Personal improvement

Personal improveme

nt

Personal improveme

nt

Gain Skills

Gain Skills

Meet People

Meet People

Explore Opportunitie

s

Explore Opportunitie

s

Build Confidenc

e

Build Confidenc

e

Self Awarene

ss

Self Awarene

ss

DevelopProfessiona

lnetworks

How might you achieve your goals?

What can you do, other than study?

Give a talk

Write a blogBe an

ambassador

VolunteerLearn/

practice a language

Meet alumni from home university

Internship/Work

experience

Transferable SkillsSpecific (hard) or transferable (soft) skills

Transferable skills can be learnt in one context and applied to another

Can be acquired through work, hobbies, sports etc

Examples:

Activity Skill

Organised a conference Project management

Gave a presentation Oral communication

What transferable skills have you got?

What transferable skills do study abroad students

have?

What employers want:

“Confidence and tenacity, resilience and flexibility” (The Cooperative)

“Multi-tasking and flexible with problem solving skills” (JWT)

“At least four months experience working or studying outside your own country” (BMW)”

Translating the study abroad experience…on a CV

Iwenna Broad14 Oxford Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 AB3

01865 234567 [email protected]

Education2007 – 2011 University of Oxford, BA History2009 – 2010 Princeton University Exchange Programme

- GPA 3.84- Gave talk on Oxford University to

potential exchange partners- Volunteered in Hispanic community

centre and learnt conversational Spanish2004 – 2006 Millstown Sixth Form College, London

A Levels in History (A) Physics (A) Chemistry (A ) and Economics (A)1999 – 2004 Prince Edward School, 7 GCSES at A*, 3 As

Iwenna Broad14 Oxford Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 AB3

01865 234567 [email protected]

Education2007 – 2011 University of Oxford, BA History2009 – 2010 Princeton University Exchange Programme

- GPA 3.84- Gave talk on Oxford University to

potential exchange partners- Volunteered in Hispanic community

centre and learnt conversational Spanish2004 – 2006 Millstown Sixth Form College, London

A Levels in History (A) Physics (A) Chemistry (A ) and Economics (A)1999 – 2004 Prince Edward School, 7 GCSES at A*, 3 As

Interests:

Travel: Planned a month’s trip to follow my year abroad, managing a limited budget to travel south as far as Atlanta, Georgia and sample some of the USA’s diverse regions.Visited Madagascar, Kenya and Tanzania, 2006

Conservation:Conference team member for ‘Greening of the Ivies Conference’, Princeton, 2009 Volunteered for Lemur tracking conservation project,

2005Sports:

Founder of Oxford Women’s Softball team, 2010-2011Softball team member, Princeton, 2009-2010.

Interests:

Travel: Planned a month’s trip to follow my year abroad, managing a limited budget to travel south as far as Atlanta, Georgia and sample some of the USA’s diverse regions.Visited Madagascar, Kenya and Tanzania, 2006

Conservation:Conference team member for ‘Greening of the Ivies Conference’, Princeton, 2009 Volunteered for Lemur tracking conservation project,

2005Sports:

Founder of Oxford Women’s Softball team, 2010-2011Softball team member, Princeton, 2009-2010.

Cover letter should include

• Why the student wants to work for this organisation

• Why they want this position

• What they have to offer (that the employer wants)

This last part should address key skills and back up with evidence from a diverse range of experiences.

Study abroad might provide one or two examples for this section, depending on the job and criteria.

Translating the study abroad experience…in a cover letter

Job 1: The applicant must demonstrate cultural sensitivity when meeting clients and be able to build strong relationships

How might Student A draw on their year abroad experience to meet this criteria?

Write an example cover letter sentence.

Job 2: The applicant must be flexible and resilient; able to adapt and cope with challenges

Repeat above task with Student B

Translating the study abroad experience…in a cover letter

Translating the study abroad experience…in interview

Tell us about a time when

you’ve demonstrated interpersonal

skills?

When have you

managed a budget or a

project?

What’s your greatest

achievement?

Preparing answers to interview questions

Read the job specification again

List the skills required and the ones you especially want to convey

Prepare diverse examples from across your experience to use in the interview

One or two on study abroad is probably enough

Structure answers using S.T.A.R: Situation, Task, Actions and Result, focusing on your Actions

When have you managed a budget or project?

The travelling I did at the end of my study abroad year required significant project management.

I had to manage my budget and time and book accommodation, transport and activities in advance.

Scheduled goals in diary so that everything would be done in time; Prioritised tasks depending on urgency; Monitored the exchange rate prior to my travels so that I knew how much money I’d have; researched prices of accommodation and transport to find best deals and take advantage of advance booking discounts; read guidebooks to find out what was happening where; watched the news to make sure bad weather or big events didn’t disrupt my plans.

I had an amazing time and had $100 left at the end to spend on souvenirs!

Useful resourcesThird year abroad website

http://www.thirdyearabroad.com/home.html

Taking Advantage of Time Away, Edinburgh

http://www.employability.ed.ac.uk/CaseStudies/LLC-TATA.htm#Resources

“Packaging your international experience”

http://www.abroadview.org/avmag/2008fall_larsson.htm

“The benefits of Study Abroad”

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0403/benefits_study_abroad.shtml

University of Oxford Careers Website

http://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/