Job Application Resources
Including your study abroad experience on your resume, cover letters, and in interviews helps potential employers recognize these highly desirable skills you may have obtained abroad.
Studying abroad has deepened your academic understanding and helped you gain important life skills—critical thinking, problem solving and flexibility—that will distinguish you long after your time abroad. Nearly every large organization has an international component, and your time abroad will set you apart as an ideal candidate for many of these positions.
Visit our page that lists organizations with possible international job and internship opportunities. Use JobScore, the College’s online job search database, to find current job and internship listings exclusively for Purchase College students and alumni. Students and alumni should utilize the Purchase Career Development Center for assistance with all job searches and application support.
Below are a few findings from research with employers planning to hire recent graduates.
Soft skills are just as important as hard skills*
Many study abroad graduates are shocked to find just how essential this experience was to their career. Much research shows that employers often value “soft skills” in new employees as much or more than technical skills. These soft skills include:
- Ability to work in a team
- Effective interpersonal communication
- Ability to learn new ideas quickly
- Ability to embrace differences
- Ability to identify, define and solve problems
Many essential skills can be gained abroad*
A recent study by the Institute of International Education asked over 4,500 returnees what skills were gained from their time abroad. Among the top skills gained were:
- Intercultural skills
- Flexibility and adaptability
- Curiosity
- Confidence
- Self-awareness
- Interpersonal skills
- Communication
*Adapted from Cornell University’s “Talking About Study Abroad” webpage.