How can you maximize the career benefits of study abroad?

STUDY ABROAD &

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Making the most of study abroad:

a guide for the career-minded student

Get Ready to Rock the Job Market

 The goal of this Guide is to provide students with a
framework to understand the impact and added
value of study abroad for their career development.

Regardless of duration or destination, we believe

students will benefit from considering the career
implications of their decision to study abroad.

Contents
1- The Career Implications of Study Abroad
2- The Career Connection
Do Employers Value Study Abroad Experience?
3- Deciding to Study Abroad in a Purposeful Way
4- Taking Advantage of Career Connections While Abroad
5- Upon Return to Campus: How to Effectively Market
Your Study Abroad Experience to Employers
6- Strengthening Your Career Toolkit:
Articulating Newly Acquired Skills & Competencies
 1- The Career Implications of Study Abroad
Study abroad is one of the most exciting and challenging experiences you will have
during your college years. It may be the first time you will live in another culture, travel
internationally, or learn a foreign language. It has the potential to provide you with a
fresh outlook and unique perspective on a career you’ve been thinking about after
graduation. However, even if your career goals are not clear, studying abroad has the
potential to clarify the direction you’d like to take, give you a new perspective on your
academic work, and strengthen skills that will be of benefit to you when you begin
your job search in your senior year.

Given the widely accepted impact of globalization on the U.S. economy and in light of
the new skills in demand by businesses, nonprofits, and government, it’s to your
advantage to consider the career implications of what may be a once-in-a-lifetime
educational experience. Study abroad will provide a singular opportunity for you to
set yourself apart from other job seekers and to build valuable new intercultural skills
and competencies.

Global political and economic forces are re-shaping, if not adding a new dimension to,
the rationale for study abroad.

Too often, campus efforts to “internationalize” focus on the academic logistics of

supporting study abroad opportunities. There is not always a careful and intentional
approach taken to providing an integrated effort to harmonize student support
services - principally between the study abroad and career service offices - to guide a
student on the best way to make their decision to study abroad and become aware of
how the experience may impact their career development.

To maximize the potential value of study abroad, we think it’s essential that you make
the decision to study abroad with a sense of purposefulness as you and your family
weigh the costs and consider the type of program and the location.
For example, how will the experience be integrated into your major or field of study?
Provide immersion in language study? Outside the classroom, what options are there
for experiential learning through volunteering or an internship? Are there alumni living
and working in the host city whom you can meet to discuss your career interests? We
think you should discuss these and many other questions either with a study abroad
advisor or career services counselor.

While you may not have a clear career direction at the time you decide to study
abroad, research shows that the experience is viewed as very important years later in
shaping career mobility and influencing the choice of graduate study or work abroad.

So let’s get started in helping you think through the decision you’re about to make and
how best to take advantage of this unique opportunity to study in another part of the
world!

2- The Career Connection

Do Employers Value Study Abroad Experience?

This may not be obvious, but the answer is, Yes, they do! Of course, if you’re planning
to work for an international NGO or a multinational corporation, your international
experiences may well be part of the job description and overall requirements for
employment. But, in most cases, regardless of the sector or field, there are important
tangible benefits to your study abroad experience, particularly if you understand how
best to market your skills and competencies.
“What do international employers really look for in employees and what skills will be
needed by professionals to perform successfully in the global marketplace? A study
commissioned by the College Placement Council Foundation surveyed 32 international
employers and colleges to determine what international employers seek in prospective
employees. The three most important skills were cognitive skills, social skills, and
“personal traits.” Problem-solving ability, decision making, and knowing how to learn
are highly prized generic skills. Social skills were described as the ability to work
effectively in group settings, particularly with diverse populations. Personal traits
mentioned frequently included flexibility, adaptability, and the capacity to be
innovative.”
—Duke University Career Center

Job applicants with international experience will stand out for many reasons,
including the following:

Today’s global marketplace demands increased adaptability, cross-cultural

sensitivity, political awareness, and intellectual flexibility.
Globalization’s impact on workers and the workplace has leaped across national
borders and transcends cultures.
Employers, especially those doing business internationally, are interested in
whether or not a job applicant demonstrates they have developed the requisite
skills and sensitivity that make them stand out as the strongest candidate for a
particular job.

