In this session, we'll challenge the notion that study abroad is an elitist luxury. We'll focus on how it supplies students with competitive global employability. Through a series of interactive methods, study abroad professionals will reflect on the career-enhancing opportunities available in overseas programs and take away effective strategies to help students identify opportunities abroad that meet their professional goals, maximize their experience, and capitalize on new networks and critical skills that help to create an edge as employable candidates in the job market.
Breaking the Mold: Identifying and Enhancing Students’ International Experience and Employability
1. Breaking the Mold: Identifying and Enhancing Students’
International Experience & Employability
Melissa Buerkett-Vivian, LMHC - Global Experiences, Inc.
Shawna Hurley - Gilman International Scholarship Program, IIE
Stacey Shimizu - Illinois Wesleyan University
CIEE Annual Conference 2014, Baltimore, MD
2. Trends in International Internships
Open Doors 2014
For-Credit Internships or Work
2010/11** 2011/12 2012/13
Total Students 17,536 20,676 20,498
Non-Credit Internships or Work
2010/11 2011/12 2012/13
Total Students 8,700 12,758 15,089
3. Gilman Internship Experiences Survey
• Gilman Scholars for 2013-2014 academic year
• 144 responses from interns
• 47 countries (top 3 countries China, Japan and UK)
• 78% participated in program that was a combination of academic
study and internship
• 29% did not plan to participate in internship before program
4. How did you identify and arrange your
internship abroad?
4% 1%
7%
37% 59%
Through my institution
Through a program
provider
Through friends or family
connections
Through current job or
professional connections
Other
5. Who was most helpful in assisting you
as you set up your internship abroad?
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Program
Provider
Advisor
Study Abroad
Advisor/Staff
Faculty Member Friend Other (myself,
on-site
coordinator)
Family
59
50
22
6 5
2
6. In what ways did your home institution
prepare you for your internship abroad?
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
79
59
35
30
21
12 10 8
“As a first generation study abroad student, I really wasn't sure how to prepare for studying abroad. I really
depended on my online study abroad advisor who truly went above and beyond helping me get ready for my
internship.”
7. How did you utilize your connections and skills
learned abroad as you seek/sought employment?
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Put information
regarding my
internship on my
resume and
referenced skills in
inteviews
Networked and
made connections
that I have utilized
to find a job
Found a mentor Other Gained
employment with
the organization
where I interned
126
32
25 18
7
8. Illinois Wesleyan University
Small residential liberal
arts college
~1900 students
College of Liberal Arts
+ Schools of Nursing,
Theater Arts, Fine Arts
and Music
~50% of students have
international experience
by graduation
9. Pre-Departure Program
Pre-2014, 3-hour in-person
departure
meeting
Spring 2014, self-paced
Moodle course + 3-hour
meeting
One hour now dedicated
to making link between
study abroad and career
preparations.
10.
11. Illinois Wesleyan Nursing
IWU Spain Program
Island program, originally for general
education and Hispanic Studies
2012, opened to sophomore nursing
students
Two required nursing courses (delivered
using synchronous learning technology)
with attached healthcare observations in
local clinics
Complementary language component
and workshop on healthcare differences
between Spain and the US
12.
13. Nursing Program Results
First cohort graduated May 2014; 100% job
placement
No significant difference in nursing academic
performance or GPA between first semester and
second semester of sophomore year or between
cohort grades, regardless of location
Reports of satisfaction with experience on exit
interviews and self-reported sense of increased
cultural competence
14. Global Experiences International
Internships
Who we are
Over 4,000 alumni since
2001
10 Cities in 8 countries
on 4 continents
Mission = "To provide
life-changing
experiences“
Partnership with Gallup
Education since Spring
2013
Why we use Strengths
Develop innovative career
development program
Identify how internships
abroad positively impact
lives
Research shows that
knowing and using
Strengths leads to success
15. Phase 1: Pre-Departure Prep
Clifton StrengthsFinder Assessment – Top 5 Strengths
Individual coaching and advising
Résumés and cover letters
Mock interviewing
Professional behavior and etiquette (during the placement process)
Career planning and decision making (choosing a placement)
Career development webinar series
Rocking Your Interview
The Digital You
Your Top 5 Strengths
Using LinkedIn*
Reflections on Language & Culture
16. Phase 2: Focus on Strengths Abroad
Orientation to deepen understanding and strategy
for success
Site visits for reflection and employer feedback
Midpoint workshop to overcome challenges and
enhance professional communication and
networking skills
Global Connections Networking
Debriefing on career decisions
and job search skills
17. An Experiential Approach
Orientation – “Where do I stand?”
