong Kong. He‘s super successful. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies like yours? Digital analytics and social monitoring, like Nuvi stuff, that stuff translates across the world. You can use those skills anywhere you are. When I was in college there was only one class about it that didn‘t really touch on it much. Ways you can use your international skills. Like an international skills class. This is how you can translate what you know how to do. A class on how to do media relations. How to actually call reporters, practicing on campaigns, a campaigns class would be awesome to take. Where you get a nonprofit client and do a campaign for them for a year. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? We had an intern one time who submitted her resume in both languages: it showed she actually knew Spanish. We had one of our Spanish-speaking people interview her in Spanish. That was cool, I loved seeing that. Or taking a press release that was on our website and translate it into their language to show they have really good translation skills. Or their portfolio is international brands, to show me you‘re really diverse. Going to events, PRSA events. Informational interviews with people who work at agencies. Have someone at C&W Malaysia contact someone at C&W Austin. Everyone knows people, so just not be hesitant to reach out to your friends and network because everyone wants to help you especially as a graduating student. Obstacles? Lack of candidates. We just didn‘t have a lot of people interview who were international students. Maybe if we had some sort of program where it‘s not so hard to move to Austin for a few months. I don‘t know much about work visa issues. For a while I planned to go to the England office of C&W but then I ended up not traveling. It seemed overwhelming to get a work visa. It would be great to intern in Austin this summer then read someone‘s blog about interning in Austin. Like an international student‘s tale of interning in Austin. Chronicling about your experience in Austin as an international student, would be really cool to read for someone who‘s hiring you. I wanna hire this person, they seem really smart and great. 96 Industry Interview 6: Sarah Connor, VP at a public relations agency Can you explain a little about your job to me? (Are you in a hiring position?) I am not in a direct hiring position, but I do have input into hiring decisions for my team (though the final call is up to my boss). I am directly responsible for reviewing resumes (which have been vetted by HR prior to me receiving them) and interviewing candidates, typically for internships or entry-level positions. Ballpark: How many people would you say you’ve hired in your experience? How many of them are international graduates? I have probably participated in the hiring process for ~10 different people over the years. I don‘t think any of them have been international graduates, though I have seen some resumes from international graduates. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) Pros of international grads: • More global perspective than local grads (normally) • Most are bi-lingual or even multi-lingual, which is a big advantage for global companies or firms that work with clients that are global companies • Some have unique skill sets or knowledge based on experiences in their home country Cons of international grads: • Sometimes run into grammar issues in cases where English is not their native language – this is particularly critical for jobs where there is a heavy writing/editing component • Potential for visa issues • Potential that they will not want to stay with a job/company for the long-term if they want to go back to their home country What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies like yours? I think the number one thing is to get international students to the absolute highest level of English fluency they can possibly attain. English is a difficult language and it tends to be obvious when things are not written by a native speaker. Since most PR jobs have a very heavy writing component, giving international students the best base of English language skills possible is critical to their success in the U.S. market. In addition to writing skills, strong presentation skills and analytical thinking are also very important. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? I think that bringing a diverse perspective, ideally including multiple internships, would help an international student to stand out. Either working in different roles at the same company for several years, or working in a communications/marketing/PR capacity at several different companies would be helpful. Internships at PR firms are helpful, but I would actually in some cases prefer to see that a student has worked in a communications or marketing department at a large Fortune 500 company. Since many of the large PR firms have these big companies as clients, I think it is helpful to have some knowledge of how they operate. Expertise in a 97 particular industry can be helpful as well. Right now, technology and healthcare are big industries in the U.S. that will likely continue to grow for the foreseeable future so knowledge in either or both of those areas is good to have. Most PR firms are embracing research and digital as key elements of their offerings so internships or coursework related to those areas is also good to see. Lastly, any special perspective an international student can bring from having lived or worked in a different country is always good to hear about, especially if they have spent time in an emerging market or major global business hub. What are the obstacles preventing you from hiring more international students? Do you have any recommended resolutions to those obstacles? I have not run into any HR-related problems with this because I normally receive resumes that our HR department has already reviewed. The only obstacles I see are: 1) I don‘t actually receive very many international student resumes compared to the number I receive from local students so I don‘t normally have many options to select international students; and 2) if I receive a resume, cover letter or cover email with ANY spelling or grammatical issues I will almost always reject it immediately because I have to be able to trust that the person is going to be able to write very clearly and at a high level in correct English. 98 Industry Interview 7: Sylvester Palacios, Jr., Senior Account Executive at a public relations agency Can you explain a little about your job to me? (Are you in a hiring position?) The recruiting and hiring of the top intern talent to support the team and their efforts in regard to public relations, marketing, digital and overall communications for our firm. It can be current students or postgrads. I‘ve been in a hiring position since 2012, about 2 years. I‘ve been in the agency since 2010. Ballpark: How many people would you say you’ve hired in your experience? How many of them are international graduates? Close to 15, maybe 20. Our intern program has grown over the semesters. Used to be 1 or 2, then 3, now almost always 4 interns per semester. More recently we‘ve had more international applicants but you‘re the first one we‘ve hired. I‘ve interviewed international students before and considered them for the spot but you‘re the first we‘ve got that we‘ve got from another country. So 1 out of 20. You would probably be the 3rd or 4th international that I‘ve interviewed. No, you‘re the 2nd. I‘ve scanned resumes and considered them. No, you‘re the 3rd. There have been international applicants… in the pool of applications I‘ve received in the past 2 years.. I get emails 2-3 times a week throughout the whole year. Per semester there‘s probably 3-4 international applicants per semester. Maybe 9-10 students international in a year will apply, out of 100 applicants per year. 10% international, it has increased over time. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) English. The language. The key difference. Their ability to communicate in English to the abilities that we need is different, it‘s just not up to par. A local student or someone who grew up in the States, almost all the time a local is going to be better than an international. Also their experience. The experience is good, they have almost the same level of experience but it‘s just different countries. So it‘s hard to determine if the type of experience they‘re getting overseas is the same as in the US. The clients and needs are different in different countries. I wouldn‘t say this is a weakness but if they communicate that differently to how they apply their experience to our needs. Do a bit more research on how PR agencies here work, and how their experience match the skill sets that we need then it‘s a strength. Because I don‘t have time to do that research so they need to communicate that to me. Advantages that locals have would be availability. If we know you‘re stationed locally then your schedule and availability is more certain. I don‘t know if an international student would have availability issues that will stop them from being in the office. But if they can clearly communicate I can be here this this this, then that‘s ok. Locals also have an understanding of the local media market, publics and industry. Advantages that international candidates could have over locals. Because our clients are starting to get bigger and more international so internationals could have an understanding of markets we don‘t know. Like know a language we don‘t know. Understanding different cultures and different perspectives for projects or client services, something unique and different, a fresh mind. 99 Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you have hired? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) Sha-Lene Pung was interviewed and showed a lot of the skill sets that we need. The course work she did here in the States and the leadership roles that she had and showed she‘d done the work and had actual client experience, showed me she was at a level that would make her a good candidate for this program. Another international candidate was an MBA student at UT. She provided work samples that she did and they were great reads. When it came to interviewing her, her English wasn‘t as good, and her AP Style writing style had a lot of mistakes and a lot of work that was incorrect. So she didn‘t get the job. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies like yours? An understanding of US media. There has to be worlds of a difference between Chinese media and US media. An understanding of how American PR firms work. English journalistic writing courses. Or American journalistic style writing courses. The way we draft news releases. The AP Style. The way journalists write stories. Tools like Google Analytics and Cision… although those tools are not make or break because they can be learned throughout the intern process. But it‘ll be helpful to know those coming in. Just digital tools. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? Work samples. Local or US media coverage is great. If you can show me coverage you got here in the States with American journalists, the pitching is different, so if you‘re able to show me you‘ve done the work here, that would be great. In the curriculum where you have a client in classes and you do pitching or something like that, or if you write for the local school paper here, if you wrote for a certain type of publication here even if it‘s a blog or school newspaper, it‘s something that shows me you can write to the style that we need. Having local references that you‘ve worked with. Work samples: stories you‘ve written, hits that you‘ve secured locally with previous internships that you‘ve done. News release and pitch letters. Case studies. What are the obstacles preventing you from hiring more international students? Do you have any recommended resolutions to those obstacles? As they come in we‘ll review and evaluate them. The biggest issue is the language barrier. But we don‘t leave anybody out in the cold, we review all applications. We look for the best skill sets that meets our team‘s needs. The bulk is Central Texas applicants, followed by East Coast and West Coast looking to relocate, then I‘ll get the international applications. From big to small that‘s the way the order usually is. 100 Appendix C: International Graduate Interviews (Transcripts) International Graduate Interview 1: Charlie Gu, Account Manager at China Luxury Advisors Can you explain a little about your job? What do you do? I work for a consulting firm called China Luxury Advisors. We help brand with travel destinations to engage Chinese audiences. Through PR, marketing and other communication efforts. Can you tell me a little about the process you went through to get hired? (Job-hunt process, additional documentation, etc.) International student visa is a big challenge. Previously I had a job for a PR agency for 3 years, they sponsored me for a visa. My former intern got a job here at China Luxury Advisors and he connected me with the company. Through personal connections. I interned through introduction of my professor who connected with the owner of the agency and gave me an internship. I did the internship and after internship there was no opening position but a year after that they had an opening and I happened to be connected through the president. I did OPT for a few different internships to maximize my exposure to different internships and then worked for a PR agency called Golin Harris in LA and worked for them in Shanghai too, which helped me secure that internship. I worked at another PR agency called IW Group and that was when I got a full-time job offer. What would you say are the advantages of being an international graduate, when it comes to job-hunting? What would you consider as the most important assets of your professional skills? There are pros and cons of course. Your language and cultural background is your biggest disadvantage and can hurt you depending on the positions you want. Language in communication plays a very important part of your work especially writing