Traveling overseas to undertake study might be your life’s biggest adventure. This adventure is experienced by an enjoyable time of traveling, meeting new people and obtaining new knowledge. However, this exciting time abroad is even more beneficial when you consider the contribution to your career!
Employers are now looking for candidates with international experience and so-called “soft skills”. Soft skills are a combination of skills experienced when communicating with other people – social skills and communication skills. They are also represented by emotional intelligence – the ability to handle different kinds of problems and the changing work environment. To become the best applicant for your future employer, international experience might make you the number one candidate.
If you are not yet convinced that studying overseas is a good idea, see the benefits below and become a confident candidate for the international job market. These are the skills you will gain by studying abroad:
1.Problem-solving skills – moving to another country either short term or long term will always throw many obstacles your way. Since you will be travelling on your own, you are the only one responsible for finding the solution. The skills developed from this include independence and confidence to solve any problem that comes your way.
2. Adaptability – it is not easy to settle in the new environment when you don’t have any friends and the locals speak a different language. To enjoy the new place you will need to work on finding yourself in the new environment. Adapting to unforeseen situations and the new environment will also benefit your skills to adjust to the new work culture as well. You will easily become comfortable in the new workplace and make new friends at work just as you did when living abroad.
3. Practical skills – common methods used at school will certainly contribute to developing practical skills like presentations or teamwork. Those will be perfectly applicable to the work environment. Almost every position requires you to be a team-player, and knowing how to collaborate with others to achieve a common goal is one of the most desirable skills in any workplace.
4. Networking – when traveling you always meet many people. Some of them might become your life-best friends, and some, might be prospective new coworkers. Having international connections around the globe will be a great source of information in your new workplace.
5. Cultural awareness – traveling is certainly a mind opening experience. You will shortly realize that listening to others’ experiences and learning about their different habits is an exciting experience for you too. You will become more culturally aware and sensitive. In the international job market, you will find yourself dealing with clients from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Your international experience will help you to communicate with them as well as better understand their needs and leave prejudices behind.
If you are still considering if studying overseas is the right decision for you, hopefully now you know there is nothing more beneficial for your future career as studying abroad. Australia and New Zealand are especially attractive countries for the study destination as they provide internationally recognized qualifications and provide a high-level of education.
If you are interested in studying in Australia or New Zealand, contact one of our friendly Ferguson consultants and share this post!