Why did you stand where you did?
How does it relate to your Strengths?
What did you learn from observing others’ positions?
18. An Experiential Approach
Midpoint Workshop – “Your Best”
Discuss in small groups, one theme that you feel fits best
and why.
How do you use it in your internship? Past positions?
How does it help you succeed?
Practice presenting your best self to a new professional
contact or potential employer
19. An Experiential Approach
Debriefing Workshop
No-lose Model to Career
Decision Making
From Grad to Great –
Using Strengths as
transferrable skills in
résumés, cover letters and
interviews
Mock interviews with
location coordinators
20. Site Visits for Feedback & Reflection
Pick one task and tell me how
your strengths help you perform
it.
"I used my Ideation in the
brainstorm meetings, and I have
to think Strategically when
considering which media
companies to contact.”
How have you used your
strengths to overcome a
challenge at work?
"At first, I wasn’t sure what I could
bring to the table. I was nervous
about how I would do. Knowing
my Strengths helped me have
more confidence."
21. Program Assessment
Survey collaboration with Dr. Shane Lopez, leading
psychologist and author of “Making Hope Happen”
107 interns were surveyed online pre- and post-program
3 Measures: Hope, Well-being and Strengths
awareness
The results of the exit survey showed:
78% increase in Hope
78% increase in Strengths awareness
86% increase in overall Well-being
22. Phase 3: Re-Entry Services
Career Toolkit
Alumni Webinar Series
Using LinkedIn to Job Search
Leveraging Your International Experience
Networking
Alumni Panel
Professional Networking
LinkedIn, Facebook, Global Connections
Ambassador Program and the Alumni
Assistant Role
Business cards
Recommendations
24. Re-Entry at IWU
Standard study abroad re-entry program
Pre-return and welcome-back emails with resources
Welcome Back reception hosted by university president
Online resources
Invitations throughout year to engage in IO activities and
mentor new applicants
Career-specific re-entry
“Bringing It Home”
workshop with the Career
Center
Nursing-specific re-entry
3-week intensive May Term
for clinical training
25. Contact Information
Melissa Buerkett-Vivian, LMHC – melissa@globalexperiences.com
Academic Internship Director
Global Experiences, Inc.
Shawna Hurley– shurley@iie.org
Operations Manager, Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program
Institute of International Education (IIE) – Houston
Stacey Shimizu– sshimizu@iwu.edu
Director, International Office
Illinois Wesleyan University
32. To help make the most of your time
abroad—personally, academically,
professionally—you should set some
clear goals.
The best goals are SMART:
Specific — "I plan to join a student club at
the local university so that I can
meet local students," rather than, "Make friends."
Measurable — "I want to experience/learn something new (try a new food, learn a new word, see a
new museum) about my host culture each day," rather than, "Learn about my host culture."
Attainable — "I want to gain hand-on research skills through my field study class."
Realistic — "I want to be able to hold a conversation in Spanish with someone I have just met,"
rather than, "Become fluent in Spanish."
Time-bound — "By the middle of the semester, I want to have planned and booked my own trip to
another country."
And remember that deadlines are sometimes a good thing.
To help you get started, here is a template you can use as you prepare for your semester abroad.
Though it talks about career goals, it can be repeated to set personal, academic, or other goals.
List three (3) career-related goals for your time abroad.
Ex. I want to learn more about teaching English abroad.
1.
2.
3.
Now, list three (3) concrete actions to take now or while abroad to help you reach your goals.
Ex. I will talk with my program to see if there is some way I can volunteer as a language tutor.
1.
2.
3.
33. Prior to site visit: Contact both employer and intern separately to ask if there is anything specific they
would like to discuss or get out of the meeting. Remind the intern that the site visit is for them – to help
them get professional feedback and to ensure the rest of their internship is as great as it can be.
Site visit recording form
Company:
Supervisor name:
Intern name:
Date:
GE representative:
Introduction: explain purpose of the meeting and that the questions are designed to help the intern reflect
on their experience in a way that they might present it to future employers. Encourage intern and
supervisor to create a discussion around each answer.
NB. It might be appropriate to have 2 minutes with the supervisor and intern separately first, especially if
there are known issues.
