Study Abroad Success: Consider Career Goals

Many of us in higher education work to draw a direct line between college and employment. In that process there are some interesting paths, one of which is that of the international student. Every year millions of people decide to leave their home country to study in another. Students take study abroad programs every year in order to take advantage of the unique experience they will receive living and studying in cross-cultural and multilingual settings and getting a broader idea of the world in general.

“U.S. higher education is increasingly focused on preparing U.S. students to secure jobs after graduation in order to advance their careers, as well as preparing them to thrive in the multicultural global marketplace.” 

~IEE Report 2017

In 2016 -2017 school year:

• Over 325K students from the US studied abroad
• The US hosted over 1 million students from other countries

One of the challenges that study abroad departments and companies face – aside from complex logistics challenges in getting 1000s of students into different countries considering host schools, travel, visas, housing and general adjustment well-being – is helping the students understand and articulate what they gained in their program. How did it help them? How did it augment their student experience? What skills did they learn that will help them enter the workforce?

According to a recent report published in March 2018 by IEE:

“Students who participated in study abroad with specific career objectives in mind were better able to articulate the skills they developed and the impact the experience subsequently had on their careers…This suggests that intentional goal setting and reflection on the skills developed through study abroad has a greater influence on employability after graduation.”

When the international students proactively go through the exercise of linking a study abroad experience to career objectives they might be attracted to programs that include internship opportunities. If relationships are developed with employers in-country, the experience is powerful and directly relevant to career planning.

Where this it is an exciting prospect for a study abroad organization to present internship opportunities, other challenges arise in helping all of these students prepare for and apply to these internships? There are several hurdles to cross like:

• How will students shift their attention and understanding to think about the internship opportunities when they likely have had no exposure to the job market at all?
• How will they create resumes and cover letters, be ready to interview in order to successfully receive the internship they’d like?
• How can a school or organization coordinate the teaching of 1000s all over the world on different programs and time schedules? It sounds like a logistical nightmare.

This is where Project Me Pro can help.

Project Me Pro is an online learning system designed to teach job seekers (and international interns!) how to find and land a position in the job market. The solution combines self-paced e-learning modules, templates and worksheets for job search materials, a collaboration platform for career advisors to work with students, plus plenty of data and analytics features to track success. We partner with colleges & universities, workforce development organizations, non-profits, career coaching communities and others who help support helping students, interns and job seekers find employment.

Are your responsible for helping a large number of potential interns find positions? Are you looking for ways to streamline that process?

Take a look to see if Project Me Pro will work for your organization and set up your site today.