and in other formats. A command of strong language skills is very important. If you‘re Chinese, my Chinese is very good, I know how to good PR and Chinese writing very well, so I applied for a job that is to my advantage. Not only can I do PR in English, I can also do it in English. I think in interns I have, people sometimes forget their native language and Chinese skills and didn‘t spend much time polishing it up and think English is very important. What happens if your English is not that good and your Chinese is not that good? What would you say are the disadvantages of being an international grad, when it comes to getting hired? Visa is the number one disadvantage. No matter how good you are, there‘s that policy hanging over your head. There‘s that dark cloud to overcome. You have to find a way to persuade your employer to go above and beyond to do that paperwork to do the paperwork and recognize your value. It‘s about WHY should I sponsor you and what value do you provide that my American employees cannot provide so that I can sponsor you. And a lot of students here look for internships don‘t read a lot or connect with mainstream society or don‘t know what‘s going on culturally. In an internship I‘ve heard that it‘s hard to get into conversations and my opinion doesn‘t matter in class discussions. If you don‘t pay attention 101 to what‘s going on, you won‘t have an opinion to share with others. It‘s very important to getting a job. What did you learn in your PR courses/internship experiences that helped you get a job here? In my case, I think I definitely polished my writing skills in my studies at USC. Being able to write effectively, correctly and professionally is very important. Networking skill and how to network with other professionals and expand your other connections and open the door for yourself is another thing I learned. #1 course is Writing course, especially for international students. I can‘t emphasize more about the importance of Writing. #2 is the Business class which was very interesting and helped me a lot to understand a lot of things from the business perspective. It really changed my view about communication. A lot of it is working for your clients, it‘s business, so you have to look at it from a business perspective. What did you wish you learned in your PR courses that would have helped you more? I think the PR world has changed so much now. I wish we would have explored visual communications and video more. Graphic design would have been very useful. I wish we could have learned video editing, how to make simple videos for storytelling, which is a very important for communication strategy and job. Social media stuff you can learn in internships, and they change so quickly, social media monitoring tools. We had a social media strategy class but I think you can learn that on the job. What would you say are some things that should be changed or improved in PR courses to help more international students find jobs after graduation? I think that critical thinking is very important for PR. And writing. You should have international students immerse in writing more than just one semester because it is the most helpful if they can overcome that. And the way you present yourself: verbal communication, how to do presentations, how to sell yourself in an interview. I wish we had more classes like that. And then opportunities for classes or seminars to provide networking opportunities for international students, to meet with industry leaders and all that. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? First of all every one should really take advantage of their classes. Do really well. Pay attention in class. Don‘t spend class time sending resumes or looking for jobs. You spend all this money coming to the best school in the world. It also doesn‘t ring well with the professor who can be very strong connectors. I got all my internships through my professors‘ recommendations. And use other resources available at the school. Start to network. I joined PRSA, the largest PR professional organization in the world. I now am on the board for PRSA LA I think it‘s a really good opportunity to be a part of a professional network. I would also recommend volunteering. It‘s a great way to extend your network to meet people you wouldn‘t necessarily meet otherwise. 102 International Graduate Interview 2: Felipe Morales, Account Executive at a PR agency Can you explain a little about your job? What do you do? I'm an account executive at a PR agency. I work, mainly, with the technology practice with teams in NY, SF and Austin. Can you tell me a little about the process you went through to get hired? (Job-hunt process, additional documentation, etc.) I looked through postings on indeed.com. I was hired due to my experience in the tech and automotive fields. Documentation was minimal since I am now a U.S. Citizen. What would you say are the advantages of being an international graduate, when it comes to job-hunting? What would you consider as the most important assets of your professional skills? A huge advantage is being multi lingual. Moreover, being multi cultural is an even bigger help. I do a lot of work with Hispanic media. Being able to understand and seamlessly shift between the two cultures is an essential skill. My international job experience has also given me an advantage. What would you say are the disadvantages of being an international grad, when it comes to getting hired? The biggest disadvantage would be racism. It is an unfortunate truth for anyone with a "Hispanic sounding" name. What did you learn in your PR courses/internship experiences that helped you get a job here? Critical thinking skills, PR specific writing and real world experience in the PR field. My internships really helped me develop my traditional PR skills. What did you wish you learned in your PR courses that would have helped you more? More digital and social monitoring tools What would you say are some things that should be changed or improved in PR courses to help more international students find jobs after graduation? I feel as though many international students are underprepared when they leave the program. More intensive writing courses would be integral since a lot of international students have very poor writing skills. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? Highlight international experience. Speaking multiple languages is very helpful however demonstrating an understanding of multiple cultures is much more valuable. International students could also do a better job of assimilating into American culture and making an effort to understand the similarities and differences to their own cultures. 103 International Graduate Interview 3: Johnny Lim, Account Supervisor at a PR agency Can you explain a little about your job? What do you do? I am an account supervisor at Weber Shandwick Korea. I am a core member of the tech/IT team here, leading major accounts including SAP, Instagram, Dolby and Netapp. Can you tell me a little about the process you went through to get hired? (Job-hunt process, additional documentation, etc.) My previous job at Wonacott Communications required me to go through some documents. I was fortunate enough to land an internship with Wonacott Communications through my old manager from my previous internship at Nexon America. After the internship, I received a job offer from Wonacott Communications. It was not really a hunt for Wonacott Communications, but I got the internship at Nexon America through the Nexon business development manager whom I met at an industry event. In terms of documentation, Wonacott Communication hired a lawyer to handle everything. What would you say are the advantages of being an international graduate, when it comes to job-hunting? What would you consider as the most important assets of your professional skills? Wonacott Communications work with several international, specifically Asian videogame developers and publishers. So, my background was an additional asset, not a requirement, but something extra that my company could push forward. But, I also had to be equally qualified compared to non-international candidates. The most important set of skills always should be basic. In PR, you need to know how to write and communicate. Once you pass all those requirements, then your international background comes into play. What would you say are the disadvantages of being an international grad, when it comes to getting hired? Companies need to go through some immigration issues to hire an international graduate. If it‘s the first time that a company is hiring an international graduate, the burden increases. Also, every company needs to be profitable. That said, you should always be able to justify that extra expense of hiring a lawyer through our excellent work and skills. What did you learn in your PR courses/internship experiences that helped you get a job here? Strategic mind. It‘s one of many things that I learned during my graduate study. Being able to see the big picture and provide strategic counsel to clients becomes more important as you progress through your career. What would you say are some things that should be changed or improved in PR courses to help more international students find jobs after graduation? More intensive writing classes. Although verbal communication skills are important, writing is the key area that everyone can use extra help. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? 104 Networking. You can always be more aggressive in meeting new people and networking. It not only helps you with your job hunting, but also finding what you want to do with your career. This can be done through attending industry events, being active on social media and more. 105 International Graduate Interview 4: Julia Kiefaber, Marketing Coordinator at Text100 Can you explain a little about your job? What do you do? Text100. Half marketing and development and half PR. Switched 100% to marketing at the end of the internship. What I do now is client outreach and assist with the PR agencies making sure that the research etc gets picked up and speaking programs for execs, PR conferences, etc. Brand work and PR work for a PR agency. I also work on translating projects in collaboration with the parent company-owned agency Next15, translating work for Google from English to German. Can you tell me a little about the process you went through to get hired? (Job-hunt process, additional documentation, etc.) I was a research assistant for BT throughout grad school. In my last semester at USC he set me up with some interviews. Then I interviewed with Text and right away that was for an internship position. I had a few interviews set up in San Francisco. I asked them straight up about visa sponsorship etc and …. Money would come out of marketing budget not PR budget for visa sponsorship. 3 months into the internship, they said they will sponsor me. In another 3 months they‘re applying for my visa sponsorship if I meet my performance objectives for these 3 months. That would be the 1st of February, after a 6 month internship. What would you say are the advantages of being an international graduate, when it comes to job-hunting? What would you consider as the most important assets of your professional skills? I would say nothing in general. But personally, the fact that I speak German and have translating work experience. My undergrad was very methodology-focused and that helped me be different from others here. There‘s definitely stuff I learned in the program but that wasn‘t particular to being international. My marketing and business background sets me apart from a couple of people, and my methodology background. Interpersonal skills. I was also a foreign exchange student, I got to live in the U.S. before. I have a cultural understanding, that‘s one of my strengths. During the PR internship I have an insider opinion about Germany. Knowing the European market. What would you say are the disadvantages of being an international grad, when it comes to getting hired? First and foremost, everything is about the sponsorship. It‘s really frustrating and a huge burden. The unfamiliarity with the agencies and corporations with the process. Smaller companies don‘t know how much it costs, how long they have to commit to you, etc, haven‘t done it before, don‘t have the experience. A huge disadvantage is also that you can‘t have a paid internship while having an F-1 student visa unless you enroll in a class. The visa restrictions only allows you to work 20 hours a week, etc. A company isn‘t going to hire you or sponsor your visa without knowing how you work. I‘m not saying it‘s the company‘s fault but it‘s like a legal issue for international students. The first semester I just wanted to get acquainted with the environment. Not having a car is hard to intern here, I even had to ask my friends to drive me to interviews. And I worked on campus over the summer and took classes. My first internship was in the Spring right before I graduated. I did a bunch of jobs on campus because of financial reasons. 