Numerous studies confirm the value that employers place upon applicants who have
international experience. But what employers are specifically looking for are
candidates who have articulated the lessons that were learned and the intercultural
and interpersonal skills that were strengthened as a result of studying abroad.
For example, in a widely cited study conducted by the RAND Corporation in 2003,
there were five characteristics shown to make a successful career professional in an
international corporation:

General cognitive skills (problem solving, analytic ability)

Interpersonal and relationship skills
Tolerance for ambiguity and adaptability
Cross-cultural competency (ability to work well in different cultures and with
people from different backgrounds)
Personal traits (e.g. character, self-reliance, dependability)

It’s easy to see why time spent studying abroad (especially if the country is in the
non-Western world where the challenges are greater in terms of language and culture
differences) can provide you with the capacity to build and strengthen the above
skills and competencies. Coupled with other out-of-classroom experiences such as
home stays, travel, work, or internships, the entire experience offers you an
unparalleled opportunity to create a “toolkit” of competencies that will impress an
employer and help you stand apart from other job applicants.

“Looking at my past employers, the skills that eventually landed me the position were
not necessarily the ones listed in the desired qualifications. Instead, unique features
such as study abroad , writing skills and extracurricular activities have been real selling
points for employers…”
—What’s My Competitive Advantage?
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 24, 2011

“When talking about your study abroad experience, always focus on specific
interactions, moments, people and events instead of talking generically about how
valuable the overall experience was."
—Help Employers See the Value of Your Study Abroad Experience,
Kelly Cuene,
www.studentbranding.com
 3- Deciding to Study Abroad in a Purposeful Way
Your ability to interpret the value of an education abroad experience to an employer
will be easier if your decision to go abroad is linked to your career goals. The
challenge to both education abroad and career advisors is to proactively assist you to
take full advantage of your time overseas. This requires the concerted collaboration
of faculty and career and study abroad advisors prior to the start of your overseas
sojourn.

“Balancing multiple demands [on campus] is tough, especially when stakeholder goals
are in conflict. But adding one more goal—the goal of enhancing career advantage -
may actually help. That’s because, according to the Boston education market research
firm Eduventures, incoming freshmen perceive professional preparation as one of the
leading drivers of a college’s educational value. Once students recognize that
education abroad can provide multiple avenues to achieving professional development
goals, they may be more likely to view their time away with a seriousness they may not
currently have. And an engaged student abroad will likely be a better student in the
classroom.”
—“The Career Value of Education Abroad”
Sheila Curran
NAFSA International Educator
Nov-Dec 2007

Take the initiative! Whether it takes place in one-on-one advising discussions or

within a structured pre-departure seminar or course, you will benefit from the
opportunity to reflect upon your general reasons for studying abroad; your decision to
study in a particular country in English or in another language; and your interest in
non-classroom experiences such as voluntary service, internships, and travel within
or beyond the region of your study abroad program.

What else can you do to assess the “fit” of a program with your career or academic
goals as you consider your options to study abroad?
 Ask the study abroad office for the names of students - or alumni - who recently
participated in the program you’re considering. Write them to get a first-hand glimpse
of a program and to review how, with hindsight, they might have been better prepared
for the experience or taken greater advantage of the program in terms of their career
aspirations.
Prepare a list of important questions to review with both a study abroad advisor
and a career counselor. Giving careful consideration to these questions before you
depart will focus your decision-making in-country and sharpen your thinking about
how the program you’re looking at best meets your needs.

These questions will get you started:

How will the study abroad experience add valuable new skills to your presentation
of interests and career goals on your resumé? Work on this document before you
leave campus! It will be much easier to edit upon your return home.
Is improving your language skills an important goal?
Do you value as much immersion as possible in the local culture? Would living
in a family home stay, instead of a residence hall, be important?
Would you have an opportunity for a part-time internship (or full-time in the
summer if you study abroad in Spring semester) or other means of experiential
learning such as a volunteer or service-learning project?
What opportunities are there for travel outside your home city? What are your
options for either individual or group experiences on your own or as part of
the program?
Is it important to you that the program offer an opportunity for reflection to
take stock of how you’re achieving your personal, academic, and career goals?
How and when does this take place?

