My Step-by-Step Guide for International Students

Jamestown Community College’s Ayomideji Shares His Employment Journey

Hello, my name is Ayomideji Israel-Akinbo. I’m originally from Nigeria, but I lived in South Africa for thirteen years before coming to study in the U.S. I am currently studying engineering science at Jamestown Community College in Jamestown, New York and plan to transfer to earn a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. 

I wanted to share my experience as an international student and the process I’ve gone through in getting a job while I’m studying in the U.S. I will be going into a series of blogs about my employment experience in a year from rock bottom to a summer internship. 

The start

Employment at SUNY JCC has been made simple with continuous support from the Global Learning and Career Services offices. When I arrived at Jamestown Community College, I began seeking on-campus employment without knowing the requirements to be employed. 

I inquired from Kerri and Rudi in Global Learning to know the steps necessary for employment, which they highlighted as firstly obtaining an employment letter from an on-campus employer secondly getting a social security card and finally a USA bank account. Coming from South Africa, I never knew what social security was and its importance moving forward outside of College. Without it, I couldn’t open a bank account and without a letter of employment, I couldn’t obtain a social security card. Essentially I needed to be hired. 

The next step

Following this I inquired from the Career Services office to get a list of on-campus employers hiring, a tutorial on using Handshake, a platform to find jobs and internships for College students, and help creating a resume. After I met with Annie at Career Services, I emailed the resident director, Xavier, hiring night desk assistants with my resume and expressed an interest in working for them, fortunately, I advanced to the following stage and was scheduled for an interview. 

With the encouragement of my brother and a few people I had begun conversing with, I aced my interview and received an employment letter, step 1 complete. With this job, I was scheduled for 6 hours per week.   

Applying for a social security card

The next step was to obtain a social security card. With my employment letter in hand, I was advised of the documents required to apply for a social security card. This was easily gathered as the letter of employment is usually the hardest item to attain. 

Rudi assisted me by transporting me to and from the social security offices and campus. Arriving I was nervous, as one would entering any government office. The thought that I didn’t bring the correct documentation sat heavily with me as I waited in line before my turn. Although I reviewed my documents numerous times and with the global I was still nervous. 

When it was my turn I was pleasantly surprised at how streamlined and friendly the process was and I was out in less than ten minutes. A week later I received my social security card in the mail. Step 2 completed. 

Setting up a bank account

As an international student with no car or a friend with a car the choice of which bank to use was pretty obvious, the nearest one to campus. One is a ten-minute walk from campus which isn’t bad. The consultant was cordial and was able to activate an account in under fifteen minutes. The final step is completed. 

The timeline

From idea to first day of work took roughly 3 weeks which is pretty quick for an international student fresh into the country and couldn’t have been done without the promptness and professionalism of the Global Learning office and Career Services at SUNY JCC, shoutout to Kerri, Rudi and Annie the goats fr.