106 What did you learn in your PR courses/internship experiences that helped you get a job here? I took my two electives at Marshall because I‘ve always had a passion for marketing. One was a business communications speak class and one was kind of interesting. Your success is more dependent on your interpersonal skills and how to sell yourself, and I took that because I know I‘m not a native speaker. A business speaking class. The marketing class was also very much valued – it had some overlap with classes I had taken in Germany. I wouldn‘t say my marketing classes were more useful. The USC PR classes were the most useful for the PR industry. The transmedia class I really liked. The crisis class I didn‘t see the value in it, although I liked it and learned it, but people starting out at entry-level are not going to start out in crisis. So it‘s not that relevant for us right away. I think skill-based classes like multimedia content creation, design, video creation is really useful. I really like the approach the program takes about more teaching you the bigger picture and not hard memorizing facts. I like that overall strategic approach at USC. I do really believe in the SPM for sure. I think writing and basics like industry terms and what‘s going on in the industry. The familiarity with the PR landscape in USA and brands in general. I enjoyed the real-life examples and guest speakers that taught me about the U.S. market, PR-specific and brands in general. Internship experiences: I didn‘t learn much from that internship. But learning how to work and making deadlines, reporting to somebody, etc. Cision. I learned that in my last semester. I knew I didn‘t want to go into the entertainment industry but it was still a useful experience. What did you wish you learned in your PR courses that would have helped you more? I think the visa thing is a huge obstacle that isn‘t something USC could change. I think guest speakers are great to have in courses. I do try to get their cards and meet with them. More hands- on stuff through guest speakers and how to get involved with these companies. Do you think a U.S. media markets 101 class would have been useful? I‘m kind of not a fan of being put into a bucket of international students, and I don‘t think this is one of my weaknesses that I should be trained on it in that sense. I think international orientation can work on that we should have the same for everyone. – I think that‘s something I learned through my internship, that internship I had with the Spring. Even doing the media clips helped me familiarize myself with the local media market. What would you say are some things that should be changed or improved in PR courses to help more international students find jobs after graduation? That crisis class was not that useful and not that strategic. How do you sell yourself as an international? Familiarize yourself with the visa sponsorship so you can tell them. It‘s not something I would look for in a class. Do you wish you learned more about pitching? I think pitching is something you learn in the program, with a strategic goal and adjust your tactics accordingly. The stuff I learned in the program would help me come up with a pitch. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? 107 Know your worth. Position yourself as an asset to the company you are applying for. I think in particular, don‘t think that just because you‘re international you have to downgrade yourself for a visa sponsorship. I find it – and I could be wrong – more than important to be familiar with the industry in Europe, the methodology focus in Germany. You start off with a disadvantage but know what sets you apart from the other students applying. Don‘t get discouraged by bad interviews where they don‘t offer visa sponsorships. You have to tell yourself it‘s not something you can change, you can‘t change the law, don‘t take it as a personal offense. It‘s just not the right fit and know you can be an asset to a company or agency that is the right fit. While in the program, try to network as much as possible. Do the unpaid internship if that works for you, or paid internship over the summer. You can do the unpaid internship in the first year but for the first semester I think it‘s more important to familiarize yourself with the courses, etc. Work on your skills. Read American literature. Read American news, that‘s something to be on top of. Be on top of current issues. This is more important for you to know the industry and know what‘s going on here. Try to do that in your free time. The classroom and PR training isn‘t over when classes are over. Just try to be on top of what‘s happening. It depends what your goals are. If you have an interest in a particular industry, it‘s good to dive in that industry right away. For example if you‘re interested in entertainment, the Hollywood Reporter is a great reputable source for people interested in this industry. The Wall Street Journal and the New York times cover a wide range of issues and if you don‘t know yet which industry you want to go in. Focus on improving your writing, oral and written conversations. Look at USA Today if your English isn‘t that good yet or if you‘re still new. Don‘t aim too high if you‘re not going to do it. Read a couple of articles on USA Today first to get a regular sense of what‘s going on in America in general. Then if you have an interest go into specific publications. I try to follow up in what‘s discussed in class. In the Corporate class 565 every week 3 students had to research articles that were related to PR in the business sense then lead discussions in class. That was a great exercise because we got to talk about current issues. People bring issues and publications to class that you might never have heard of. Skills like critical thinking and strategic approach is more lasting than some tools and nitty-gritty stuff because technology changes so fast. 108 International Graduate Interview 5: Sharon Chin, Inbound Marketing Specialist Can you explain a little about your job? What do you do? I‘m an Inbound Marketing Specialist at an in-house marketing department. I‘m in charge of the content creation, which includes eBooks, infographics, blogs and social media. At visionweb we believe in ―inbound‖ which means content and context marketing is the best way to generate leads. Can you tell me a little about the process you went through to get hired? (Job-hunt process, additional documentation, etc.) I was hired on following graduation and transition from an intern to a full-time position. Visionweb paid for all the paperwork required for my work visa. What would you say are the advantages of being an international graduate, when it comes to job-hunting? What would you consider as the most important assets of your professional skills? You definitely become more memorable in interviews. And it also helps if you are well traveled. As for my biggest asset, it would be my ability to speak and write well since I work on a lot of content creation as well as customer-facing content. What would you say are the disadvantages of being an international grad, when it comes to getting hired? I‘d say that some companies have a bias when it comes to international hires. They might avoid them to avoid dealing with parperwork OR pay you less when they know that they‘ve done you a ―favor‖. What did you learn in your PR courses/internship experiences that helped you get a job here? I‘m in a marketing position, but my PR degree was very helpful in honing my writing skills which led to my content creation position. What did you wish you learned in your PR courses that would have helped you more? I took a minor in business foundation that was a great supplement to my communications degree. I definitely wish that there wasn‘t such a push to go into agency life upon graduation and I wanted to be exposed to more career options in school. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? Internships are very important! And finding a company that has experience hiring international talents helps too! 109 International Graduate Interview 6: Yuxin Dai, Assistant Account Manager Can you explain a little about your job? What do you do? We are a luxury consulting company and our business is mostly two parts: advise European and American brands (do an audit for them about how their brand is presented in China), then we advise them on how to market, position them in that market. We help American and European markets attract outbound Chinese tourists. I try to make business partnerships with travel agencies, consulting firms, banks in China that deal with high-end Chinese consumers for luxury shopping experiences with the brand. I also do research and analysis on the Chinese market and advise brands how to proceed. Can you tell me a little about the process you went through to get hired? (Job-hunt process, additional documentation, etc.) I found that job last year in October through Annenberg newsletters. I emailed them and attached my resume. My colleague now, Evelyn, got back to me to arrange for an interview. She was interviewing like 30-40 candidates, so we met near campus. I did like a half an hour interview. It went pretty well. They got me on as one of 4 interns. I interned with them from October-May, 6- 7 months. I emailed them before I was gonna graduate, told them I really enjoyed time with them and wanted full-time position if available. Luckily they did have something and offered me the job a day before graduation. When I negotiated my full-time position, I said I needed them to sponsor my H1-B visa. They‘d done it for all their employees before and I knew they were able to do it. I applied for OPT in May or June. It takes 3 months to get through. You can choose the date to start your OPT. It can be after you graduated. Mine started in August. You can‘t get paid until it starts. What would you say are the advantages of being an international graduate, when it comes to job-hunting? What would you consider as the most important assets of your professional skills? Language is obviously very important, especially in my job. We have to be fluent in two languages. They hire us because we understand the way that Chinese business culture works, and how Chinese people do business. And to have a Chinese face: cos I have to deal with a lot of local Chinese agencies, etc. They don‘t necessarily want to talk with American coworkers. They think that Americans wouldn‘t know how we do business and it would be harder to talk to them. Chinese like to cut corners and come up with creative solutions, they‘re nervous to talk to like my boss, who is American, cos he wouldn‘t go for it. Aside from language and knowing the culture, it‘s also coming from a different background and you can bring something new to the team – the way you think. A broader view that you can bring in. What would you say are the disadvantages of being an international grad, when it comes to getting hired? Obviously first is that we need the company to sponsor our H1-B visa and a lot of companies I know don‘t think it‘s worthwhile especially if they aren‘t focused on a specific market like China. If they‘re just trying to look for a position filled in the US there‘s no point for them to hire an international student to go through the visa process and hire a lawyer, etc. Language is also an issue because a lot of companies have the perception that we can‘t speak English as well as an American. I think the active word is the ―perception‖ because I think our written and 110 spoken English is just as good as a native speaker. When they see your name on a resume, even before they interview you, they go in thinking your English wouldn‘t be as fluent. What did you learn in your PR courses/internship experiences that helped you get a job here? The design course that I know you‘re taking too, that was very helpful, then they teach you InDesign and Photoshop. I do a lot of design work for our company because we don‘t have a design unit. I‘m the only person in the company that can use Photoshop and InDesign. That‘s a good skill set to have. The writing courses were the most helpful courses. Before I came here, I never wrote anything in English before. Like 2-3 page essays only, but I had not practiced or guidance in my English writing. Being able to learn the different forms of PR writing is important: how to write a press release, a fact sheet, etc. That‘s a lot of what we do here too. It‘s not about what was taught in the classes but the thought process that they trained us on. Thinking strategically, writing an SPM. Right now in my position it‘s entry level I don‘t do a lot of that, they don‘t include us in the strategy part, but the thought process I learned was very important. What did you wish you learned in your PR courses that would have helped you more? A lot of what I do here is business development: reaching out to new potential partners and getting them interested in what we do, finding creative ways to work with our partners. It would be cool if they could teach us how to approach a person you never met before and trying to sell your services. Like how to dress at a career fair or how to talk to HR people. I was really nervous going in about that and wish I would have had more preparation. A pitching class, kind of. I don‘t think they emphasize as much on pitching – actually, how you do it – in our courses. What would you say are some things that should be changed or improved in PR courses to help more international students find jobs after graduation? I wish they could help international students figure out how we fit into the equation. What they teach is kind of general to PR. What international students do in a PR agency are different from what native students would be doing. We‘re not actually competing with American students: we get hired for a specific thing. I think they could prepare us more, just teach us more about what kind of jobs we‘ll be doing and what past alumni have been doing just to get an idea. I still think the language training could be better. I guess spoken wise, I think we have a lot of training in writing but in terms of spoken language and networking, I see a lot of Chinese students struggle with that. Maybe that‘s why people have trouble finding jobs because they are shy to go out there so much. There are a lot of opportunities out there. I think international students aren‘t as confident in their spoken language. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? I think you have to do a bit of research going on. Being more specific with the companies you‘re trying to target. You have to figure out if this company is something you‘re interested in, would they be interested in you, if they‘re able to sponsor your work visa. I think a lot of Chinese students would just go to the first opportunity they can find. But sometimes there‘s no outcome. So if your goal is to find a job in the US then you have to be more focused with the companies 111 that can give you that. A lot of people take random internships but it doesn‘t help you achieve your ultimate goals. Just know yourselves a bit better and how you fit into the company and if there‘s a chance of getting promoted/sponsored in your position. Think more long-term instead of ―I really need an internship now because everyone else is doing one.