Figuring it out: The First Year

Hey folks, I am Anuj Yadav, a student at NYU who has been in the United States for a year as an International student. I feel like I have learnt some things the hard way in this journey, things that no one guided me on and I had to figure out on my own with time. I also believe a lot of people did guide me on a lot of things but I am not sure I actively listened to them due to the success I had got in my life (big university admits). I am writing down extremely important things to remember as an International student, things that if you keep in mind now, may end up easing your life in the coming months. I am a regular student, no genius. Landed a few Internships and thus I feel I did something right. These are all from personal experiences, experiences of people around me and cover both personal and professional facets. We are away from home, away from family and friends and I would absolutely love it if these help even a single student in helping them get through the first few months which are usually the most difficult in an International student’s life. Some of these will be applicable to International students across the US, some just to NYU students. Anyway, I hope I can contribute in some way to your journey in the US. Here we go

1. Start applying NOW - I cannot stress this enough, start applying to summer internships now. This was one of the biggest mistakes I made after coming here. I started applying to internships in the month of December which was a bit too late. I was too occupied with getting settled in the US and making a life here to realize I am losing time. All major companies, bigger firms and good roles are done and dusted by December, January at the most. You will only increase your chances if you apply now and then keep applying till April-May if you do not land any at the bigger companies. One more thing, do not stop applying, my first internship offer came in a week before NYU closed off internship offer letter acceptances. So do not give up, no matter what. All major companies - Uber, Airbnb, Google, Meta, TikTok, Netflix, Salesforce and a hundred more have already opened their summer 2026 applications and applying by Mid-September may also be too late. Give yourself a week to get the best resume, search up “intern” in Handshake and LinkedIn and keep hammering those applications in.

   
   

2. Get a foot in the door - Cold emails do not work if you are too late to apply for the position but they will be mighty impactful if the job is new. Reach out to as many recruiters and people on the team as possible, no shame, no thinking. Make sure you have a “foot in the door”, which basically means you show how you fit into the role well, either mentioned in the email or work samples, hyper-personalized work if possible for dream roles and companies. For a long time I just reached out to people with no major pull in my emails when a senior executive asked me to include product work samples to show my prowess as a product manager. 

   
   

3. How to make connections - Everyone keeps saying “Make connections” again and again but no one tells you how exactly. Give yourself a target of talking to one person in a good position from a dream company every month. I will be extremely honest with you, I was insecure of my accent and under-confident when I first arrived. Doing these calls and meets was way out of my comfort zone and I never pursued them. Do not make that mistake, you will feel embarrassed once, twice, thrice but with practice you will understand that Americans are just like us, they appreciate hustle and hard work. I did not know what to talk about once but slowly got better. Ask them where they come from, make small talk, ask them about their career trajectory, what their daily work looks like and more. These meetings may not yield direct results in the form of a job or interview but are invaluable in developing your confidence and communication skills which is very important for International students and introverted kids like me.

   
   

4. Numbers game vs Personalization - One biggest thing that I failed to understand early on was hyper-personalizing my resume for dream roles at big companies. If you want that role, tailor your resume exactly for that role, mention the things asked for in the job description to beat the ATS. Applying with the same generic resume might not help except if you have a genius resume and work experience. I was always a “do less but do it right” guy and still ended up applying to 453 internships to get 4 interview calls despite 2 years of work experience. Find that right balance between personalization and the numbers game.

   
   

5. Imposter Syndrome - Do not self reject, maybe you are under-confident in your communication skills, your technical skills and you as a person. It’s not the truth, you are here because you have something special, you can learn anything, what is important is getting that interview. If anyone else can do that job, you can. Apply to the best companies and the best roles, just make sure you hit it with your best shot.

   
   

6. Be a learner - I know that you are on top of the world with huge admits across the US or maybe the world, you think you are a genius and things will come to you. Stop and listen to me carefully, things will come to you only if you work for them. You are smart but you need to understand that a million “smart” students are coming into the US every year and if I throw a stone in a park here it will fall on a student as smart, if not smarter than you. Be ready to learn and remind yourself that you worked extremely hard to get here and the journey does not end at this point. You did something right, maybe it was discipline, maybe unflinching hustle, maybe some brilliant work, remember to keep doing that here every day. Do not forget for a moment where you come from and what got you here. You are NOT the top 1%, be ready to learn from the ones who are. From small changes to your resume to coursework. If you are not a listener and a learner you are nothing. Humility takes you a long way.

   
   

7. Every day discipline - The biggest struggle for me personally in the US was giving myself a schedule. I worked a job in India which gave me a schedule: wake up at 8 and come back by 5. With no on-campus job and not allowed to work a job, I struggled with giving myself a schedule. Lectures for graduate students are 2-3 days a week for a few hours, it can get difficult for some students to stay productive and maintain a schedule every day, leading to irregular sleep patterns and the feeling of dread and unproductive failure. I find it difficult to make friends as well, it’s easier for some people to be a part of a group and thus be able to cope with life here but if you are someone like me, give yourself a daily job. I decided to wake up every morning, make my lunch, head to the college library, work on my skills and applications, workout and come back home - did wonders for me.

   
   

8. Financial Independence - I came here on a debt with little financial help from my family, I did not have a lot to fall back on and thus stayed stressed for a long time. I did not land an on-campus job for all of my first year, while people around me did. I think a lot of people have finances from family to fall back on but if you don’t, make sure you are financially stable through an on-campus job alongside looking for an internship. It makes a huge difference in your mental peace levels.

   
   

I am only one year into this journey with twice the amount of work remaining in looking for a full time role. Learnings will keep happening for me as well in the coming year. That is the kind of life International students live here, learn, unlearn and find your mojo. I am open to listening to any suggestions and inputs you have because I am professionally exactly where you are, with just a few more months under my belt. Also, reach out to me any time you need a friend, want to review your resume or get any inputs on the personal or professional front. I would love to be a brother to anyone looking for one. All the best!