Spring Break
Study abroad expands horizons as well as career options
Maiko Michishita
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News
Study abroad experience makes a student stand out among other candidates on a resume and in a job interview.
Study abroad programs attract students for not only gaining academic outcomes but also improving their personal skills such as broad global awareness, independency, self-reliance and diversity tolerance, which employers look for as global work force.
"The situation we are in has helped students understand the value of studying abroad," said DeDe Long, the director of the Study Abroad office. Because there is much discussion about the global market place, even in this difficult financial period, it will increase students' interest in studying abroad to show employers positive outcomes out of their experience.
Students who studied abroad and are applying for jobs told Long that employers always asked their international experience that provided good conversations during the interviews, she said.
"Students are now starting to see study abroad as a part of their degree programs not as something that they would do for extra curriculum," Long said. "It [Studying abroad] is very much a curricula."
The recent financial situation makes employers hesitant to hire as many graduates as before. Employers hired about 22 percent fewer graduates from last year, according to the Job Outlook 2009 Spring Update by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
The recent economy left seniors nervous about getting a job, too. About three of five surveyed graduating seniors surveyed are worried about finding a job after they graduate, according to the 2009 NACE Graduating Student Survey.
Students who studied abroad can tell employers many positive characteristics, Long said. For example, by telling what they did while studying abroad, they show their ability to take care of themselves in a different environment, to be aware of not just their own world but outside world.
"It's a major strength," she said. "The awareness of how (studying abroad) increases students' competitiveness will continue to go up."
Study abroad programs attract students for not only gaining academic outcomes but also improving their personal skills such as broad global awareness, independency, self-reliance and diversity tolerance, which employers look for as global work force.
"The situation we are in has helped students understand the value of studying abroad," said DeDe Long, the director of the Study Abroad office. Because there is much discussion about the global market place, even in this difficult financial period, it will increase students' interest in studying abroad to show employers positive outcomes out of their experience.
Students who studied abroad and are applying for jobs told Long that employers always asked their international experience that provided good conversations during the interviews, she said.
"Students are now starting to see study abroad as a part of their degree programs not as something that they would do for extra curriculum," Long said. "It [Studying abroad] is very much a curricula."
The recent financial situation makes employers hesitant to hire as many graduates as before. Employers hired about 22 percent fewer graduates from last year, according to the Job Outlook 2009 Spring Update by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
The recent economy left seniors nervous about getting a job, too. About three of five surveyed graduating seniors surveyed are worried about finding a job after they graduate, according to the 2009 NACE Graduating Student Survey.
Students who studied abroad can tell employers many positive characteristics, Long said. For example, by telling what they did while studying abroad, they show their ability to take care of themselves in a different environment, to be aware of not just their own world but outside world.
"It's a major strength," she said. "The awareness of how (studying abroad) increases students' competitiveness will continue to go up."
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