Marketing your
Education Abroad Experience
Emily Besen, Assistant Director,
International Relationship
Manager, Center for Career
Development
Lorien Romito, Director,
Education Abroad
Babson College
Agenda
What Employers are Looking For
Components of Your Experience
Telling Your Story
Framing For the Workplace
Presenting Your International Experience
Employers Value International Experiences
Understanding
of the “global
workplace”
Communicate
in second
language
Ability to work in
diverse teams
Creative
problem
solving
International Experience Myths
Study abroad
is “just a
party”
Easy classes
Little to no
interaction with
local residents
English
spoken
everywhere
NACE Job Outlook Report 2017*
Top resume attributes:
 Communication skills
 Leadership
 Problem-solving skills
 Strong work ethic, teamwork
 Initiative
 Flexibility/Adaptability
 Entrepreneurial Skills/ RiskTaker
*NACE 2017 Job Outlook Survey
You Stand Out
How was your experience?
It was awesome.
Components of Your
International Experience
•Residence Hall
•Apartment
•Homestay
•Hotel
• Rural / Urban
• Developed /
Developing
• Size of Institution
• Language
• Group experience
• Time spent Abroad
• Company visits
• Direct Enrollment
• Study Center
Housing
Academics
Environment
Community
Engagement
http://educationabroad.babson.edu
• Guest Speakers
• Internships
• Service –
Learning
• Clubs / Orgs
London School of Economics, London, UK
Accommodations:
Urban Dorm Living
•
•
•
Community
Engagement:
Organizations
•
•
Engaging
with students
of different
backgrounds
City
Immersion
Maintaining
U.S. identity
Being outgoing
instead of shy
Staying active
on campus
•
•
•
Professional
Development:
Career Networking
International
business skills
Application
styles
Using culture to
network
•
•
•
•
Academics: Classroom
Differences
Adaptable to
Debate Skills
different
Original Thinking
Logical Thought
working-styles
Processes
Emotional
Intelligence
•
•
•
•
How to travel
safely and
frequently
via trains,
planes, and
buses
Public
transportation
knowledge
Geography
Cultural
curiosity
Living
Environment
Unstructured
co-curricular:
Ease of Travel
Chris Minor, Babson College class of 2014
Telling Your Story
1.
Identify 1 salient component
from your experience
2.
Write 1 thing you learned from
that component
3.
Share the component and
learned skills with a partner
4.
How is this transferable to the
workplace?
Identify Transferrable Skills
Improved
Language
Skills
Ability to adapt to variety of
communication styles
Took classes
with local
students
Ability to contribute to a multicultural
team
Organized and
researched
travel plans
Takes Initiative; Leader
Adapted to
urban setting
Problem Solver; Flexible
Marketing your International Experience
Resume
• Highlight your
experience within
the “education”
section
Cover Letter
• Emphasize an
important skill
you’ve developed
abroad that is
crucial to success
for a given
position
Interviews
• Prepare to tell
recruiters why you
chose to study
abroad and what
you’ve learned
Telling your Story
Behavioral Questions & Interviews
 Can I tell this story in a compelling manner?
 How does the story relate to the position/company?
• How quickly can you adapt to a new environment?
Provide examples.
• Tell me about a time you took a risk.
• Give an example of a time that you were faced with a
problem and how you solved it.
Bottom Line
Employers value your ability to . .
• Demonstrate cross-cultural
competence
• Articulate lessons learned and
skills developed through your
international experience.
• BUT it is up to you to
demonstrate the link between
your study abroad experience
and the specific skills valued by
the company or organization
Questions?
Emily Besen, ebesen@babson.edu
Lorien Romito, lromito@babson.edu