Questions posed to intern, but encourage supervisor to input their thoughts too:
1. Tell me about your experience so far and some of the projects/tasks you’ve been working on.
•
2. Thinking about your responsibilities, what are the three most important aspects of your role?
•
3. Pick one of these responsibilities and tell me how your strengths help you perform it.
•
4. To employer: What strengths have you seen the intern use during the internship so far?
•
5. To intern again: Who do you partner with in your role? What strengths or talents do they have?
•
6. What’s been the highlight of your internship so far (ie. What do you enjoy most)? What do you
enjoy the least?
•
7. Have you had to overcome any challenges at work so far? If so, how have you used your strengths
to do this?
•
8. What are some things you’ve learned as a result of your internship and how has this better
prepared you for your future?
•
9. To both: What goals do you have for the rest of the internship?
•
10. To both: Is there anything we could do to better to prepare you both for this experience?
•
11. To employer: Does your organization have additional needs for other interns? Do you have friends
or colleagues who would benefit from having an intern?
•
34. Update notes for Salesforce (if it needs updating please highlight yellow):
Supervisor name and contact details:
Address of internship:
Skills/experience required (“ideal candidate” description for website):
Key internship tasks:
1.
2.
3.
Number of interns required at a time:
*****Don’t forget to take a photo!*****
35. Breaking the Mold: Identifying and Enhancing Students’ International
Experience and Employability Further Resources
Resources
CIEE Annual Conference 2014 |
FURTHER RESOURCES
British Council, Ipsos Public Affairs, and Booz Allen Hamilton (2013). Culture at Work: The value of intercultural
skills in the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/britishcouncil.uk2/files/culture-at-work-
report.pdf
Gardner, Gross, & Steglitz. (2008). Unpacking Your Study Abroad Experience: Critical Reflection for Workplace
Competencies. Collegiate Employment Research Institute Research Brief, 1 (1). Retrieved
from http://ceri.msu.edu/publications/pdf/brief1-2008final.pdf
Gilman Scholarship Program Web Symposium. Career-Oriented Internship Opportunities. Retrieved
from http://www.iie.org/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program/News-and-Social-Media/Videos/WS-International-
Internships Working Together, Working Abroad. Retrieved
from http://www.iie.org/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program/News-and-Social-Media/Videos/WS-Working-
Together-Working-Abroad
Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa. (2012). Tippie Roadmap Skills
Inventory. http://tippie.uiowa.edu/undergraduate/roadmap/skills-inventory.cfm
Kuh, G. (2008). High-Impact Educational Practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter.
Association of American Colleges and Universities. Retrieved
from http://www.neasc.org/downloads/aacu_high_impact_2008_final.pdf
Levinger, Morrison, & Jouannelle. (2011). Beyond "It was awesome!” Enriching the Student Experience after Re-entry.
CIEE Annual Conference 2011, New Orleans. Retrieved from
http://www.ciee.org/conference/downloads/past/new-orleans/skills_survey.pdf.
NAFSA Association of International Educators. (2014). Study Abroad Career Plan: A Guide for Advising Students.
Retrieved
from http://www.nafsa.org/Find_Resources/Supporting_Study_Abroad/Network_Resources/Education_Abroad
/Study_Abroad_Career_Plan__A_Guide_for_Advising_Students/
NAFSA Association of International Educators. (2013). Subcommittee on Work, Internships and Volunteering
Abroad (WIVA) – Resource Library. Retrieved
from http://www.nafsa.org/resourcelibrary/default.aspx?catId=429109
School for International Training. (2008). After Study Abroad: A toolkit for returning students. Retrieved
from http://www.worldlearning.org/linkservid/056F078A-EDEB-BEAE-FD0050C1F1E0F368/showMeta/0/
Tillman, M. (2011). AIFS Student Guide to Study Abroad & Career Development. Retrieved
from http://www.aifsabroad.com/advisors/pdf/Tillman_AIFS_Student_Guide_Career.pdf
Tillman, M. (2014). Campus Best Practices: Supporting Education Abroad & Student Career Development.
Retrieved from http://www.aifsabroad.com/advisors/pdf/Tillman_Best_Practices.pdf
University of Texas at Austin, Center for International Business Education & Research (CIBER). Planning for Study
Abroad with Recruiting and Your Career in Mind. PDF Retrieved
from http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/Centers/CIBER/Summer/~/media/Files/MSB/Centers/CIBER/Study%20A
broad%20and%20Career/Planning%20for%20Study%20Abroad.ashx