‖ Strategically think about your career goals. 112 Appendix D: Faculty Interviews (Transcripts) Faculty Interview 1: Professor Burghardt Tenderich Can you explain a little about your experience in academia and/or in the industry? I started my career in the United States working in marketing and PR for a start-up company when I had my green card in the U.S. – I then switched back and forth between Europe and the United States several times. 2 years in Europe and then from 2000 until 2007 I worked at corporate and agency jobs in the United States then I started to transition into academia in 2007 when I first joined UC Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. Then in 2010 came to Annenberg. Did you get a green card through H1-B Visa? Marriage. Ohh, that’s how I’m getting mine. Oh haha congratulations! How many international students do you know who have gone on to get a job in the U.S. after graduating? My short answer is I don‘t know. I mean, several have. I don‘t know what they ended up doing. I‘m aware of several, maybe 2 or 3, but there are probably more. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) I don‘t think I can answer that question because it assumes there are two distinct groups: local and international. I don‘t think that is the case. I think within international, you have very different gradients or degrees of cultural and language knowledge. It‘s along the lines of knowledge of American culture and language. For example, she graduated just this year from the SPR program and was able to find a job right away. She was originally from Germany, she spent 1 year of high school in the United States, she‘s very good at American English and understands American culture and was able to get a job right away on the visa you guys are all on. So I think – having been a hiring manager for both international and domestic people – I don‘t think that it matters much whether she‘s local or not. She had a visa to work, and in the interview nobody questioned her ability to speak English or to understand American culture. So language and culture, provided they have the permit to work. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you know got hired? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) Honestly, I think that‘s it. People who speak the language, understand the culture, have done internships here and have a work permit, they look to the employer, in my opinion, like a domestic applicant. Whether there‘s a slight accent or not, I don‘t think matters much. Do you think domestic applicants have an edge? 113 The big edge is the work permit. It is so easy to hire you, and there‘s no risk. What I have seen repeatedly is that the PR industries ebb and flow: they either hire or they don‘t and try to reduce work force based on business cycles. When business is very good, PR agencies will go through lengths to be able to hire international people – they will easily sponsor their visa, and will basically hire up international people who are fluent in the language, understand the culture, and hire them as much as they hire domestic applicants. Would you say the trend right now is a good trend for internationals to get hired? Yes, hiring in public relations is up. We have some hard data on this, and anecdotally I know this from hiring managers, corporate recruiters and headhunters. They all tend to have more positions to fill than they have viable candidates for. Would you be able to recommend where I can find that hard data? I would recommend starting with PRWeek, they have some good surveys. The Holmes Report. Our GAP data may have some of that, but there‘s also a delay there. But start with recent surveys on PR Week. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies? (Is there anything you would change?) Well I think that‘s obviously a question we review on a constant basis and we think we have implemented the factors that will help people. Again, the language assistance so language academy and intensive language training. We keep very close contacts with the industry to help people build their resumes through internships. And then also direct referrals, so many of us speak to industry and refer students in. This happens very regularly. And of course we have a very good curriculum that is conceptual yet practice-based to provide students with the skills that many people who work in PR may not possess simply because they have never been in a PR program, most of them. What would you say has been introduced in the curriculum to help this? For example, in our undergraduate program we created a mandatory Business and Economic Foundation of Public Relations class – which is something we did in response from what we hear from hiring managers. They want PR practitioners who understand the boardroom and understand core business issues and opportunities. Another example would be that we‘ve revamped our skills classes to include very advanced social media and multimedia content creation. Another example is called Transmedia and New Media so we‘re tracking on a conceptual level how PR campaigns are developing. Are there any courses you hope would be implemented to make students more competitive? The way we do this here is that if we see a need we will launch a course and see if it makes sense. So I would say – to answer your question – whenever we see a need for a class we just fill it. Some of my industry interviewees have commented that there’s a lag between industry and academia, and that academia is always struggling to keep up. What would you say to that? (Laughter) It works both ways. To the point you just made, yes, absolutely. For example, in my Transmedia class, we basically reengineer the methodology that companies use transmedia story 114 techniques in their PR and marketing campaigns. And we can reengineer and build it into a methodology, see how we can apply it to other campaigns. So in that sense academia is following the practice, but academia is also leading the practice by basically teaching classes and skills and concepts that most practitioners do not have – simply the advanced social media and multimedia skills that weren‘t around when these practitioners out there started working. And also conceptual stuff – ethics and legal foundations that, if you haven‘t gone through a PR program, you wouldn‘t know it, and obviously most practitioners have never gone through a PR program. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? Language, language, language. I firmly believe that the biggest inhibitor. Master the language in reading, writing, speaking. That‘s the number one. Develop your own personal brand – make it unique and relevant. That could be anything from your personality in meetings to particular interests that you have, particular points of views, be aware that you – in a hiring process – will be looked at based on your personal brand and what you bring to the table. What do you consider as obstacles that prevent your university from carrying out important changes that could benefit international students? I can‘t think of anything. I don‘t think there‘s much that can be done that universities can do that they haven‘t already done. The OPT, the period of time after graduation that international students are allowed to stay and work, that‘s as far as universities can push it. 115 Faculty Interview 2: Jerry Swerling, Director of PR Studied at USC Annenberg Can you explain a little about your experience in academia and/or in the industry? 44 years‘ experience in the field, the last 17 years of them spent as Director of PR studies at USC Annenberg. How many international students do you know who have gone on to get a job in the U.S. after graduating? In general I really don‘t know cos I‘m not familiar enough with other programs. Within the MSPR program I‘m thinking 5-10. The program has been in place now for about 15 years. I don‘t think I could name more than 5-10 but that doesn‘t mean there aren‘t more. That‘s just the number I‘m thinking of, those who have contacted me and gotten jobs over the years. How many students have been in the MSPR program all these years? Well over 400 have graduated. What would you say are the key differences between local grads (clarify: domestic American students) and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) The most obvious difference tends to be language ability. That‘s very simply explained: for American students it‘s their first language, for international students it‘s not. Their first language could be Chinese or Greek or Portuguese but it‘s not English. I think, related to that, we find that when looking at the knowledge of the field, obviously U.S. students tend to have a perspective of the field that is consistent with US experience whereas int‘l students depends on the culture and experience of PR in that country. You have cultural differences in terms of their knowledge of the field. More broadly of course there are big cultural differences in terms of society in general: type of government, popular culture, how the economy is run, etc. Lots of different factors. It‘s not as simple as international students and domestic students are all competing equally for jobs. The challenge facing the international students can be very different and much more daunting in a lot of ways than the challenge facing the American students. And that has to do with a number of key factors: 3-4 key factors that complicate international students‘ seeking work in the United States. Let‘s say as an intl student is just as qualified and just as competent for the job. The hiring company still has to think about the process and the expense of sponsoring that person for citizenship purposes. The hiring manager, would always, say I have two great candidates here, I think they‘re both great. Do I really want to go through the additional hassle? Often, the answer is no. They don‘t want to have to deal with the government, the regulations, the expense. It‘s an added burden and added complication. There are a couple other stuff too. You‘ve got the language issue. What I‘ve found is that the hiring manager will ask himself or herself, I have two candidates, one speaks English natively, the other has learned to speak English extremely well but is not a native. But which one is going to have an easier time dealing with the complicated issues we face? The easier solution. There‘s a third that I think is worth thinking about too. International students sometimes have unrealistic expectations about the American job market and how easy or difficult it will be to find work in the United States. We interview a lot of students before we admit them. I can‘t tell you how many times students have said to me, when I say what do you want to do with a career in the long-term, many of them decide they want to stay here and find work despite all the 116 complications that exist. There‘s a regulatory issue and citizenship issue and language issue, which is a barrier, and I think there‘s also an expectation issue. People think, oh if I‘m just good enough, or smart enough, that just isn‘t always true. I‘ve tried many times to get companies to be more involved but let me tell you an example of a disappointing situation for me. Not long ago, I made an arrangement with a major agency where I introduced an international student who was really good, if she could get an internship in USA with a major international company so she could work in China for a few years after. It worked very well but when it came time for the students to fulfill their end of the bargain, they decided to stay in USA and work for somebody else. When you try to make these things happen, it‘s challenging from a wide variety of standpoints. I wish I had the answer, and I hope you can discover part of the answer. Something I often urge international students to do – and they never want to do it – is to have a more long-term strategy in mind. They can go back to China and work in a multinational company, prove how great they are to that company and then just transfer to the United States. The expectation is ―I should be able to get a job right away in the United States.‖ It‘s just not a realistic expectation. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you know got hired? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) The best source of information of students who got work will be our career people. For me, one is working at a bank. The bank does a huge amount of work with the Asian community. The other works at a major retail organization that has a huge business with the Asian community. In these cases what you see is that people are taking advantage of their cultural backgrounds and finding opportunities where that background is an asset. They better understand the Asian market because that‘s where they come from. The problem that sometimes comes up is that, think about who you are, think about your background, think about what makes you unique, and how can you use that to strengthen your job search. If you‘re an international student from a particular country, think about how they can help you. But instead, people apply for a general job like Account Exec at Weber Schandwick and they don‘t understand why they don‘t get the job. People have to be much more strategic about their job search. People need to think much more carefully about their strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities when drawing up their career plans. If xx company is a huge company in your country and USA then work in Lenovo and then ask for a transfer to USA. It may take 1-2 years longer but the result is the same. But people are shortsighted. You need to think long term, be strategic, and be insightful. