Coming back from Abroad - And adding it to your Resume

You are a brave soul that had the courage and passion to embark on an adventure that probably changed your life. Whether you were drinking coffee at a French restaurant in Paris before taking the metro, hiking through the mountains of Central Asia next to the silk road, or dancing to some traditional Ecuadorian music at the Amazon, your experience can add a lot to your professional profile and career.

You just spent a semester in a totally different country, but now you are back and it is important to make some updates to your career profile, for example your resume or CV. Doing a study abroad program can really distinguish you from other students because you are able to demonstrate your ability to adapt to a completely different environment. It also shows that you probably gained skills that make you a special candidate for a specific job. All of this should be updated into your resume or CV. Some study abroad programs in Lewis & Clark college offer programs in partnership with prestigious universities around the world, for example the Sorbonne University in Paris or University of Granada in Spain. Depending on the job you are applying for, this type of experience can make you stand out. If you are unsure on how to add this experience, you may click on this link which is an article designed by the Career Center titled “How to Describe Study Abroad on a Resume” and it shows you how to do it.

Most study abroad programs in LC offer a language component, whether you learned French in Cameroon or Spanish in Mexico, this is a new skill that will definitely make a great addition to your career profile. You can list the level of your language, for example: fluent in French or advanced B level in Japanese. A lot of jobs, especially here in the United States, are looking for applicants who can communicate in more than one language, since this gives them an advantage to reach out to a greater population within the US and internationally.

Another nice addition to your resume/CV, could be any volunteering experience or internships you did abroad. A good amount of the abroad programs offer internships and volunteering opportunities ranging from writing articles for a tourism company in Kyrgyzstan to volunteering teaching English at a public school in Thailand. These are a great addition to your resume in order for employers to see that you can be professional and active in other fields. Furthermore, also remember that you can add your experience into your linkedin profile, it sounds like a big stretch, but you might appear on the search box of an employee one day due to your experience. If you click on this link you will see instructions on how to add this experience onto your resume.

Even if you haven’t studied abroad and are still considering it, I hope this article helps you see some of the many career benefits that a study abroad experience could bring you! If you just came back and don’t know where exactly to start, you can always come to the Career Center, make an appointment with us or simply come in during our drop in hours. We will be happy to guide you on adding this experience into your professional profile.

Juan Martin Lopez Melendez (he/him), 2023

World Languages major/Dance minor