Study Abroad
Study Abroad is a fantastic opportunity to develop cross-cultural communication, language, adaptability skills and more! Speak to Jill Meleedy for more information on timeline, requirements, etc.
Common Skills Gained
- Cultural Competency, Cross-Cultural Sensitivity
- Intercultural Communication
- Language Competency
- Cognitive: Problem solving
- Social: Working in group/team settings with people from different backgrounds
- Personal traits: Flexibility, agility, innovative, dependability, self-reliant, character
- Adaptability to new environments or changes
- Political Awareness
- Interpersonal and relationship
- Decision Making
- Independence and Confidence
When you return from Study Abroad the Career Center can help you apply the skills you gained, and implement them in your professional conversations and documents.
Upon Returning
- Meet with your Career Advisor
- Update your resume, add transferable skills and experiences you gained
- Write a cover letter articulating the skills you have developed
- Prep for future interviews through talking about the skills you gained & your experience
- Create an elevator pitch on your experience
Under the Education section:
In bullets:
Cross-Cultural Skills
- Adapted to cultural differences and customs through daily interaction with my host family over a period of 4 months
- Overcame social differences and fostered cultural understanding trough a part-time work experience at a local bake
Language Competency/Communication Skills
- Passed proficiency examination in (language)
- Obtained certificate for intensive language study at (college)
- Cultivated language and communication skills through sustained dialogue with my host family and others whom I met within my host community
- Learned to use nonverbal and verbal communication to overcome language barriers
Flexibility/Risk-Taking
- Learned how to adapt to unanticipated situations and improvise new plans due to periodic travel and unexpected events
- Modified my way of life to maximize exposure and opportunities for learning in my local community
In the Interview:
Describe a difficult situation and how you overcame it.
“While studying abroad, I faced several unfamiliar situations. While working on a project with local students from my university in Argentina, I really struggled to complete a group homework assignment, due to both the language barrier and cultural differences of work style and academics. I took some time by myself in between classes to try to better understand the assignment, and then I spoke with my classmates and explained that I was struggling and we were able to compromise on our study styles and successfully present our project. We received an A and I feel that I benefitted greatly from this situation as I improved my language skills and knowledge of my host culture.”
How do you work as part of a team?
“I enjoy working with others and feel that I can contribute a unique perspective based on my past experience. While studying abroad, I worked with people from various cultures and developed my communication skills by learning a second language. I feel comfortable working with people from different backgrounds and with different ideas and feel that its crucial in the work place and in life to have multiple skills, backgrounds and perspectives. Because of this I feel I am confident that I am equipped to work with others to reach the best outcome for the organization.
In an Elevator Pitch:
An elevator pitch earns its name from the point that it should take you the same amount of time it would take to ride an elevator to sell yourself to the employer.
Similar to a commercial, an elevator pitch is a 30-second window of opportunity to promote and summarize your qualifications, ability and ambitions. Who you are professionally and why the person you are speaking with should take an interest in you.
- Start with what you do currently.
Start with your name and, what it is that you do? If you use your title expand on that. You do not want to be boring so make this interesting – what is one big project or accomplishment you are proud of that you worked on or implemented at your current job? Tell a quick story if possible and really try to impress them with your work!
- Be authentic!
How are you different from others who already work there? Why are you the person to do this? What is unique about you or your background that could be beneficial to them?
- Sound natural, not robotic.
Although you want to keep this to 30 seconds reaching 60 seconds is not horrible either, you do not want to sound like an auctioneer! You also do not want to sound rehearsed, try to stay personable and focused in the moment. Keep it conversational you do not want to be talking at the employer the entire time, ask some questions or keep it open for them to respond after.
- What can you do for the employer?
What will you bring to either grow or improve the company?
- Leave them wanting to know more.
What is your objective or end goal with this? What do you want out of this? Leave them with a way to contact you to speak more about this.
Practice, practice, practice! You may use this at networking events, cocktail parties, on a train, networking is everywhere!
Opportunities Abroad
Interested in working, teaching, service or internships abroad? Use the resources below to browse job boards, programs and helpful articles. Do your research by country because opportunities vary.
- Go Overseas – Internships & Jobs Abroad
- Go Abroad – Internships Abroad & Gap Year Jobs
- Global Jobs – Jobs for Global Professionals
- USA Jobs – Government Internships & Jobs Abroad in Foreign Service, Civil Service
- Global Graduates – Advice & opportunities, job & internship board
- Europe Language Jobs
- Multilingual Vacancies
- Top Langage Jobs UK
- CareerJet
- Indeed Worldwide
- CEO Worldwide – Executive level jobs
- Teach Away – ESL Jobs Abroad
- Expat Network
Global Job Boards
- Croatia: Moj posao
- Czech Republic: Prace.cz
- Denmark: Jobindex
- Estonia: CV.ee
- Finland: TE-palvelut
- France: Pole emploi
- Germany: Monster Germany
- Greece: Kariera.gr
- Hungary: Profession
- Iceland: alfred.is
- Ireland: Jobs.ie
- Italy: Infojobs
- Latvia: CV.lv
- Lithuania: cv bankas
- Norway: FINN
- Poland: OLX
- Portugal: Net-Empregos
- Romania: ejobs
- Slovenia: Moje Delo
- Spain: Infojobs
- Sweden: Arbetsformedlingen
- Switzerland: jobs.ch
- Ukraine: WORK.ua.
