Many students choose to study abroad for a variety of reasons: to increase foreign language skills, to experience another culture, the opportunity for further travel, etc. However, many times when I coach students on their career development, they haven’t taken time to consider how studying abroad could help advance their career. Which in my experience is a real missed opportunity to showcase diverse skills and knowledge! Therefore in this post I will go over:
- How study abroad helps your career development
- Important career factors to consider: before you go abroad, while you’re there, and when your return
How study abroad helps your career development:
Developing your Career Plan Around Study Abroad:
Before You Go:
- Do a walk-in résumé critique (Walk ins 10am-5pm M-F)
- Meet with a career consultant (Walk ins 12-4pm M-F)
- Develop your plan for making the most of your time abroad
- If you’re going to be searching for jobs or internships for when you return discuss how you can prepare before you leave
While You’re Abroad:
- Seek out experiential learning opportunities
- Target experiences that will help skill development
- See out immersion experiences where you can really get outside of your comfort zone
- Use the Center for Career Development while abroad
- We offer phone, email or skype appointments to UConn students studying abroad
- Apply to internships while abroad
- Add your skype address to your résumé and make a note on your cover letter that you are currently studying abroad but are available for interviews over the phone or via skype
When You Return:
- Reflect on your experience and the skills you gained
- Attend Education Abroad sessions to debrief your experience
- Meet with a career consultant
- Discuss changes to your career plan based on new experiences
- Develop next steps for applying to internships, jobs, or graduate school
- Update career materials
- Résumé
- Practice new elevator pitch
- Practice talking about your study abroad experience in interviews
