Abroad : Finding international internships and entry-level jobs
22
pages
English
Documents
2012
Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe Tout savoir sur nos offres
22
pages
English
Documents
2012
Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe Tout savoir sur nos offres
Publié par
Publié le
01 mars 2012
Nombre de lectures
167
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
1 Mo
WORKINGby Jill N. Laceyustralia. China. Kenya. France. Brazil. For many people, think-ing about these distant lands conjures up images of speaking in Aforeign tongues, eating exotic foods, and listening to music that has a local flair. Different cultures have varied lifestyles that often seem more exciting or glamorous than our own. Regardless of whether our perceptions of other cultures are real, the allure of experiencing a new culture firsthand entices people to go abroad. Jill N. Lacey is an economist in the Division of Labor Force Statistics, BLS, (202) 691-5806.2 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Fall 2006WORKING ABROADFinding international internships and entry-level jobsIncreasingly, people seek international work to com- planning ahead can make working abroad personally and pletely immerse themselves in the language and culture professionally rewarding. of their host country. Working abroad can provide many This article describes some of the programs that help benefits, such as improving foreign language skills, net- workers start careers in far-off places. It describes types working with local employers, and developing flexibility of international work, including student internships and and intercultural understanding. The skills learned abroad short-term work; U.S.
Voir
WORKING
byJillN.Lacey Auslart.ainihCK.a.Frenya.Brance.oFzaliynpramte,pleonginkhittuobasidesehsdcnoujattnlnamagesofresupinigrofepsnikaesguea,gneiontofdoitceoxitgnningistendls,atahtcisumot hasalocalflair.Differentcultureshavevariedlifestylesthatoftenseem moreexcitingorglamorousthanourown.Regardlessofwhetherour perceptionsofotherculturesarereal,theallureofexperiencinganew culturefirsthandenticespeopletogoabroad.
JillN.LaceyisaneconomistintheDivisionofLaborForceStatistics,BLS,(202)691-5806.
2Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Fall 2006
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ABROAD
Increasingly,peopleseekinternationalworktocom pletelyimmersethemselvesinthelanguageandculture oftheirhostcountry.Workingabroadcanprovidemany benefits,suchasimprovingforeignlanguageskills,net workingwithlocalemployers,anddevelopingflexibility andinterculturalunderstanding.Theskillslearnedabroad canbeusedlateronthejobintheUnitedStates—and maygivesomeworkersanadvantageoverthosewhodo nothaveinternationalexperience. Butbeforeyoupackyourbags,therearesome issuestoconsider.You’llneedapassport,identifi-cation,andmoney,ofcourse;dependingonwhere you’regoing,youmightalsoneedimmunizations andtravelvisas.Inaddition,mostcountriesrequire foreignworkerstohaveavalidworkvisa,andthe processofobtainingavisacanbedifficultandtime consuming. Ifyouwanttoaddaninternationalworkexperi-encetoyourresume,it’snevertooearlytobegin planning.Programsexistforpeoplewhoareinter-estedinavarietyofcareers—teaching,agriculture, business,andforeignrelations,tonamejustafew. Manyoftheseprogramsareopenonlytocur-rentstudentsorrecentgraduatesandcanrequire alengthyapplicationprocess.Youmayalsoneed sometimetolocateapositiononyourownandto saveenoughmoneytosupportyourselfwhilework-ingabroad.Carefullyidentifyingaprogramand
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planningaheadcanmakeworkingabroadpersonallyand professionallyrewarding. Thisarticledescribessomeoftheprogramsthathelp workersstartcareersinfar-offplaces.Itdescribestypes ofinternationalwork,includingstudentinternshipsand short-termwork;U.S.Governmentwork;teaching,agri cultural,andaupairpositions;andvolunteeropportuni ties.Thearticlealsoincludestipsonnavigatingaforeign jobsearchandpreparingforandfinancingatripabroad.
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Fall 2006 • Occupational Outlook Quarterly3
Tehfiestbneforkwoginroabda Glancethroughmostrecentheadlines,andyou’llseethat globalizationisahottopic.ThenumberofU.S.firms expandingabroadandthenumberofforeigncompanies operatingintheUnitedStateshavebeengrowing.This globalexpansionofbusinessisincreasingthedemand forgloballymindedemployees. Asaresult,knowledgeofinternationalbusiness practicesisbecominghighlyvaluedinjobcandidates. Often,thebestwaytolearnthesepracticesisbyworking abroad,evenforashorttime.
Professionalbenefits Temporaryworkabroadcanprovidenumerousbenefits forpeoplewhowishtolandapermanentpositioninthe future.TheInstituteforInternationalEducationofStu-dentssurveyedalumnifromitsstudyabroadprograms. Accordingtothosesurveyresults,studentsweremore likelytoenteraninternationalcareeriftheyhadcomplet-edaninternshipwhileabroad.Studyinginanon-Eng -lish-speakingcountryanddevelopinglocalprofessional contactsalsoincreasedtheirchancesoffindinginterna -tionalworkinthefuture. Working—ratherthanjuststudying—abroadhelps studentsapplywhattheyhavelearnedintheclassroom totherealworld,boostingtheirqualificationsandchanc-esoflandingapermanentposition.KristyGreenstudied inSpainduringhersenioryearofhighschool,butitwas herinternshipwithaSpanishpoliticalpartyduringcol -
4Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Fall 2006
legethatcementedhercareergoals.Asaninternational studiesandbusinessmajor,Greenwantedtoshowthat shecouldapplywhatshehadlearned.“AlthoughIhad beenabroadbefore,Ilackedinternationalworkexperi-ence,”shesays.“Withthisexperience,Iexpecttobeable togetadditionalinternshipswithinternationalresponsi -bilitiesduringmynext2yearsofcollegeandbeabove averageinskillandexperiencewhenlookingforajob aftergraduation.” Evenifapermanentinternationalpositionisnotyour goal,theskillsyoulearnabroadcanbeappliedtojobs intheUnitedStates.JonHillshopesthathisexperience teachingEnglishandworkingforatranslationcompany inJapanwillhelphimfindworkintheJapanesefinan-cialindustry.Andthatexperience,inturn,willmake himmoremarketableasafinancialanalystintheUnited States.“HavingajoboverseasequivalenttooneIwould holdintheStatesisaworthwhileexperiencethatwill givemeahugeadvantageintheU.S.jobmarket,”says Hills. Personalbenefits Inadditiontoprofessionaladvantages,therearepersonal benefitsgainedbyworkingabroad.Havingatemporary jobabroadallowsyoutimetoexploredifferentcareer optionsortogainnewexperiences.Somepeopledecide toworkabroadbetweencollegeandgraduateschoolor beforebeginninganewjob.Theyhopetolearnmore aboutthemselvesandwhattypesofcareerstheywantor torestandreflectbeforebeginninganewphasein theirlives. Experiencingotherculturesisanattractionfor mostpeoplewhodecidetoworkabroad.Livingin anewcultureprovidesdifferentperspectivesand helpsincreasetheunderstandingofothers.And someiinernteseosharechancetwrokaanitnola withotherswhodonothavethehighstandardof livingenjoyedintheUnitedStates.
Aworldofwork:Optionsforinternationaljobs Thefirststeptoworkingabroadistoidentify programsthatmatchyourinterests.Programs candifferintheirlocation,theassistancethey offer,theircosts,andmore.So,itisimportantto researcheachprogramthoroughlybeforemaking substantialtimeandfinancialcommitments.