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies? (Is there anything you would change?) It‘s not about program content, because we‘ve taught of this a lot. I think what has to happen, is that in any home country, there needs to be programs where people are given honest advice about their prospects for employment in other countries and that advice needs to be listened to. When we do our information and orientation sessions, whenever anyone asks us about jobs, we‘re very honest about saying it‘s not easy but people don‘t want to hear that. Think about your American dream as your third job, perhaps, and develop a long-term strategy that will get you here. With the world being so connected now, with so many multinational companies, big Chinese companies doing business all over the world, it‘s all so much easier to do. 117 You gave me an idea: something we might want to do, is to develop partnerships with big Chinese companies. Where we would have match relationships and set up training programs for them. What would you say has been introduced in the curriculum to help this? Are there any courses you hope would be implemented to make students more competitive? Some of my industry interviewees have commented that there‘s a lag between industry and academia, and that academia is always struggling to keep up. What would you say to that? I disagree. I think they‘re making excuses. We know that we‘re training our students to do all the things that young people are doing now in agencies. We have content creation courses, multimedia creation content, research courses, Radian6, we‘ve got all of that. I‘m very comfortable, I think we‘re on a par with agencies. Maybe the agencies want people to do publicity, etc, and we don‘t focus on that. People have to be honest with themselves: if they felt unprepared going into an interview, what really happened? What was the disconnect? Was it really a disconnect in knowledge in the field or a disconnect in a cultural, language background? What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? That‘s the big question. Have a very, very strong track record of success both in school and with internships. Ideally, have somebody in an organization where you interned serve as a reference. Be really great, in all your courses, be able to say I got an A in the writing course. Be very, very good academically and in internships. Second thing is to be very, very comfortable in the interview situation. And that means interview in the same way an American student would. Sometimes international students tend to be shy, reluctant to lead a conversation, whereas quite often American students aren‘t afraid at all. They need to be very comfortable in an American style interview environment. Number 3, they need to have realistic expectations of the job market here for international students, what the challenges and opportunities are. Number 4, they need to understand their own strengths and assets and leverage those in the interview. Ideally, I‘ll give you an example. Rather than go for an interview at an agency like Weber, who has the Lenovo account? And go in and focus on the Lenovo account and say here‘s how I can be an asset to you on an account on Lenovo. Do the homework up front and know how you can leverage yourself. What do you consider as obstacles that prevent your university from carrying out important changes that could benefit international students? I think one area that existed a few years ago was that we needed to do more to communicate more with the international students with the nature of the American job market and the obstacles faced there. I think we‘ve made a lot of progress there. There‘s more programs now to help international students to help them understand this crazy place. The only thing I would add is that we think about this all the time. International students represent such an important part of our student community, like 25% of our student population. If I had a magic way to solve the job problem, I would push that button right now. I would emphasize that this is something we think about all the time. We alone don‘t have the answer. It‘s going to take a much bigger set of answers to deal with this problem. Please send me your thesis after it‘s done. 118 Faculty Interview 3: Professor Jennifer Floto Can you explain a little about your experience in academia and/or in the industry? Practitioner career was starting in corporate then I worked in international agencies, which I think helped prepare me because I worked with a lot of people outside the United States. Those days, it was primarily by phone or email but I had a lot of interaction with people in other countries to understand how PR is done there, different trials and tribulations. And I‘ve been here, full-time since 1998. I have to say that when I first started working here there weren‘t a lot of international students and I think I‘ve sort of made it my mission to really understand what – not only the curriculum and sitting in the classroom – but what else we can do to help international students. What kinds of programs we can have, what kinds of resources USC has. I‘ve really tried to learn that over the last decade to be more of an aide, and I‘m still learning every semester. How many international students do you know who have gone on to get a job in the U.S. after graduating? Boy, that‘s a hard one. I would say among our international students, probably I know 15 who‘ve gotten jobs here. One is working for IBM, one has worked for the San Francisco ballet. So they‘re getting terrific jobs. But I would say there‘s about another 30 that we weren‘t able to place. We‘ve probably had 45-60 international students in the entire time. Yours is the biggest class of international students. The first years now there‘s a wide variety of countries: France, UK, Brazil, China. It kind of varies from year to year. Yours is the largest number we‘ve ever had. Off the top of my head, I could name at least 15 who have gotten jobs here, probably closer to 20. By the way, many of those – because I‘m lumping China in with the other countries – intend to go back to China. They don‘t intend to stay here. So then I think we have to have another category of international students who study here with the intention of going back to their home country. So it‘s a little bit of a different formula for them. As you know, we had a student from Australia who all along intended to return to work in the Australian entertainment field and she‘s doing quite well. So the subsets… there are are basically three directions. They intend to go back to their home country, or they want to work here for a little while then go back to their home country, or they would like to stay here for an indefinite period of time and continue to practice PR in the United States. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) Starting with the advantages. I think international students aren‘t so US-centric, ―that‘s how we do it here‖ ―that‘s the only way‖ – I think international students bring a whole array of different kinds of culture and political background and corporate set-up and educational background. I would say that international students have way higher scores when they get here, in terms of the GRE. That doesn‘t mean they do well on all aspects of it but they tend to score pretty high. One of the things is that they‘re often bilingual or multilingual, so that‘s a definite advantage. A huge advantage that they‘re not so steeped in that everything has to be done in English in the whole world. That‘s also a disadvantage because the English that most international students learn in their schools in other countries is very rigid and traditional. While that might work for some majors here at USC, it‘s a big disadvantage for our students because we want anything but traditional 119 writing and speaking. Obviously you‘re an exception but as a whole, international students struggle with phrasing and coming up with colorful language or active verbs because they‘ve never been taught that. They‘ve been taught very by-the-book, English grammar. I think another disadvantage is not knowing how to get around here. Domestic students, even if they come from another city, kind of understand that Los Angeles, they know how to drive on freeways and big highways. Most of our international students come from cities where there‘s excellent public transportation and ours is… you know. We do have a couple of Metro things but for the most part it‘s very difficult to get around and not user-friendly. The other disadvantage is not knowing pop culture in the United States. And as much as we try not to only have case studies that are in the pop culture realm, it‘s almost impossible not to acknowledge the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge as a coup for non-profits. And it‘s kind of a quirky American thing, and of course we have the whole celebrity culture here. So there‘s a lot of things, there‘s terminology, there‘s a shared cultural history among domestic students that just isn‘t available among international students. Do you think this impacts their job search? Well I think it limits their job search in that you work somewhere that is, pretty hipster, like fashion or entertainment or food or travel and tourism PR. If you don‘t know what the cultural norms are, it‘s going to be very difficult for you to succeed. You‘re not going to know hipster language. You‘re not going to understand when someone refers to the U.S. fashion faux pas of the 1990s. And it‘s part of our shared culture. That can be difficult. I don‘t think it‘s a big disadvantage in corporate settings. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you know got hired? First I‘ll do the patterns then I‘ll do the traits. The patterns that I‘m seeing are that the international students who get jobs in the United States are among the faculty, always deemed superstars. It doesn‘t matter where they are from. They‘re the cream of the crop among their fellow classmates. I‘ve noticed that among the people, they‘re superstars that we all know their names because they were so fantastic, even if we didn‘t have them in our classes. The second thing is that I think there‘s a tremendous work ethic I think, and I don‘t know if this is accurate, but I feel that international students want so badly to work here that they pull out all the stops. And they work longer hours, and take crappy assignments because they want to succeed so badly here. And the other pattern that I see here is that they‘re getting promoted very rapidly. And it‘s all because of this work ethic. Now, the traits I would say: diligence, obviously hard work. The global perspective is a trait that I think has been very key for international students who are now housed in the U.S. but have such a vast knowledge of other countries, other geographies, products, countries, messaging, because they haven‘t only been stuck in the U.S. – I see it over and over again companies that say oh we have so many customers outside the U.S. and we wish we had someone who understood the Korean market or understood how to sell to Eastern Europe. In march our students who have this grounding in PR and also understand this global nature of business. I would also say that one of the key traits is tenacity. The students I‘m talking about who are still here in the US, they just don‘t give up. They go around the system, they find a way to get their visa renewed, they have coffee 3 times with a potential hiring manager as opposed to domestic students who have a level of tenacity but not Tenacious with a capital T like the international students. To come here you have to have a certain hunger to want to do this work and it just keeps going after they graduate. The other trait I would say is trying to be perfect. That‘s good and that‘s bad. These are students who cannot bear to get an A minus, yet 120 struggle with – I‘ll be honest, in the writing class, a lot of the international students struggle. So I think it‘s admirable they want to be perfect, but perfection is difficult to attain so I think that can be a drawback because they set up these expectations. Like, if after 3 years I‘m not the manager of this company I am a failure. So, like, unrealistic expectations? Yeah. It‘s pretty admirable that they have the drive to do their best and want to be perfect. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies? (Is there anything you would change?) I don‘t think the coursework would be that much different. The one course that I‘ve always wanted us to teach is International Case Studies. Now, the people who teach case studies are directed to have at least one international case in their class, but I would rather have an entirely separate class that was open to people all over the university just about international studies, I think that would be fabulous. I‘m sure they have that in Marshall. I‘ve always been pushing for that. That’s great, that would help international students analyze these cases through an American lens. Exactly. Also, domestic students understanding that just because you‘re headquartered in San Francisco, doesn‘t mean you don‘t need to know how media works in India or Malaysia. I think that in the past year, we have pulled out all the stops trying to provide resources for our students. We have increased – we‘ve worked with the career center here at Annenberg – to increase the listing of possible companies for Chinese students. It was 12, now it‘s 40. We‘ve been proactively trying to set up a better support system. On the front end, we‘re doing a much better job of helping international students assimilate by having things like the Language Academy, by doing our orientation that helps them understand what they can expect in the classroom. So we did the orientation differently this year where everybody had to stand up and make a little speech. All the international students thanked me because they didn‘t realize that was the kind of thing they would have to do in class: be called on and comment on a moment‘s notice. The university claims it‘s doing more to help. I‘ve heard repeatedly that the international orientation for all international students who arrive is welcome, here‘s some food, safety, but it‘s very limited. So I think that the university – any university – could do a better job. USC does a really good job of educating international students. I think the fact that we have more international students than any other university must mean something. I think what I‘d like to see in all universities is stop this separation of ―you‘re international‖ and ―you‘re domestic‖ and really sort of merge more. I think our program does a very good job of that. All students are integrated in every single class, we‘re pretty unusual in that, we‘re a pretty good model for universities with a large array of international students. And we could do a better job of just having basic language tutors. The ones we have are good for ESL but there‘s way more that could be done. I‘m the writing coach and it‘s so difficult to teach these nuances of the English language. We could do a better job, set the standard for how international students are taught, not we as the PR program but we as a university. Instead of remedial English training. What’s the obstacle? It‘s really hard to teach. It‘s a big staffing and training issue in terms of great ESL teachers. Maybe the university catching up with the fact that it shouldn‘t only be remedial, there needs to 121 be very advanced tutoring. I hear this from international students from Viterbi, etc, it‘s so remedial that it isn‘t helpful. