5 Ways That Moving Overseas Can Really Boost Your Resume
It's a no-brainer!
We all know that moving overseas can help your career path, so making the plunge is a no-brainer, right? But when you’re eating Mi-Goreng all alone in a foreign country it’s easy to abandon your aunt’s optimistic advice about expanding your horizons. We can quickly forget just how beneficial this whole thing really is.
Here’s why international work experience is really worth it.
#1 You’ll Learn About Jobs You Didn’t Even Know Existed
What’s a value chain specialist? Or a gendered marketplace assessment officer? A conflict prevention consultant? An organisational development mentor?
Thousands of jobs exist overseas that our uni prospectuses tend to overlook, and living abroad exposes you to both the jobs themselves and the people doing them.
You can work in value chain development with an economics or business degree, or take your political science arts major to peace and conflict consulting, gender policy development, or political system monitoring. Living overseas shows you career paths and specialisations that don’t necessarily exist or aren’t in as high demand in countries like Australia. Plus, small communities easily connect you with potential colleagues and bosses and you can make connections over cut-price beers at greasy expats bars.
#2 You’ll Develop Resilience and Flexibility (And Answers to Interview Questions!)
Sure, you can do this at home, too. But when you’re in an interview faced with the dreaded, “Tell me about a time you’ve failed,” it’s far more compelling to draw on an anecdote from your travels than one from home. Like how you had to overcome obstacles when your team pulled the bogged four-wheel-drive out of a flash flood and the field officer had gastro and the driver ran out of phone credit – much more interesting than your eBay auction where your One Teaspoon shorts went for less than you were expecting.
#3 You’ll Build Real, Varied Work Experience
It’s common for an English-speaking foreigner in an overseas NGO or business to be called upon to complete tasks outside their area of professional expertise. Think: writing and editing English-language donor reports and fundraising proposals, representing businesses at high-level meetings, contributing to strategic plans, and even teaching colleagues how to drive cars (you might ask for motorbike lessons in return!).
We don’t realise what we’ve been raised with as normal until we’re in a new environment. In a new country, seemingly normal things like planning, critical thinking, academic English and a car license can transform you into a communications expert, accidental diplomat, strategy advisor or English teacher – giving you the opportunity to practise new things and build experience in roles you wouldn’t be qualified for in Australia.
#4 You’ll Learn What You Like
We’re not talking your preference for Tiger beer over Bintang – your experience abroad will force you into far more decision-making moments than life back home, which will help you deftly figure out next steps when you’re back.
No more will you languish in a stale job you only kind of enjoy because working in tough environments teaches you the importance of having purpose to your work. You’ll pull the trigger on that master’s degree or dream Copenhagen internship because high-skilled workplaces will teach you the value of investing in yourself. And being alone overseas will force you to make tough decisions every day – leaving you decisive and strong when you return home.
#5 Language Skills
Even if you’re in a high-English environment, it makes life abroad unmeasurably easier to be able to organise work logistics, hold simple conversations, and bond with people in their own language. It’s also just respectful to try to learn.
Learning another language will also help you build in-demand skills and key personal abilities for finding future work – if you learn a local language not widely spoken, your experience shows that you’re willing to challenge and embarrass yourself in order to work better.
(Lead image: Clueless/Columbia Pictures)