If your campus provides a pre-departure workshop for students studying abroad, you
will have the chance to consider these questions. If not, it will be useful for you to
discuss them with an advisor. Write down your answers to these and other important
questions and take them with you; this will allow you to review how well you’re
meeting your goals at different times throughout your time abroad.
4- Taking Advantage of Career Connections While Abroad
As we said earlier, it’s important for you to keep in mind ways in which you can
continue to build career connections throughout your time abroad. Why? It’s a unique
opportunity to practice and improve your communication skills; learn the value of
professional networking; and gain a better understanding about the global job market
by investigating conditions in the country, community, and region in which you’re
studying.

Here are a few tips on how you can brush up on your skills and gain valuable career
insights:

Communications
Use the list of alumni you obtained on your campus to set up appointments for
“informational” interviews (best if you’ve discussed this with your career advisor
before leaving!). Introduce yourself and request a brief meeting to review the
career field they’re in, the current state of the job market in the field, how their work
is or is not linked to their undergraduate or graduate studies, and what advantages
they see in working abroad.

Keep track of your contacts and the outcomes of all your planned and unplanned
meetings with alumni, faculty, and other ex-patriate professionals. If you have an
interest in pursuing work in their field, this contact list will be invaluable when you
return home and want to follow up with individuals.

If a homestay is part of your program, use this opportunity to learn about the
culture, economics, and politics of your local community. Conducting these
conversations will make you a better informed person when you’re meeting with
other professionals.
Networking
This is the process of identifying contacts (including U.S. and international faculty,
staff, and fellow students) who you believe can contribute to your knowledge and
understanding of the local job market or sector you are interested in. Even if this is
not yet clear to you, it’s important to learn and practice the art of discussing your
career interests with others.

Conducting these discussions is what is referred to as an “informational interview.”

This makes it sound a bit more formal than it is - you’re usually enjoying a casual, but
focused, conversation with someone willing to share his or her knowledge and
experience of an industry or career field with you.

Below is an example of the type of dialogue you can expect to have. Many successful
professionals have changed their career focus, and you can gain valuable insights by
asking someone:

“Did you have a clear idea of your career goals in college?” or, “Did you think
going abroad would help you find a job after graduation?”

You might be surprised at how this opens up a conversation. You can then follow up
with:

“Looking back, how did your study abroad experience impact your career
direction?

To gain insights into a specific field or sector, you might ask these questions:

“Is the work you’re doing now what you expected to be doing with your degree
and based on the experiences you had through college?”
“Did you have a mentor or close colleague who helped you move forward early
in your career?
 “How have you used the skills and competencies you gained through studying
abroad - or any other type of international experience - in your career?”
“What have been the most important lessons you learned from your time abroad
that have helped you in your professional life?”

You may already have started to build such a network in your home community and
on campus. The point is to keep thinking about ways to gain new insights and advice
while abroad. If you do have a clear career goal, try to arrange a visit to a local
employer in your field in order to discuss their business and hiring practices and
explore the differences in organizational life within the workplace.

5- Upon Return to Campus: How to Effectively Market Your

Study Abroad Experience to Employers
The majority of students study abroad during their sophomore or junior years. This
means that you will have at least one, and perhaps two, years to “unpack” your study
abroad experience upon returning to campus. This is enough time to clarify how your
international experience could influence your career goals and impact your job search
strategy.

It is up to you to make the case and demonstrate the link between your study abroad
experience and the specific skills valued by the company or organization you want to
work for.

The following are suggested steps you can take upon return to campus:
Visit a career services advisor to revise and edit your resumé to incorporate the
new interpersonal skills and intercultural competencies that you strengthened
while abroad.
Discuss ways to strengthen your cover letter to articulate how your study abroad
experience is an asset for an employer.
Participate in campus or community programs that provide opportunities to
practice articulating what you learned and the steps you took to gain or
strengthen intercultural and professional skills.
 Discuss your international experience with international students from the
country in which you studied to gain a fresh perspective on the culture and
values of that society.

As you prepare to conduct your job search, re-write your resumé, develop a cover
letter, and prepare for interviews, keep in mind the qualities and skills that employers
expect of a candidate who had studied abroad. These would include:

Strong problem solving skills and keen analytic ability

Tolerance for ambiguity and ability to adapt in new environments
Interpersonal communications skills
Cross-cultural competencies (could include language skills and ability to work
well in different cultural settings)
Personal traits such as character, self-reliance, and dependability

6- Strengthening Your Career Toolkit: Articulating Newly

Acquired Skills & Competencies

Crafting an Effective Resumé

What is a resumé?
It’s a marketing tool and often the first way that you “introduce” yourself to an
employer or someone whom you’re asking for an informational interview.
It’s an organic or dynamic document that will change and evolve over the course
of your career. It’s important to remember that it needs to change as you gain
new skills and experience – or as you change the course of your career after
graduation.