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? Definitely get involved in university activities. The best way to assimilate in the culture here is to get involved in something. I see international students forming dance teams, I see them practicing every night, performing together. Things like TriSight and student associations. I know students who regularly go to the arts and culture things here like the Fisher museum or shows put on by the School of Music. To take advantage of everything that‘s here. I think it‘s a huge mistake to come to this university and not get enmeshed in the cornucopia of stuff here. Go find a niche that‘s interesting to you, go work on the Daily Trojan or take a cinema class. Do something that broadens your view beyond the Annenberg school. I think a level of patience. That first semester, dedicate yourself to assimilating. You‘re in another country, a top tier university, it‘s pretty competitive in most programs. Get acclimated then start slowly looking for projects you can work on or internships. We‘re looking at way more ways that we can provide projects that students can work on, like the PMK BNC thing that Jerry‘s got on. Ways that both international and domestic students can expand their PR knowledge without the traditional 3- days-a-week internship. Don‘t think you can only do a PR internship at an agency 2 days a week and the next semester you work somewhere else 4 days a week. Don‘t be so cookie cutter, look at some other options. Some of your classmates from China were finding it hard to find internships have formed their own agency and they‘re doing quite well. These kind of entrepreneurial attempts at broadening horizons can be very smart. Once you‘re nearing graduation or completing your degree, I think it‘s very important to be very realistic about the types of places you‘d like to work for. So there‘s the whole visa issue, but if you don‘t think you can thrive in a fast-paced environment why would you be applying to agencies? If you get bored without variety why would you apply to a corporation? IF you don‘t care about issues why work at a nonprofit? What‘s the best fit for you for your career? Then find places that will accept them for the year or whatever it takes, and invest in them to stay here. What does that mean? Well, I mean, a company has to want you badly to want to sponsor your visa. For example, the PR student at IBM. She was such a sought-after student that General Motors and IBM were both vying for her. PR and marketing departments. And she didn‘t have to work too hard for them to find a way to sponsor her to stay. On the opposite end, we have a Chinese student who was absolutely fluent in English. He was hired by an organization which tried really hard to renew his visa but weren‘t able to. But after 6 months he was back and he‘s still here 9 years later. Because there are ways to handle it. That tenacity that we talked about. But you have to be so astounding that the company wants to invest in keeping you here. That you have something that nobody else can offer. Nobody domestic can offer. I would really encourage international students not to downplay that whole notion of being bilingual or multilingual. Because more organizations need that. The progressive companies are globally oriented and Nike is the perfect example. They recognize they need to have not only U.S. trained and domestic employees but global ones. I think it‘s really important for international students to balance the yearning to stay here, and the tenacity and realism. They have to be realistic about their prospects. If they don‘t make the 122 investment, they have to be realistic that they won‘t shine above all, and organizations are not going to want to sponsor them. Additional comments via email: from: Jennifer Dayle Floto <floto@usc.edu> to: Sha-Lene Pung <pungshalene@gmail.com> date: Wed, Nov 5, 2014 at 8:40 PM subject: Additional comment for your thesis As we discussed, there is a fairly large "intangible" that faces international students and I'm still learning how to help them through it. Not only is English full of exceptions to rules, but it is chock full of idiomatic and pop culture expressions. These expressions are employed by professors, classmates and workers that International students encounter. In some majors, it's essential for students to understand and use said expressions. I believe we're doing our students a real disservice if we don't find a way to quickly get them up to speed on these nuances. Here's an example of an incident that actually happened in one of my classes: An international student from Asia is what I would deem "very fluent" in English. She looked perplexed in class but waited until after the session to pose her question. It seems that one of my students used the term, "Really?? No, REALLY?" while their group was discussing the final project. The international student quickly consulted her pocket dictionary and found the first definition as "Very." She confessed that she didn't understand why the student was saying, "Very? No, VERY?" It was hard to explain that the other student meant "Are you kidding me?" which also is a colloquial expression! Any new initiatives that we devise or that you recommend in your thesis would need to cover this very elusive category of pop culture, specifically in the area of jargon, hip expressions. 123 Faculty Interview 4: Professor Jian (Jay) Wang Can you explain a little about your experience in academia and/or in the industry? For all the international students, it varies in each situation when you seek employment. In general it‘s true that it‘s very challenging to work in this country in terms of the immigration status. But it also varies because there are certain areas of work that employers will help you more to get the necessary papers. In other industries, like education – universities when they hire people, they will do that. Major corporations, major consultancies, they do that. PR agencies, they don‘t do that. It varies. I don‘t think most companies in this country – SMEs – don‘t do this because it‘s an extra cost. And you need to prove to immigration that why you need to hire this talent instead of other talents who have the right status in this country. Major organizations have more diverse range of needs and therefore are set up to do this talent acquisition among international graduates. Speaking from a personal experience, I didn‘t apply for jobs in PR agencies so it was not challenging in that aspect. I‘ve been teaching for about 12 years. Before that I worked in the industry for about 4 years. How many international (PR) students do you know who have gone on to get a job in the U.S. after graduating? A few have got jobs here, but I can‘t remember the exact number. What would you say are the key differences between local grads (clarify: domestic American students) and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) Our PR students? These are generalizations because you always have exceptions. Generally speaking, our international students tend to come from countries like China. Students like that grew up from a different culture than the American culture. The way they express themselves, participation in class, are very different from domestic students. Domestic students tend to be more vocal and expressive, while international students tend to be a bit more shy. In this industry, the biggest difference is the writing skill. When English is not your native language, you tend not to write as well. But for this particular industry, writing is such a fundamental skill that I think that is a key differentiator. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you know got hired? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) Patterns of behavior, success factors? You need to be very aggressive in the sense that you have to be very persistent. It‘s not easy because you face additional challenges because of the communication and writing skill sets and immigration barriers. Second, I think you need to find your strength. Find positions that fit your strengths. That‘s what they tend to do. And have good foreign language capability, in addition to English. What do you think are some strengths that international students can play up? International students have more of a comparative perspective. That only becomes meaningful when you also understand this market very well, then you have an added advantage. But if you don‘t know this market well, then that doesn‘t work either. In order to be very competitive you 124 have to know the U.S. domestic market well and an additional comparative advantage by knowing another market well. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to be hired by agencies? (Is there anything you would change?) I don‘t think it‘s anything that can be taught. It‘s about the skill sets. You need to possess a solid foundation in writing and communication. There‘s no way to go around that. It‘s needed in the mainstay of PR, unless they hire you as a graphic designer in a PR agency but the main jobs are still for people who are able to write and communicate, post social media content, those kinds of things. Is there anything you would recommend changing in PR programs or career department, etc? The key is really to encourage international students to invest their time in improving their basic skills. I don‘t know what kinds of programs can be done. It‘s also very important for students to understand the local market well. Maybe the career office can help to do some of that. But a lot of these things can be done by students themselves. Like, writing, you just have to work on it. Learn the local market. You can learn a lot from being observant in stores and places like that. I think the onus is still more on the students than on the schools. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? Be observant in your everyday life. Participate in as many activities on campus or in the local community. Try to do volunteer work or internships – paid or unpaid. Do whatever you can do and try to learn, absorb as much as possible in the process. Don‘t just look for the ―ideal‖ internship position. Look at industry publications and blogs because they would be very helpful to expose yourself to on a consistent basis. Keep yourself informed about what‘s going on in the industry and in the marketplace. Some of that can be done through your personal basis, others you need to do through more professional channels. Just keep up with what‘s happening. It is a challenging issue. I don‘t think there are any magic solutions. I don‘t think the public relations industry is set up to make international talent acquisitions compared to some other industries like computer science. There isn‘t a shortage of domestic students in public relations. 125 Appendix E: Counselor Interviews (Transcripts) Counselor Interview 1: Gordon Stables, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Can you explain a little about your job to me? (Especially how it pertains to students' job search) My official title is the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. I‘ve been a member of the Communications School faculty for 13 years. I‘ve occupied the role of student affairs since January this year. Annenberg student affairs is defined by three primary portfolios of student- related work: academic advisement, career development and international programs. In each of these areas, we have a team of professionals who develop the programming for those students and interface with the larger university framework. Ballpark: How many students would you say you’ve assisted in your experience? How many of them are international students? How many of them successfully got jobs in the U.S. in the PR industry? The career development works with several hundred career advisement appointments as students and alumni need. The office is open to current Annenberg students and alumni too. It doesn‘t end at graduation. They do a lot of different work in that area. Those appointments can be mentor sessions, resume reviews, identifying individual sectors, and serves the community through listserv. It‘s only open to Annenberg students and alums. They also work with the alumni office on mentoring. This semester we have 350 mentor pairs. Also, one in 5 Annenberg students is an international student. Graduate students are more engaged in career development, so there is a larger proportion of graduate students in our events. All our graduate students are only here for a maximum of 24 months. More likely to be paying out of pocket and here for a shorter amount of time, you‘ll be more likely to take advantage of the opportunities available. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) Based on some of the career data that has been released recently, this also sheds light on the question of where students want to live and where students are willing to live in a near-term effort, that‘s part of the challenge. We see with journalism a lot in traditional legacy to move to a smaller market, develop experience and move your way up to larger markets. When we meet with international students, the question is where are your interested markets? Because that predetermines where you can work. Geography for any student, in terms of where they are from, how long they plan to be here in LA/California and what their broader interests are, are the biggest challenges we get. If the student wants to say they only want to work in an urban area, it predetermines things by looking at where you are from, where you are, and where you want to go next. Do international students want to stay here or are they willing to move anywhere, what are the patterns? That‘s a great question. We‘ve seen two broad sets of experiences. We‘ve seen there is a clearly defined path for international students where the effort is that there‘s a fixed period of time they intend to be in Los Angeles. In a professional context, there are skills they want to develop, with an eye to then returning – not necessarily home – but consistent with the work culture where 126 their passport provides. For example, we have a lot of Chinese students who don‘t necessarily want to return to where their families are but they may want to work in Beijing or Shanghai, but they know the only way to create that professional pathway to get the skill… folks who may want to work with CNN in Hong Kong need to come here and get a certain set of broadcasting skills. Another set of students intend to come here and identify a sponsor in a professional environment to develop a long-term visa pathway to stay and work here professionally. One of the big challenges is developing these pathways. In some ways we‘re at the mercy of the private sector because the federal visa situation differentiates different career tracks in a way we don‘t have flexibility over. I think the real challenge there is working with students to identify companies that have sponsored visas in the past, to identify companies who are willing to sponsor students. Really, what we‘re finding is you have to be looking at a longer-term model, because for a company in a non-STEM, non-H1B visa environment, for them to sponsor young employees their typical interest is developing a particular skill set and making enough of an investment in the employee/graduate/alumni that is commensurate with the investment. In a quick turnover field it doesn‘t make sense. But if they‘re looking for someone to say, this is a 3- to-5 year investment, our goal is to not have to invest in that turnover. The companies we‘ve identified, that‘s what they‘re looking for. Is it a challenge identifying these companies? Absolutely. No company on the front end wants to be dismissive. That‘s why I frame it as which companies have sponsored in the past. It‘s different from companies where we say would you be open to this? Many companies are open, but when they realize the time and investment, you have to say which business isn‘t built on a quick turnover for young employees. They‘re assuming the employee will only be there 12-18 months, they just presuppose that they won‘t stay there very long to begin with. Especially in the agency world, with high turnovers? Yes, absolutely. One way that larger companies can work around it is to intentionally allow employees to move within their network. Burson Masteller for instance, they don‘t expect you to stay in their office for a long time. But in order for them to get the return on investment for their training, every 18-24 months they want to identify where do you want to go and how quickly do you want to move. Leaving the office, the country, move from the Paris office to Tokyo or Dubai. So that‘s one way they combat the wanderlust in PR. Are international students expressing a willingness to move to find work? I would say it‘s not specific to international students. In some ways there is already a selection bias. To come to a large university in an urban environment, you‘re already demonstrating a bias toward an urban environment. If a student lives in Beijing and wants to go to USC, they‘ve already demonstrated a capacity for an urban environment. So I think all of our students have a built-in bias toward urban environments. Now, to this point, I think it‘s about the media market. For PR, it‘s easy if you operate in New York, Chicago, LA. That‘s the default experience of people. The more you move, there‘s more regionalism. If you move to a smaller southern city, like Birmingham or Nashville, it‘s a little – it mirrors, in the same way, people are interested in moving where the development of the industry is heading. Following industry trends is the best way for the global traveler, urban environment student can follow. 127 Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you have helped get jobs or have heard of their stories? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) Patterns/traits of success? The mentorship pathway is one that I identify with. There‘s a tremendous amount of pre- screening. Turning the characteristics of someone into strengths. An international student with multi-language fluencies, with the willingness to be involved with heavy travel. The mentorship pathway is an example. For example, the Disney Asia project needs people who can live up to this demand. They want amazing language skills in multicultural environments. For example, Glenn Osaki an Annenberg alum the president of the Asian division of the MSL Group has been incredibly supportive of us. We‘re constantly engaging with them, to show the benefits of having an Annenberg-trained student in their divisions across Asia. (http://www.mslgroup.com/who/our-people/glenn-osaki.aspx) What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to get jobs in the PR industry? What do you think has been really useful? Any particular coursework you recommend? Don‘t underestimate the benefit of moving from multilingual competency to multi-language fluency. I‘m incredibly impressed by the students‘ ability to operate in multicultural environments. Being able to copy-edit, work with the idioms and nuances. Advanced copy- editing for PR campaigns, subtle mastery of multiple language skills write their own tickets. They can do a little bit of Photoshop, InDesign, design. We don‘t assume that you operate as the primary tech author of a product but you can understand the mechanics of multimedia content creation and how technology lends itself to your work. Going to Adobe workshops and fluencies outside your curriculum, part of the Annenberg advantage, all these fluencies add to your skill set. Multilanguage fluencies and developing more fluencies. The ability to understand evolving business models. We benefit from having all the schools together. In PR, the evolution of the business model between in-house and agency work. The decline of traditional retainer-based arrangement. As internal communications platforms ramps up – for example the MSL Group. When a company goes to the agency what is the utility and need? It‘s project work. The primary challenge is how do you build a business model as a boutique shop without a large retainer client base? The Annenberg student has the ability to have a multi-geographic team that exists in a combined virtual space and a combined physical space. We have a client meeting and the client is in Dubai, but the team from LA and Beijing can attend. Super expensive to support and staff all your teams in urban cities. The boutique agency explains that mobility. Large companies keep retainers – what percentage of that work is business development and client maintenance? In order to keep an infrastructure like that alive it‘s necessary even though it may not be the reason you went into PR. Students who are better able to work with that and flexible about where they are based and how they operate will be more likely to succeed. 128 Counselor Interview 2: Jordan McIntyre, Graduate Academic Advisor Can you explain a little about your job to me? (Especially how it pertains to students' job search) What I do is basically prepare students to take the next step, which is pursuing a job. In the PR program, I assist them with the selection of their elective classes during the second year that prepares them to go into the field/subfield that they ideally want to go into after they graduate. I have a minimum amount of career advising, because my job is mainly geared toward course selection and satisfactory academic progress. Ballpark: How many students would you say you’ve assisted in your experience? How many of them are international students? How many of them successfully got jobs in the U.S. in the PR industry? Any given year it‘s 200 or so, just PR students. Maybe 100 a year. I‘ve been in this position 3-4 years. I‘ve helped about 400 students. A quarter are international students. I can think of three students who found employment after graduation. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) The biggest difference is spoken language skills. In my view, I think a lot of international students may feel this way themselves, I‘ve had this conversation with a number of them in the past. Especially Chinese students. Language skills can be a barrier. Spoken language skills that are not on par with domestic students can sometimes be regarded as a barrier to employment by international students. There are slight cultural differences too, but in terms of ability I don‘t see any substantive differences. I guess I‘m considering the topic of your thesis. In terms of international vs domestic students trying to get into the job market, I think spoken language skills is the biggest differentiator. In terms of advantages, it‘s kind of funny because the disadvantages can be said to be advantages too. When they enter the job market, they know more than one language. They have intimate cultural knowledge of a different part of the world. The majority of our international students in the PR program are from East Asia. They have an awareness of culture, business, language, lifestyle, all of these things, that could be valuable to a lot of companies. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you have helped get jobs or have heard of their stories? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) Patterns of behavior, traits that led them to success? They were always good students. They weren‘t the absolute top most students. One thing that is kind of interesting, because I‘ve never really reflected on this before, but they were all exceptionally organized. In other words, they knew they were going after this or that particular job. I can recall conversations where they told me ―I interned at this place and I knew I wanted to pursue an opportunity at this or that.‖ The more you are able to focus in on what you are looking for, the more attention you can give to that particular opportunity instead of casting a wide net and applying to different opportunities. Aside from that, no real pattern aside from being all lovely people. When you say organization, did you mean focus? 129 Yeah, you are right to make that distinction. I guess I‘m just observing a general trait. For advising appointments they would come in with their classes clearly scheduled, they had direction. It‘s like focus and organization all wrapped together into direction. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to get jobs in the PR industry? What do you think has been really useful? Any particular coursework you recommend? Maybe a job fair or some type of opportunity that brings in employers or sends international students out to employers. A fair that‘s geared especially for international students. Another idea I had was one generated from a conversation I had some time ago. Alumni from the PR program who are still working, doing OPT, or in the work world domestically. Bring them back in to speak to current international students to speak about the unforeseen challenges that really only they are aware of after having gone through it themselves. For them to give you all a heads up on that would be pretty valuable. Have there been particularly useful courses to help them get a job after they graduate? Based on trends I‘ve seen in classes, social media monitoring is a big thing that has emerged. Data courses, Marshall business courses, are very popular among international students. Consumer behavior, corporate finance, some entrepreneurship classes. International students seek out business-orientated, quantitative courses, more than domestic students. I think it may be based on advice from seniors. Anecdotally, I‘ve heard that if they could claim that they had the background of a market analyst or marketing analyst, it would significantly improve their chances of getting a work permit. What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? Work experience: unpaid and paid internship experience. International students can do unpaid internships in the first year of their program. Then they can move on to paid internships in the summer. If you‘re an international student and you have three internship experiences by the time you graduate, you‘re in a much better position than international student who don‘t have internship experience or only one internship. Language skills too. What are the obstacles preventing more international students from landing jobs in the PR industry in the U.S.? Do you have any recommended resolutions to those obstacles? It‘s the difficulty obtaining a work permit. This is as true for a Canadian student as it is for a Chinese student. Anecdotally I‘ve been told that in the work visa application process you have to show that the work you do cannot be done by a domestic person. This is my crude paraphrasing of my understanding of this. You do something so specialized or in an industry with a particular need for human resources like you. In other words, the playing field is not even. Being able to merge public relations with marketing and analytics is a very specialized skill. 