Jobs Clinic
2013 Jobs Clinic for International Students: Saturday, April 6th (8:30-4:00)
International students and scholars are invited to participate in UAB’s annual Jobs Clinic. This year’s Jobs Clinic will take place on Saturday, April 6, 2013, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, in the Education Building, Room 150. The Education Building is located at 901 13th Street South.
During this free one-day clinic, international participants improve their interviewing skills by acquiring linguistic and cultural competencies needed for a successful job search. They learn to prepare application materials, make good first impressions, answer difficult questions, and engage in "small talk" situations. The main “small talk” situation is a self-pay lunch where participants practice talking business over a meal. Participants also have the opportunity to participate in mock interviews, either via Skype or face-to-face.
Participants in UAB’s Jobs Clinic come from all over the world. Most are currently completing graduate degrees or post-doctoral studies at UAB. They represent a wide range of specializations in health-related professions (for example: dentistry, genetics, nursing, nutrition, public health, radiology, …) and in non-health professions (for example: biochemistry, business administration, communication management, chemical engineering, …).
To participate in the Jobs Clinic, potential participants should submit an application by March 29th.
Additional information is available by emailing Dr. Susan Olmstead-Wang:
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UAB’s First Jobs Clinic
UAB's first Jobs Clinic for international students and scholars took place on Saturday, April 16, 2011. It was organized and implemented by students in UAB's Master of Arts in Education (MAEd) program for the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL). This inaugural Jobs Clinic was attended by 15 participants who ranged in age from 25 to 39. These students and scholars came from Brazil, China, Colombia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Thailand. They represented the following areas of study: civil and materials engineering, nursing, pathology, genetics, communication management, and business administration.
During this first Jobs Clinic, the international students and scholars attended four presentations that were designed and delivered by MAEd/ESL students as a required course project. The Jobs Clinic participants also engaged in numerous "small talk" practice conversations. The main “small talk” opportunity was a self-pay lunch at which participants practiced talking business over a meal. They also had an opportunity to participate in a mock interview, via Skype. An MAEd/ESL student served as the interview facilitator and also observed the participant while being interviewed. Another MAEd/ESL student sat in different room and served as the interviewer. Immediately following this mock interview, both of the MAEd/ESL students provided constructive feedback to the Jobs Clinic participant. At the end of the day, participants completed an evaluation form and provided suggestions to improve the Jobs Clinic for future implementation.
Marketing: Jobs Clinic Flyer in PDF format | Jobs Clinic Flyer in Word format
Planning: Schedule | Registration form | Tasks to be done on the day of the Jobs Clinic
Materials: "How to Prepare for Your Interview" Handout | "Resume Writing" Lesson Plan & Handout
"Tips for Creating a Resume" Power Point
Purpose of a Jobs Clinic
For international students and scholars, the pressure of interviewing for a job is often compounded by anxiety over linguistic ability, maintaining legal status and the cultural “mores” of interviewing in the United States. The UAB Jobs Clinic serves international students and scholars by helping them to prepare for job interviews. Its main purpose is to address pressures faced by internationals when doing job interviews within the cultural context of the United States. Another purpose of this Jobs Clinic is to provide MAEd/ESL students with an authentic opportunity for teaching linguistic and cultural competencies to international students.
The learning outcomes of the Jobs Clinic are as follows:
- Acquiring the linguistic skills necessary for an effective job search
- Preparing documents needed for job applications and interviews
- Placing interview skills within the cultural context of the U.S. workplace
- Writing a professional resume/CV
- Representing individual strengths with appropriate clarity and cultural sensitivity
- Inserting comments appropriately within a flowing conversation
- Demystifying the interview process
- Identifying techniques to practice during the mock interviews
- Practicing phone or Skype interviews
- Gaining confidence with using technology during the interview process
2012 International TESOL Convention
Experiences from UAB's Jobs Clinic were shared at the 2012 International TESOL Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Orchestrating a Job Search Clinic for International Students and Scholars was presented by Helen Dolive, Kent Hamilton, Kristi Shaw-Saleh, and Susie Olmstead-Wang. Their presentation focused on creating a jobs clinic for international students and scholars to develop interview skills, represent strengths with appropriate clarity and cultural sensitivity, insert comments into a flowing conversation, and negotiate the pragmatics of a U.S. job interview. This presentation also included strategies for developing materials, planning, marketing and conducting the clinic, as well as tips on how to develop a similar program at other institutions.
Orchestrating a Jobs Search Clinic handout Orchestrating a Jobs Search PowerPoint