By Kim Gradel

What are the main reasons that you've typically heard people use to encourage you to study abroad? It will expand your view of the world.... You'll grow so much as a person.... It's fun! You'll make new friends. You'll get to travel the world. You'll see absolutely amazing things. You'll grow a third ear on the back of your head.

Just wanted to see if you were paying attention. But seriously, the reasons for studying abroad abound, and they're all good ones. However, if the person recommending that you study abroad is sharp, probably one of the reasons they've added to the list is that studying abroad will help your career.

What does that really mean though?

Globalization
In today's world, we've pretty much all heard of globalization. The world's shrinking with modern communications, and in reaction to that trend, companies are increasingly searching for employees who can interact on a global scale. Studying abroad allows you to develop what's called "transnational competence." That's the fancy term, but the reality is, those who have studied abroad do develop cross-cultural communication skills, the ability to analyze and adjust to local customs and cultural contexts, flexibility, maturity, independence, and adaptability. Studying abroad forces you to deal constructively with cultural differences and situations you would have never faced otherwise. That nasty "culture shock" everyone's been warning you about does have some benefits once you've worked through it.

Language skills
This is another pretty obvious benefit. If you're studying another language abroad, or even just learning it by being immersed in a culture where the people around you are speaking it, you're going to be ahead of your peers who can only communicate in one language. Further, learning another language is just one more step along the path of appreciating another area of the world and adapting yourself to something new and different.

Pre-meditated study abroad
Why do I bring all of this up now? If you're currently in the process of selecting a study abroad opportunity or exploring international internships, now is the time to think about the career implications of your decision. While any amount or type of international experience may be helpful, employers aren't just looking for international experience for its own sake. Rather, they want to see employees who understand the benefits of their international experience and know how to leverage those experiences in the workplace. How are your international experiences going to affect your career decisions? Where should you study? What should you study? How are these choices going to contribute to your career development? These are all questions you should be considering.

For example, let's say for a moment that you're an international business and French major. You could certainly study in France. You could walk among the monuments that permeate popular culture. You could explore the beautiful scenery of the French countryside and soak in the history that would surround you. However, let's say for a minute that you also have an interest in sustainable development - that you'd like to eventually take your business skills and use them to promote ecological solutions to today's issues. Perhaps you then might consider studying abroad in Senegal. You could still work on your French while experiencing a developing nation, and possibly even choose a program such as Living Routes that would allow you to live and learn in an ecovillage.

You get the idea.

While the concept is relatively simple, I would venture to guess that many students don't really give serious thought to their career goals when choosing a study abroad program. The challenge may be that you're not sure what direction you want to go yet. This is another area that study abroad could actually help with. Think about your interests and use your study abroad experience to really explore a potential career direction in which you could head. Try to find a program that offers an internship in a field that interests you or take some courses that will help you better define your career goals and would be useful if that's the direction you decide to take.

Capitalize on this experience.

You may want to talk to your study abroad or career adviser to help you work through some of these issues. Take advantage of this point to evaluate your personal goals and to pause in your educational career to consider where you're going and what you hope to accomplish. If you don't know, it's going to be much harder to get there.

No matter what sort of international experience you pursue, it's challenging to communicate that value to employers. Next month we will look at how you can describe your study abroad experience, how you can incorporate it into your resume, and how you can use it to further your professional aspirations. And don't worry, no matter where or what you study, I was just kidding about that third ear on the back of your head....

Has studying abroad helped your career? If you have a story, email us and we'll feature you on IIEPassport.org.