How can international students secure a "Cisco Graduate Program" role in the US or Europe?

All answers to this question.

Cisco is historically very friendly toward international talent, especially for technical roles. In the US, they are one of the top H1-B sponsors. To stand out, you need to target "High-Impact" teams. Currently, the Product and Engineering and Applied AI teams have the highest headcount and the most leverage for sponsorship. Make sure your resume highlights specific experience with distributed systems, Kubernetes, or ML Ops. If you can land an internship first, your chances of a full-time "return offer" with sponsorship are significantly higher. Cisco tends to "grow their own" talent through the intern-to-grad pipeline.

   Answered 2024-01-07 by Nancy Turner

That’s encouraging! But with the current economic climate, have you seen a slowdown in "Greenfield" hiring for international students? It feels like many companies are prioritizing domestic candidates to save on legal costs. Does Cisco have a "list" of target universities that they prioritize for their graduate programs, and if I’m not at a "Tier 1" school, do I even have a shot through the standard portal?

   Answered 2024-01-10 by George Harris

• George, while they do have "Target Schools," Cisco is surprisingly meritocratic. I know several people from mid-tier state schools who got in by winning a Cisco NetAcad competition or having a killer GitHub. My advice for an international student: don't just apply online. Find a "Technical Recruiter" or "University Relations" lead on LinkedIn and share a specific project you built using Cisco APIs (DevNet). Also, focus on the "Service Provider" or "Security" domains—these are chronically understaffed and more likely to sponsor a "Rockstar" international candidate than a generalist role.

     Commented 2024-01-11 by Charles King

Leverage the "Cisco Live" events. They often have career fairs or networking sessions specifically for students. It's the best way to get a face-to-face (or screen-to-screen) connection with a hiring manager.

   Answered 2024-01-13 by Patricia King

• Patricia is right. Getting a referral from someone you met at a Cisco event is worth 100 cold applications. I did exactly that to land my first role here as an international grad.

     Commented 2024-01-15 by Nancy Turner