career prep
Preparing for your future is crucial. Source: Kyle Gregory Devaras/Unsplash

As an international student enrolled in the US, you’ll likely want to boost your chances of securing a graduate job. Luckily for you, a brand-new opportunity could help you do just that – and you won’t even have to fork out a dime towards the cost!

This week, educational organisation Udacity revealed plans to release 12 career courses for free to recent graduates hoping to secure a job in the US, a strategy that will be run in partnership with Google.

Helping students with a range of topics, the new courses will cover tricky subjects such as interview skills, navigating and strengthening their LinkedIn profiles and networks, writing a persuasive cover letter, sprucing up their résumés and more.

There are even a number of technical topics, including “data structures and algorithms in Python”, all to do with coding. There’s also a course available on how to use Swift for technical interviews.

“This next generation of talent will enter the job market possessing a diverse range of skills, but facing a lot of competition, and a rapidly-shifting hiring landscape,” Kathleen Mullaney Udacity VP of Careers wrote on the Udacity blog, explaining the need for the courses.

Together, Google and Udacity launched one of the courses, “networking for career success”, back in March 2018 as a trial run for 60,000 Google Grow scholars. This programme now forms part of the 12 courses launching in the near future.

Students are “going to need every resource they can get to make sure they’re able to compete successfully for available roles,” Mullaney said.

This is especially true of international students who will be competing against US nationals for available positions.

But it’s not just students and recent graduates who will benefit. The courses will also be available to those midway through their careers, hoping to change direction.

“Mid-career professionals pursuing career change, older workers returning to the workforce, and anyone looking ahead to a job search, will find these courses valuable as well,” Mullaney explained.

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