Employment Guide

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Study Abroad & International Opportunities Leveraging Study Abroad For Career Success • Course or Major-Related Knowledge

Studying abroad is considered a high-impact practice that has a direct correlation to employability and career progression. Students who have engaged in the practice should be sure to talk about their unique experience, both orally during interviews and in writing in their cover letters and resumes. Have you studied abroad? Know how desirable you are! • More than 31 million job openings required skills that a student acquires while studying abroad. • Study abroad positively impacts on the development of a wide range of 21st century job skills, including intercultural skills, curiosity, flexibility & adaptability, confidence, self awareness, interpersonal skills, communication, problem solving, language, tolerance for ambiguity, and course or major related knowledge. • Employers spend more time seeking qualified applicants for these positions vs. the average job opening. • Employers and job seekers recognize that skills developed during study abroad are essential for management and leadership positions. • Professional profiles that highlight the key study abroad soft skills included a higher number of people holding positions as presidents and CEOs than those without those skills. Have you studied in a less familiar destination? • Choosing less common destinations are positively associated with skill development and sense of career impact. Did you study abroad for a few weeks, a semester or longer? • The skills gained through study abroad have a long-term impact on career progression and promotion. • Longer periods of study abroad have a high impact on subsequent job offers and the development of most skills. • Short term programs are most effective at developing teamwork skills. Explore options for global experiences: study a foreign language, study abroad, and investigate co-op, internship, or job opportunities abroad identified through GoinGlobal. Sources International Institute of Education (IIE), “Gaining an Employment Edge: The Impact of Study Abroad on 21st Century Skills & Career Prospects.” Source : https://www.nafsa.org/sites/default/files/media/ document/globallycompetitive-workforce-summary-educators.pdf Top skills were determined that are needed in today’s workplace that are also mirror NACE’s Career Readiness and Competencies and the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program Act: • Communication Skills • Confidence

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Curiosity

Flexibility and Adaptability

Intercultural Skills Interpersonal Skills

Language Skills

Leadership

Problem-Solving Skills

Self-Awareness

Teamwork

Technical/Computer Software Skills

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Work Ethic NAFSA: Association of International Educators researched “U.S. job openings and professional profiles to determine the connection between study abroad and employer-desired skills” and reported their findings in “Developing a Globally Competitive Workforce Through Study Abroad: The Value of Study Abroad Skills in the U.S. Job Market.” The report findings show that in 2019: • More than 31 million job openings required skills that a student acquires while studying abroad; • Employers spent more time seeking qualified applicants for these positions vs. the average job opening; • Employers and job seekers recognize that skills developed during study abroad are essential for management and leadership positions; and professional profiles that highlight the key study abroad soft skills included a higher number of people holding positions as presidents and CEOs than those without those skills. UW-Stout leaders reflect on the impact of study abroad on their “The most valuable skill Frank learned abroad, and one she still values as chancellor, is how to engage in productive problem solving, both in the moment and long-term planning” Provost Glendali Rodriguez “I gained a sense of confidence in problem-solving” Dean Maria Alm Learning another language gives you access to a different way of thinking and viewing the world. These skills are critical to today’s global workforce,” Alm said. “In most countries, college students and graduates are at least bilingual. American students are increasingly at a competitive disadvantage if they know only one language.” personal and professional lives: Chancellor Katherine Frank

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