Studying Abroad Can Boost Your Employment Chances
Studying abroad can boost your employment chances
Study abroad is one of the most exciting and challenging experiences you can partake in during your college years. Aside from the fun and excitement of traveling, sightseeing, and exploring new cultures and places, study abroad can add value to your career development and future employment chances.
Regardless of destination or duration, studying abroad is a life-changing experience for almost everyone who has chosen to take the international plunge.
Here are some of the benefits that studying abroad can have on your future career.
Strengthen imperative job skills
Time spent studying abroad provides you with the opportunity to strengthen many competencies that employers seek in potential candidates. Study abroad provides the experiences that will allow you to grow in your problem solving, adaptability, dependability and relationship skills. These characteristics are some of the most important for employers, and can all be obtained through your time spent touring international facilities, talking with global professionals, learning a new language, or completing academic projects while abroad.
Gain international connections
Although you may already be building a network within your chosen industry and your local community, it’s important to continuously gain new insights and advice about your field on a global scale.
Networking while abroad can help build connections that will provide you with a more “big picture” perspective on the industry, and a better understanding of the global job market. Forming connections with professionals on an international scale will make you more marketable and show future employers that you are willing and able to step outside of your comfort zone to form cross-cultural relationships and learn more about global job prospects.
Increase cross-cultural sensitivity
In today’s global marketplace, it’s important that employees know how to interact with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Studying abroad fosters cultural understanding in both a personal and professional manner, through teaching participants how to adapt to various cultural customs, conduct business while overcoming societal and cultural differences, and gain appreciation for diversity through living and studying in a foreign country. Learning cross-cultural behaviors while abroad can make you stand out to a future employer, especially if your chosen profession is marketing and brand management, who does business internationally.
Develop language competency
Employers look for candidates who can successfully communicate across cultural and language barriers, and studying abroad can be the perfect platform for growing in this area. Time spent abroad allows you to learn a new language, or practice using a language you may already know in a real-life setting.
Study abroad is a great opportunity to exercise your verbal and nonverbal communication skills and foreign language competencies, and shows employers that you can overcome the language barriers that are present in international business affairs.
Show you aren’t afraid to take risks
Participating in a study abroad program shows employers that you are willing to jump outside of your comfort zone and take risks in order to learn and grow as a individual and professional. Studying abroad shows possible employers that you have a curiosity about the world and can adapt to new situations, anticipate mishaps and be flexible in your job placement and assignments. Taking the risk of studying abroad will show that you can find success in any project that is thrown your way, even if it may not be particularly familiar or comfortable for you!