Before writing your resumé, you need to reflect upon the international skills and
competencies you have gained from your study abroad experience. As we suggested
earlier, the time to consider how your experience “fits” into your resumé is before you
leave campus. Whether or not you visit a career counselor before departure, you do
your return.
want to make an appointment to see an advisor upon your return.

While there are generally accepted formats for a resumé, it’s best to discuss your
document with a career services counselor or advisor who understands your specific
academic program and career interests or preferences.

Audit your time abroad to highlight professional experiences and new intercultural
competencies, and be prepared to describe them - using specific language in your
resume. You will need to develop a number of unique and individualized bullet points
that show specific ways in which you gained skills and competencies during your
study abroad experience.

An employer will not automatically “see” what may be very obvious to you about a
skill or an experience you had while studying abroad!

It’s up to you to showcase and articulate the value of critical incidents, classroom work,
community engagement, or international travel - and to be able to discuss why any or
all of these activities make you a strong candidate for a particular job assignment in an
organization or company.

Tips:
Keep it simple.
Make no mistakes in spelling or documentation of dates, places, or roles.
Write specific as opposed to overly general bullet statements - no longer than
two sentences as illustrated below.
Make it no longer than one page in length at this stage of your life.

Other types of headers that will showcase your overseas experience and related
accomplishments on your home campus include, for example:
Cross-Cultural Campus Involvement
Foreign Languages
Countries Visited
Volunteer Service
Here are examples of the type of thought-provoking phrases you might use to craft
bullet statements about different international experiences on your resumé:

Strengthened Cross-Cultural Skills:

Adapted to cultural differences and customs through daily interaction with my
host family over a period of 4 months.
Overcame societal differences and fostered cultural understanding through a
short-term work experience at a local business.
Gained a greater appreciation for diversity and cultural differences through
voluntary service experience at a local school.

Developed Language Competency/Communication Skills

Passed proficiency examination in [name of language] or obtained certificate
for intensive language study at [name of college or institute].
Cultivated language and communication skills through sustained dialogue with
my host family and others whom I met in my host community.
Learned to use nonverbal and verbal communication to overcome language
barriers.

Flexibility/Risk-Taking
Learned how to adapt to unanticipated situations and improvise new plans due
to periodic travel mishaps and unexpected events.
Modified my way of life to maximize exposure and opportunities for learning
in my local community.

Presenting Skills & Competencies in a Cover Letter

A cover letter complements the experiences outlined on your resume. It should not
replicate the same information in a prose style format. It should highlight the
attributes that set you apart from other candidates! One such attribute is your
international experience while you studied abroad.
The cover letter should demonstrate to an employer - in as explicit language as
possible - why you possess the skills and experiences that are a match for the
requirements of the job.

Tips:
Keep it to one page
Write it in a formal business style
Even if it’s not evident that the job requires international experience, you can
highlight appropriate transferable skills gained through your time abroad (e.g:,
independence, tolerance, self-confidence, problem-solving skills, ability to adapt
in different environments and to work in harmony with people of differing values
and backgrounds)
If the job is with an international NGO or a multinational company doing business
in the part of the world where you studied, then the direct value of all your
international and intercultural skills is more obvious - but you still need to be
specific in describing how your studies, skills, and competencies will be of value
in your performance on the job.

Articulating Skills & Competencies in an Interview

A good interview is about telling a good story. It’s about weaving a narrative in
response to questions about your ability to do a job, carry out your duties, and adapt
to the organization and its expectations of staff.

When speaking to employers, address the value of both the general and the specific
skills you developed while studying abroad. It’s important not to assume that the
interviewer will realize how your international experience is relevant to your candidacy.

Examples might include: You are adept at managing change; you are independent
and have self-discipline while being sensitive to the needs of others. Dozens of work-
related characteristics are developed abroad, which you can discuss in your
interview: resourcefulness, versatility, persistence, an observant and calm demeanor,
diligence, multifaceted skills in communications, broad and strategic thinking, an
ability to deal with ambiguities, courage, an ability to take on challenging work,
open-mindedness, flexibility, resourcefulness, tact, listening and observing skills, an
ability to deal with stress, sense of humor, awareness of interpersonal politics,
respect for protocol and hierarchy, loyalty, and tenacity.