130 Counselor Interview 3: Suzanne Alcantara, Director of Career Development Office Can you explain a little about your job to me? (Especially how it pertains to students' job search) I am the Director of the Career Development Office. And the mission of my office is the employability of students. So we do a variety of programs and services to help students get prepared for their life after Annenberg. Ballpark: How many students would you say you’ve assisted in your experience? How many of them are international students? How many of them successfully got jobs in the U.S. in the PR industry? I‘ve been at Annenberg for 13 years, so hundreds and hundreds. Over the years, there have been 30-40% who are international students I‘ve worked with. We‘ve been tracking self-reported data as best as we can, but anecdotally I can tell you about who have found success. They tend to be in industries where they have find a connection. For example, if it‘s a Chinese student, it would be with a company here in Los Angeles which has some sort of a global presence or expansion to China. For example, China Luxury Advisors. And I‘ve also heard agencies like Allison PR which has a Chinese practice, looking for people with a cultural understanding of China. I‘ve known people who have gone on to work for East West Bank. There are probably others but those are the few that come to mind. Another student has gone to work IW Group, a PR and advertising agency that works with Asian-American clients and markets. They would also work on PR campaigns for McDonald‘s on ethnic segment markets. The sponsor has to make the argument that what‘s different about you that they can‘t find in domestic applicants in the United States, and a large part of that answer is niche markets. What would you say are the key differences between local grads and international grads? (Probe for 3 pros and 3 cons at least for international grads) I think this is a very good question. In relations to my previous answer, I think advantages that international students have is that they are truly global citizens. They have lived and studied in more than one country. They have minimally two languages that they speak. I don‘t find that to be the case with a lot of domestic students. We are always encouraging domestic students to learn more languages, but that isn‘t always the norm. International students just have a global perspective, unless domestic students have studied or worked abroad. A disadvantage I see a little bit of is the level of comfort with the English language, both conversationally and written, and I think that‘s particularly hard in fields like public relations where that is the be-all and end- all of what your work is. Of course, I see some international students struggle because they feel timid about their speaking skills or they are trying really hard but their written skills aren‘t up to par with domestic students. And I think if someone is hiring and looking at the written word of both these candidates, I think domestic students tend to have the edge. I think that when someone comes here from another country, you have to learn the whole media market here. A domestic student from Los Angeles would have a much easier time. This year for orientation we actually created a Los Angeles media guide to help international students. It was taken from the Los Angeles Business Journal, which creates books of lists, so we created a guide based on that. This was a result of international students coming to me and saying I just landed here from China and I don‘t know what‘s going on here. So we hope with this guide they can get 131 an idea of what the local advertising or PR agencies are, just so they can get name recognition and begin to do their own research. Can you tell me about specific cases of international students that you have helped get jobs or have heard of their stories? (Probe for possible recommendation of contacts to interview those now-hired international grads) Patterns of behavior for success? One of the new initiatives we started this semester to better prepare international students was a series called the ―International Career Club.‖ We soft-launched it in Spring and fully launched it this Fall. We‘ve had two sessions. Because we know international students need to have a bit more of a conversation about cultural differences and so on. The first session was about interviewing and resumes. October 8th she talked about interviewing tips. These workshops are specifically geared toward international students, explaining the cultural differences of being in the U.S.. What makes an international student particularly successful is being able to quickly pick up and adapt to local US culture. Being open to starting an internship at a company that‘s not heard of as opposed to a recognizable, ―sexy American company.‖ But sometimes those companies get hundreds of applications, whereas fairly small companies give experiences that help propel you to other internships and eventually large-name companies. You have to start getting experiences somewhere to move up to larger companies. Another trend is that the successful international students take advantage of the opportunities and services our office provides. They understand the value of relationship and networking. I think some of them still struggle to do that. When I look at participation for events, I often find that international students will participate in the workshops and the alumni panels in very high numbers. Are there more international students than domestic ones? Sometimes. Last month we saw more graduates than undergraduates. They are more career- focused, here for a shorter time. Building relationships and network is a really important part of the process. Not being timid, being able to jump right in there. International students who have been successful have done multiple internships, been involved with local professional organizations, have done with a lot of informational interviews with alumni and have really put themselves out there. What would you recommend to be taught in PR programs to increase the chances of international grads to get jobs in the PR industry? What do you think has been really useful? Any particular coursework you recommend? There‘s nothing that comes to mind. I don‘t know the curriculum enough. I think it‘s about understanding the best way to market themselves. I feel they are often timid about speaking about their accomplishments. I‘ve identified that as a cultural barrier. I coach them that you have to do PR for yourself and put yourself out there. When we do mock interviews and alumni do mock interviews too, they felt like they had to work harder to pull the information out of international students because they tended to be more reserved about sharing their accomplishments. Culturally where they come from it may seem like it‘s bragging, but in the American culture it‘s really important to put yourself and your accomplishments out there. More often than not, I feel like they are less likely to talk and elaborate more about their professional accomplishments. Really understand how to market the transferable skills they have and the experiences they have to apply it to the position they are applying for. 132 What would you recommend an international student can do to set himself/herself apart to increase their chances of getting hired in the PR industry in the U.S.? Find a professional organization. There‘s a PRSA Los Angeles chapter. They have events where you can go and network professionally in the field. There are also experts talking about industry news in PR. What are the obstacles preventing more international students from landing jobs in the PR industry in the U.S.? Do you have any recommended resolutions to those obstacles? I‘m not an expert on this but from what I understand is that sponsorship for entry-level candidates is very difficult in the eyes of the U.S. government. To be sponsored, you have to have a level of experience that I think a lot of entry-level candidates don‘t have. The only students that have been sponsored have found organizations where they have skills a domestic candidate cannot bring. Start early, figure out what are the organizations that might sponsor. Through the main career center, they purchase a subscription for a site called GoingGlobal.com. Which is a resource that lists the companies that applied for H1B sponsorships and how many people they sponsor. You‘re not going to find huge amounts for communications and PR, but you can look at that list and find that they are companies with comm and PR departments. You can put those organizations on your radar. 133 Appendix F: Content Analysis Codebook Codebook for Thesis Instruction: When conduct the coding, please read each entry in data folder and follow this instruction. The coding will take three steps. 1) The goal of the first step is to identify the sample of universities. Please list all organizations alphabetically. 2) Once the organizations and curriculums are identified, you can conduct the second step: list the course names as the unit of analysis. For this step, you need to first read all the course names. List all course names alphabetically. For courses that offer the same content but are listed under different names, list only one name instead of multiples to avoid double- counting. Make a remark with * of the other names the course is listed as. 3) The third step is to identify the core courses. Out of all the schools you studied, count how many offered the same class (even if by a slightly different name). Count how many times a course name appeared on those lists. The top six courses with the highest frequency are the core courses. 4) The fourth step is to identify courses with low frequencies. For this, look at the courses offered by the schools but registered a frequency of 2 or lower. 5) Please code the variables to indicate whether the university offers this class or not. A code of ―1‖ indicates Yes and a code of ―2‖ indicates No. Sample Spreadsheet: Universities/ Course names UNC USC Florida Syracuse NYU Texas Tech Oklahoma Maryland Miami Missouri 134 Appendix G: Content Analysis Spreadsheet Universities Syra cuse Univ ersit y New York Univers ity Univ ersit y of Sout hern Calif orni a Univ ersit y of Flori da Univers ity of Oklaho ma Universi ty of Marylan d Univ ersit y of Mia mi Univers ity of Missou ri Univers ity of North Carolin a at Chapel -Hill T ot al Course Names Mast er of Scie nce (M.S .) in Publ ic Rela tions M.S. in Public Relatio ns and Corpor ate Comm unicati on M.A. in Strat egic Publ ic Rela tions M.A. Publ ic Rela tions M.A. with emphas is in Strateg ic Comm unicati on (Advert ising and Public Relatio ns) M.A. in Commm unicatio n M.A. in Publ ic Rela tions M.A. model in Strateg ic Comm unicati on M.A. in Comm unicati on Studies T ot al Media Law 1 1 Visual Communicat ions Theory and Practice 1 1 Understandi ng Financial Statements 1 1 Financial Markets and Institutions 1 1 Public Relations Practicum 1 1 2 Public Relations Theory 1 1 2 Public Relations Research*/ Measuremen t 1 1 1 1 4 Advanced Public Relations 1 1 135 Writing for Digital Platforms Public Relations Campaign Planning and Execution 1 1 Public Relations Culminating Experience 1 1 Public Relations Management /Managemen t of Strategic Communicat ion 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Public Relations Ethics, Law & Regulation 1 1 1 1 1 5 Public Relations Writing 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Social Media: Objectives, Strategies, Tactics/Inter active Techniques 1 1 2 Capstone 1 1 Theory, History & Practice of Public Relations/Int roduction to Strategic Public Relations/Pu blic Relations Foundation 1 1 1 1 1 5 Managing Media 1 1 2 136 Relations Critical Business Skills for Corporate Communicat ion/Corporat e Communicat ion 1 1 2 Strategic Communicat ions 1 1 Public Relations Consulting 1 1 Public Relations in Non-Profit Organization s 1 1 2 Public Relations Specialties 1 1 Integrated Marketing 1 1 Global Relations & Intercultural Communicat ions 1 1 Public Affairs: Public Opinion & Issues Management 1 1 Building Publics: Employee & Other Constituenci es 1 1 Investor Relations 1 1 Community Relations & Advocacy Communicat ions 1 1 137 Government Affairs 1 1 Crisis Communicat ion 1 1 1 3 Reputation Management * 1 1 2 Multimedia Content Creation for Strategic Public Relations/De sign for PR/Strategic Communicat ion Techniques 1 1 1 3 Business Fundamental s for Non- Business Professional s 1 1 International Public Relations/Gl obal PR 1 1 1 1 4 Case Studies in Public Relations 1 1 2 Digital, Social and Mass Media Public Relations Strategies 1 1 Public Relations and Branding 1 1 Advanced Entertainme nt Public Relations 1 1 Promotional and Product Public Relations 1 1 138 Public Relations for Multicultura l and Niche Audiences 1 1 Directed Research 1 1 2 Financial and Investor Communicat ions 1 1 Issues in Public Relations 1 1 Public Relations & Philanthropy 1 1 Public Relations & Fundraising 1 1 Sports, Publicity & Promotions 1 1 2 Religion, Communicat ion & Culture 1 1 Seminar in Public Relations & Political Campaigns/ Strategic Campaigns 1 1 2 Strategic Communicat ion in Health Care 1 1 Account Services 1 1 PR Techniques 1 1 Media Strategy & Planning 1 1

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Asset Metadata

Creator Pung, Sha-Lene (author)

Core Title Strangers on the home ground: the challenges and opportunities international students face in seeking employment within the U.S. public relations industry

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Strategic Public Relations

Publication Date 04/08/2015

Defense Date 04/08/2015

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Foreign students,international graduate employment,international graduate opportunities,international students,OAI-PMH Harvest,public relations diversity,public relations education,public relations graduate programs

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Yang, Aimei (committee chair), Tenderich, Burghardt (committee member), Thorson, Kjerstin (committee member)

Creator Email pungshalene@gmail.com,spung@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-543755

Unique identifier UC11297665

Identifier etd-PungShaLen-3258.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-543755 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-PungShaLen-3258.pdf

Dmrecord 543755

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Pung, Sha-Lene

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA