Using Your Study Abroad Experience to Find a Job

If you’re like most students, chances are you’re on a job hunt. Whether you’re looking to secure a summer job, internship, or even your first “real life” job, the trick to standing out to potential employers is all about learning how to speak their language.

Sure, it’s easy to write on your resume that you “studied business management in China”, but most employers will glaze right over that. In order to catch the employer’s attention it’s essential that you clearly illustrate the tangible skills and competencies you learned while studying abroad.

Just think, has studying abroad taught you independence? Flexibility? Perseverance? Has it made you understand and appreciate other perspectives? Have you become more open minded or has it taught you how to adapt to new environments quickly? Certainly you have at least learned time management skills and improved your cross-cultural communication.

Showcasing study abroad on your resume is easy enough, but you’ll need to be ready to further explain your experience in an interview. The best way to get comfortable with talking about your experience is to practice; we have a list of sample interview questions to get you started. If you’d like more information on how to answer those questions, check out the following video:

How To Use Study Abroad in an Interview

Looking for even more information on using your study abroad experience to land a job? Check out these articles:

• Effective Marketing of Your Study Abroad Experience to Employers
• Navigating the Job Search after Study Abroad
• Featuring Study Abroad in your Cover Letter