Crafting an Effective Resume
AIFS Student Guide to Study Abroad & Career Development, American Institute for Foreign Study
- Visit a career services advisor to revise and edit your resume to incorporate the new interpersonal skills and intercultural competencies that you strengthened while abroad.
- Discuss ways to strengthen your cover letter to articulate how your study abroad experience is an asset for an employer.
- Before writing your resume, you need to reflect upon the international skills and competencies you have gained from your study abroad experience.
- Audit your time abroad to highlight professional experiences and new intercultural competencies, and be prepared to describe them – using specific language – in your resume. You will need to develop a number of unique and individualized bullet points that show specific ways in which you gained skills and competencies during your study abroad experience.
- An employer will not automatically "see" what may be very obvious to you about a skill or an experience you had while studying abroad! It's up to you to showcase and articulate the value of critical incidents, classroom work, community engagement, or international travel – and to be able to discuss why any or all of these activities make you a strong candidate for a particular job assignment in an organization or company.
