In the recent past, having an international experience on your resume was something to set you apart. Every job interview I have ever been on, the interviewer has always asked me about my time abroad, and sometimes it was these experiences that got me the job interview. But things are a little different now. More and more college and post-graduate graduates have at least one international / study abroad experience and many have pursued more non-traditional options and now have field experience or a high level of language ability. It is a little more tricky to set yourself apart. When I was reviewing resumes to hire people a few years later, almost all of them had international / study abroad experience.

Therefore, you have to decide what it is you want. If you are after the amazing experience of studying abroad, just go and don’t worry about how it looks on your resume, you can always argue how wonderful the experience was. But if you are conscious of making the most of your resume, think of the following four options: 1. select a program with intensive language study 2. intern abroad or choose a study abroad program that will let you set up your own internship 3. select a unique or developing region (or a region growing in your industry or a well-respected school for your field of study) or 4. select a really unique program, maybe one with seminars with industry professionals in your field of study, or field work.

Remember, you can also make the most of any study abroad experience. Try setting up informational interviews, complete a few days shadowing in an office overseas, a few weeks interning, or something creative like offering to do a blog while abroad that your school can use to advertise study abroad! Anything like this will help to show how valuable of an experience it was for you and that you didn’t just drink your way around Europe ;p

Learning another language, learning about another culture, making friends from around the world that you otherwise would never meet………….a life changing experience that goes beyond a resumé