Ways to Take Advantage of Career Connections While Studying Abroad

While employers believe that job-seekers with learning experience abroad are most likely to have the skills they seek in their employees, they do not value education abroad – or related international experience – for their own sake. Employers, however, are actively interested in whether or not a job applicant demonstrates that, as a result of their experience abroad, they have developed the skills and sensitivity that make them stand out as the strongest candidate for a specific job.

You may not have considered the career impact of your international experience when you decided to study abroad. However, why not take advantage of what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain extensive international experience and develop skills that employers may find valuable when looking for new employees!

So you need to be smart in preparing for networking and interacting with your host community in ways that might add value to your future job search after you return to campus. Here’s what you should do:

• Plan ahead before you go
• Craft a purposeful networking strategy
• Know what you need to know
• Identify networking prospects
• Use local resources: teachers, community resources, program alumni

Discuss these and other options before you leave the campus with your counselors and, if possible, with students who have already studied in your country. Develop an action plan for your service or volunteer experience that best meets your needs. Seek experience that can provide a kind of practical cross-cultural interaction that builds self-confidence in a cross-cultural environment; provides an opportunity to use a foreign language; creatively solve problems and fosters interpersonal relationships working alongside professionals from other cultures or ethnic backgrounds.

These types of experiences can be placed on your resume and may add significant value to your job search. They might reinforce your story in a job interview when you’re asked to discuss what you’ve learned while abroad or what you’ve learned about the community you’ve studied in.