Marketing Your International Experience Articulating your Education Abroad Experience & Wowing Employers

Agenda Reflect, Connect, Professionalize You are the 10% What Employers Want Your International Experience Identifying Transferable Skills Practice Your Elevator Pitch Resources & Staying Involved

Stats from 2015 Open Doors Report You are the 10%!

Employers Value International Experiences Cross-cultural competency Understanding of the “global workplace” Programs that have “real world experience” with another culture Introduce the fact that employers value international experiences as they relate to the “Global Workplace” etc. Develop transferrable skills Develop transferrable skills

NACE Job Outlook Report 2014* Top resume attributes after GPA include: Communication skills Leadership Problem-solving skills Strong work ethic, teamwork Initiative Flexibility/Adaptability Entrepreneurial Skills/ Risk- Taker NACE Report – what skills are important? Which skills might you learn from an International experience? *NACE 2014 Survey-From August 5, 2013, through September 13, 2013, data was collected for the Job Outlook 2014 survey. A total of 208 surveys were returned—a 19.8 percent response rate.

Components of Your International Experience Academic Cultural Personal Community Engagement Professional Environment

Holistic Experience Components: Housing Academics Community Engagement Travel Student clubs/ organizations Volunteering Internships Visas process Academics – Community Engagement – Housing – Environment – Individual Glavin – MM You are not limited to these components- what else made your experience yours? Note: shorten the time for this exercise, stress that they can work on this at home, just do 1-3 in the session

Chris Minor, Babson College class of 2014 Example Urban Dorm Living Debate Skills Original Thinking Logical Thought Processes Emotional Intelligence Classroom Differences Engaging with students of different backgrounds City Immersion Maintaining U.S. identity Being outgoing instead of shy Staying active on campus Public transportation knowledge Geography Cultural curiosity Organizations Environment How to travel safely and frequently via trains, planes, and buses Example of student’s pie chart showing skills learned abroad Note: look for other examples to show – Int. Student etc. International business skills Application styles Using culture to network Career Networking Ease of Travel Chris Minor, Babson College class of 2014

Activity 1: Holistic Experience Identify components of your experience Write 1+ thing you learned from each component Share the components and learned skills with your table

Connecting Transferable Skills Circle skills that you can highlight as transferable skills for the workplace Top resume attributes after GPA include: Communication skills Leadership Problem-solving skills Strong work ethic, teamwork Initiative Flexibility/Adaptability Entrepreneurial Skills/ Risk-Taker Example skills: Be self-confident, yet able to listen and learn from people whose value systems are different Contribute to an ethnically diverse team Creatively solve problems by applying familiar concepts to unfamiliar situations Take personal risks and act independently Be flexible and adaptable to rapidly changing situations Imagine, forecast, analyze or address business situations from a different cultural frame of reference Have a basic command of the local language, and able to use it in practical situations *NACE 2014 Survey-From August 5, 2013, through September 13, 2013, data was collected for the Job Outlook 2014 survey. A total of 208 surveys were returned—a 19.8 percent response rate.

Branding Transferable Skills: The Interview An interview IS: A meeting in order to get to know each other A conversation about possibilities A chance to learn about the company An opportunity to present yourself as the best candidate for the job An interview is NOT: A life or death situation A test A one way street And YET: It is an artificial situation You will be judged from the very first minute you walk in

Activity 2: Elevator Pitch Choose 2 or 3 skills to highlight Write a statement of your international experience and what you learned from it Glavin: Note: instead of writing out pitch in the session – take 5 minutes and talk it out with a friend or write out statements for a skill or two Mix & Match skills depending on your audience

London School of Economics, Academic Year 2012-13 Example London School of Economics, Academic Year 2012-13 “The skills that I learned at the London School of Economics really have made me a more complete person in as many ways as I can think of. In the classroom, I learned how to think quickly and logically on my feet since the teachers use debate as a tool for communicating ideas clearly and powerfully. And after the classroom, I would make sure to hang out with the fulltime students, either on campus or somewhere off in the city. It really was through conversing with these students and the city that helped me understand different perspectives and develop the global mindset in a different way than I have here at Babson.” Chris Minor Glavin http://youtu.be/Tzx0D4qWD78

Photo by Marzan Khan, Education Abroad Photo Contest 2012 Bottom Line Employers value your ability to . . . Demonstrate cross-cultural competence Articulate lessons learned and skills developed through your international experience. CCD - Megan Photo by Marzan Khan, Education Abroad Photo Contest 2012

Additional Resources Going Global Uniworld Online Directories American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries Foreign Firms Operating in the United States CareerBeam Branding Documents & Prep Virtual Mock Interview American Chambers of Congress Abroad Your Campus Career Center CCD – Megan Note: would be nice to emphasize GoinGlobal Photo by Nina Shapiro, Education Abroad Photo Contest 2012

Thank you! Allie Agati aagati@providence.edu Center for International Studies Providence College Erin Bell ebell@wpi.edu Global Projects Program Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Glavin Photo by Annemarie Kraan, IEW Photo Contest 2008