Australia
- SEEK – Australia’s largest and most popular job board
- Jora – one of the largest Australian free job posting sites.
- CareerOne – popular job board in Australia
- Gumtree – an Australian marketplace, buy, sell and find almost anything, including jobs.
- OneShift – matches employees with employers, specialized in one-off shifts and casual work.
Cananda
- Workopolis – Canada’s leading career site, provides job services to Canadians in both French and English.
- Canadajobs.com – One of Canada’s leading online career sites with a very popular national job board.
- Jobillico – based in Quebec, displays the best jobs that fit a candidate’s profile.
- CIPS – professional association for Information Technology (IT) practitioners in Canada with a job board that is very popular among IT professionals in Canada.
- TalentEgg – connects employers with the top students and recent graduate talent.
United Kingdom
- Totaljobs – UK’s largest hiring platform
- Reed.Co.Uk – UK’s busiest job site
- Adzuna – based in leafy South-West London in the UK
- UKStaffsearch.com
- CV-Library – UK job board one of the country’s first employment websites.
- CIEE – Global Internship Program
- IES – Internships Abroad Program
- Global Experiences – Internships Abroad
- ISEP – Internships Abroad Program
- The Intern Group – Internships Abroad Program
- Intern Abroad HQ – Internships Abroad Program
- CEA – Internships Abroad Program
- BUNAC – Internships Abroad Program
- ISA – Internships Abroad Program
- AIFS – Internships Abroad Program
Why should I do an internship or job abroad?
Any time you can spend abroad practicing your language skills and developing new skills will benefit you in any future career. Some of these skills may be adapting to new surroundings, practicing communication and resourcefulness, independence and cultural awareness. It can increase your chances of entering an international career too and open your mind to endless possibilities.
Why are language skills important?
Studying a modern language will help you to develop strong oral and written communication skills, effectively gather, assess and interpret information, lead and participate in discussions and groups, organize your workload to meet deadlines and develop opinions/propose ideas. In an increasingly global jobs market, these transferable skills are highly valued by employers no matter what career you go into and can even help you grow within a role.
Where can I use them?
Language skills can be used in almost any career, and particularly in businesses that trade internationally. Traveling abroad for an internship or job, part time work and/or volunteer work can improve and allow to further develop your language skills. Typical part time jobs using languages: Admin, hospitality and tourism, summer camps, call centers, market research agencies, tutoring, and hospitality. Teaching English or working in the tourism sector can be good options. Experience in areas such as administration and IT will also be useful for many jobs that use language skills.
How can language help your career?
Language graduates are employed by a wide variety of employers. This is because language skills are in demand across a wide variety of industries. Industries such as: Translation/ interpreting, and teaching require daily language use, international organizations benefit greatly from multi-lingual talent, languages are typically one facet of a broader role.
How do I showcase this on a resume?
Under a Skills or Language Skills section you will list the language & level (fluent, conversational, intermediate), think about putting this towards the top of your resume so its one of the first things employers see and reflect on any skills you gained or developed during your time abroad.
For some careers, postgraduate qualifications are needed. Some Modern Language graduates are self-employed as interpreters or translators, if you are interested in translating or interpreting you might want to get some involved in volunteer work or pursue postgraduate qualifications to help make you a more competitive candidate. Teaching is one of the top jobs held by Modern Languages graduates however, many others are employed by companies who trade/offer services internationally, or to non-English speaking customers and suppliers.
The best way to really learn about these experiences is to hear it straight from the source! Use LinkedIn to search and reach out to Emmanuel alumni who lived abroad, studied abroad, participated in an internship abroad and/or speak the same language. Request an Informational Interview to learn more!
Further study or training in the subject you wish to develop your career may be helpful, take courses or specialize in language(s) of study that interest you. Be open to volunteer work and create a plan on how to get abroad (think about financials and logistics such as travel and timing.
Job Titles:
Many employers hire graduates with various degrees and backgrounds so don’t restrict yourself to the jobs listed here, this is just to get you thinking:
- Tourism
- Teaching/Education/Tutor
- Business/Management
- Marketing/Sales
- Consultant
- International Development Government/Charity
- National Intelligence
- Academic Researcher
- Political Risk Analyst
- FBI
- Security
- Detective
- International Law
- Immigration Law
- Diplomatic Service Officer
- Translator
- Interpreter
- Reading/Writing Specialist
- International Outreach
- Global Outreach
- Patent Examiner
- Program Coordinator
- Language Support Coordinator
- Broadcast Journalist/Media
- Publishing Rights Manager
- International Aid/Development
- Logistics & Distribution Manager
- Engineer
- Museum/Library
- Public Administration Transportation/Logistics
Lin Learning Center – Contact: Kay Lin, Program Director at 617-06-6809 or klin@linlearningcenter.com
- Started a new project during COVID-19: Teaching English to schools in Thailand.
- Running the program for the past 3 years, in 2023 we had 4 teachers and 3 volunteers
- Please view the online lesson by one of our teachers:
- Expand this project: Bring teachers in person as early as this Summer or next year.
- This opportunity will provide college students with a safe and rewarding working experience overseas.
