I Got Hired: Wenhan

Posted on: 3 November 2024 by Richard Finch in Class of 2024

MSc Data Science and AI graduate Wenhan Wei talks about his experience landing a job before graduating.

The beginning - language ability

As an international student, the language barrier is the foremost obstacle we should tackle (This is especially true in countries where teaching does not use English). This is important as the more you can clearly express yourself to interviewers, the higher the chances you can land a chance for an interview. So, apart from academic study, I have spent extra time studying English every day until now.

Academic life

Be a good student. Get as many high scores as possible, and do well on projects (e.g. group work and individual coursework). Most importantly, put excellent projects into your resume. It’s a big part of demonstrating the knowledge that you've gained throughout your degree. Knowing your project well is the crucial factor to show employers your abilities including hard skills and soft skills.

Careers resources

The Career Studio is an excellent place to guide you to fine-tune your resume and give you some instructions for cover letters and interviews. Please make good use of it. Without a good resume and cover letter, you would have a hard time passing the first round of application (For example, CV screening).

Network with people

Make use of the resources people can give you, including references, guidance, and information gaps. Also, it’s important to learn how to strike up simple conversations to establish relationships with people. Other than that, LinkedIn is also a good platform to build and expand your network.  

The application process

Find the newly posted (fresh) jobs and suitable ones (job title, skills requirement, and so on). Fine-tuning your resume for one particular job is better than applying for ten jobs with one standard format resume. Don’t apply randomly, and always use the resume or cover letter you've tailored for that position and company. Lastly, always review every failed interview for the next one until you get it. Practice makes perfect!

Reflecting on my journey

Opportunity is rare and precious in the UK job market, especially for international students. What we can do is prepare well in the beginning and refine ourselves every step of the progress. Keep going until you're successful. Good luck, everyone!

Looking for opportunities?

Student Circus is a job search platform just for international students that brings you filtered internships, placement opportunities, and graduate visa job listings.

The good news is, all University of Liverpool international students can sign up for this exciting job search platform for free!

With Student Circus, you can save time in your job search by only applying to employers who are looking to hire international students. Click here to find out more.

And don't forget, our Career Studio is open Monday - Friday from 10am to 5pm if you need any help or extra support.