An interviewer may provide you with an opportunity to tell a story based upon your
international experience and your answers to any question should not be too lengthy.
Questions may be posed like these:

What did you learn about yourself as a result of your study abroad experience?
Why did you choose to study in [name of country]? Why was it important to you?
How did you get engaged in the local culture outside the classroom?
Can you describe a time when you had to change your behavior to accommodate
or adjust to different local conditions?

Tips:
Practice - practice - practice!
Work with your career services office to arrange a mock interview with an
alumnus ideally someone who studied abroad!
Craft examples to share in the interview that illustrate how you gained a specific
interpersonal or intercultural skill during your study abroad experience.

Resources
“Building Connections: Your Study Abroad Experience & Your Career.”
SUNYBinghamton.
www2.binghamton.edu/career-development-center/students/
undergraduate/international-opportunities/pdf/Building%20
Connections_Study%20Abroad%20and%20Your%20Career.pdf

“International Opportunities, Industry-Specific Information.” Duke University

Career Center. Excellent reference tool showing how to interpret skills and
competencies in relation to the needs of employers in different fields. Terrific
links to organizations.
www.studentaffairs.duke.edu/career/resources/international-ops
 Resources
“Resume Tips for Your International Experience.” University of Minnesota
Learning Abroad Center.
www.umabroad.umn.edu/assets/files/PDFs/students/returnedStudents/
resumeTips.pdf

Citron, James L., and Vija G. Mendelson. “Coming Home: Relationships,

Roots and Unpacking.” Abroad View. Essay on the challenges and
opportunities of re-adjusting upon returning to campus.
www.abroadview.org/return/citron_mendelson.htm

Cuene, Kelly. “Help Employers See the Value of Your Study Abroad
Experience.” Student Branding Blog. 28 Oct. 2009.
www.studentbranding.com/help-employers-see-the-value-of-your-studyabroad-
experience/

Curran, Sheila. “The Other Side of Education Abroad: Same City, Different
Results.” International Educator 16.6 (2007). NAFSA: Association of
International Educators. An essay depicting different outcomes in a job
interview that were a result of two different approaches to the same study
abroad experience.
www.nafsa.org/publication.sec/periodicals/international_educator_1/
ie_nov_dec_2007/web_extra_other_side/

Gardner, Phil, Linda Gross, and Inge Steglitz. “Unpacking Your Study Abroad
Experience: Critical Reflection for Workplace Competencies.” Collegiate
Employment Research Institute, Michigan State University, CERI Research Brief
1-2008. Excellent model of a seminar for returning students to assist them to
make sense of their experience abroad, and to understand how to articulate
skills learned.
www.studyabroad.isp.msu.edu/people/unpacking_brief.pdf
 Resources
Matherly , Cheryl, and William Nolting. “Career Benefits: Understanding &
Articulating the Skills you Gained Abroad.” Abroad View 10:1 (2007).

Mueller, Sherry, and Mark Overmann. Working World: Careers in

International Education, Exchange and Development. Georgetown University
Press, 2008. The best volume outlining development of career pathways in
these fields. Excellent advice and terrific professional profiles of leaders in
each field who respond candidly to questions about their success and the
influences in their lives.

Paul, Nancy. “Global Competency Quick Reference Guide.” Career

Development Center at Binghamton University, State University of New York.
Excellent reference tool to assist students to understand the meaning of
“global competency” and how their experience abroad translates on a resumé,
in a cover letter, and during a job interview.
www2.binghamton.edu/career-development-center/quick-
referenceguides/global%20competency.pdf

Tillman, Martin, Ed. “Impact of Education Abroad on Career Development:

Volume 1.”American Institute For Foreign Study.
www.aifsabroad.com/advisors/pdf/Impact_of_Education_AbroadI.pdf

Tillman, Martin. “The Right Tool for the Job.” International Educator 14.4
(2005). NAFSA: Association of International Educators. An essay discussing
the importance of focusing on the development of a career portfolio as an
undergraduate; from the perspective of a career advisor preparing graduate
students to enter the workplace.
www.nafsa.org/_/File/_/InternationalEducator/FrontLinesJulAug05.pdf

Written by: Martin Tillman