Quick question for anyone who’s done Day 1 CPT or had gaps while job hunting—how did you talk about that in future interviews?
I’m thinking about going the CPT route just to stay here and keep working, but I’m a little worried about how it’ll look down the road. Like, do recruiters get why international students do this, or does it come off as a red flag?
Would love to hear how you explained it or if it ever caused issues later on. Trying to think long-term here.
big company hr ususally know. small company requires a lot of explanation. i would try to avoid talking about it until the last round. some people say you should be upfront about day 1 cpt, but then, you may lose the oppertunities to show your ability and likebility at all.
I only list my 1st master, bring it up when ppl ask about visa stuff. I think mentioning on linkedin and resume has no help at all, wouldn’t have any networking value either
I usually keep it super simple. I just tell them there’s no sponsorship needed. and CPT is entirely between me and the school, so it doesn’t cost the company anything. Then I say I only need to apply for the work permit through my university, and I’ll keep them posted every step of the way.
When I changed jobs during Day 1 CPT, 2 out of the 3 companies I interviewed knew about Day 1 CPT.
I would disclose the sponsorship and CPT situation to HR as soon as I can, some companies don’t know it and are not willing to push through. Then save some time and move on.
For those companies don’t know Day 1 CPT and don’t seem to completely oppose it. Your key is to have references and clear and easy-to-understand guide ready to send to HR when they ask, “how would that work?”
Again, CPT is lawfully issued by accredited us institution that follow the SEVP guideline, you just need to prove it, via a easy to understand way, that working for them using CPT is a common practice and they should have zero concern about.