Most MSU international students are allowed to stay in the United States for 12 months after graduation for practical training in their field of study, said Chris Bargerstock, the associate director in the Office for International Students and Scholars. After that, it is up to their employer or visa status if a student will continue working in the U.S.

International relations sophomore Ann Zhuang, who helped organize the event, said a lot of international students like herself aren’t used to the American interviewing process. She said it’s difficult to get jobs here in the U.S. because of visa statuses, or students don’t know how to showcase themselves well in interviews.

Zhuang said the main point of the event is to help students practice interviewing skills while showing talents to recruiters and employers.

“By providing this broader and better platform, we hope the participants could show their talent, professional knowledge, communication skills and high working responsibility,” she said.

International students are facing a huge problem because they think companies are not going to hire them because of visas and other complications, when really it’s the opposite, said marketing junior and CEN co-president Yahang Zhang said.

“I know there are a lot of companies in Michigan area are growing and they want to expanding their business and they want global talents,” she said. “Our job is to bridge this gap.”

Recruiters were composed of both on-campus and off-campus organizations. At the end of each public interview, recruiters gave feedback to the applicants, and offered private interviews at a later date.

Accounting senior Kang Liu who was one of the five participants, said the best thing you can do during an interview is to take it easy and try to relax.

“It’s just an interview,” Liu said. “You’re going to have hundreds of interviews in your life — this is just one of them.”