Hey folks,
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 guess I’m more worried about how it will look on my resume to have employment gaps and multiple master degrees.
you don’t have to list all the masters tbh, just put the ones that you think are most relevant
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
If I weren’t employed throughout the program, and I don’t list the program on my resume, would the gap on my resume look worse?
Totally get the concern — I had the same thought when I went the CPT route.
When it came up in interviews, I kept it simple:
I explained that as an international student, I needed CPT to maintain legal work authorization while continuing my studies.
I focused on the work experience itself — what I contributed, what I learned — not the visa logistics.
Most recruiters didn’t dig deep into the CPT part. As long as your story is consistent and your skills/impact are clear, it’s rarely an issue.
Gaps are similar — just be honest, show what you did during that time (learning, job searching, volunteering, etc.).
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.
Thanks everyone for the advice! Having these strategies really helps ease some of my anxiety in terms of going the CPT route.
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.