Posted on March 9, 2010
Photo attribution to hchen1 on Flickr
An international career is not something that happens overnight. It is built by making strides to incorporate international skills and experiences into your professional resume. The great thing is that you can start building those skills and having those experiences today.
One of the best ways to look at your international career is like a business. You are your biggest asset. Your goal is to optimize and distinguish yourself in each category of your professional career like Education, Skills, Professional Experience and Community Involvement (Bonus: these are also categories of your resume). Make it a priority to have at least one international skill or experience that you can add to each of your categories.
We have included 5 ways for you to add an international flair to your career. Some require more planning and a monetary investment, while others simply require time. Regardless of the barriers to entry, each of these activities will distinguish you. Ultimately, that is the goal of anyone looking to have an international career; to not only consider himself or herself an asset, but for the companies to value them as an asset as well.
1. Learn a language (Category advantage: Skills)
In a global marketplace, multilingualism is an essential element of an international career. Having basic comprehension and conversational abilities in one language is the beginning step. Take a class. Join a language club. Teach yourself online. Make your goal to add a minimum amount of fluency in one language. As you build your fluency in one language, start adding more languages to your skill sets. “Valerie Koreman, a senior executive with an employment agency in The Hague” recommends knowing at least three European languages for a career in Europe.
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Posted by: Olga at Going Global
Posted on March 3, 2010
Photo attribution to LivingOS on Flickr
Aspiring international professionals have the advantage of kicking off their international career even before moving abroad. The nature of the global marketplace opens an arena of opportunities for individuals who can communicate in more than one language. Language competency adds to your marketability and positions you as an internationally savvy professional.
Learning languages is often associated with formal classes at universities or language schools. What if I told you, that you could start today for free? We included 5 top ways that you can begin your language training by making small adjustments to your everyday life.
1. Join an International Club
Meetup is one of the easiest ways to start building your language skills. Find a club that brings together people who are interested in speaking your language of choice. The more you surround yourself with people speaking this language, the quicker you will learn to dominate it.
2. Relax and Listen to the Music
Find music in your target language that you like. It does not matter if at first you do not understand the lyrics. You may start singing along without even knowing what you are singing. You are not only learning the rhythm of the language, you are learning new vocabulary.
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Posted by: Olga at Going Global
Posted on February 19, 2010
Photo attribution to TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³
What do you get when you combine the elegance of European culture with the allure of South American lifestyle? None other than the sexy Argentina. Ranked as number 40 in The Economists Quality of Life index for 2009, Argentina is a top destination for anyone interested in improving their Spanish, dancing and love for the outdoors.
Famous for
Beef, Diego Maradona (soccer player), Evita Perón, tango, Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia, Che Guevara, the largest dinosaur ever discovered
Language
The main language spoken is Spanish. Head to the northwest Andean mountain region and experience the native tongue of Quechua.
Idioms native to Argentina
Even though there are over a dozen countries around the world that share Spanish as their native language, each country personalizes their language with distinctive expressions. These are a few examples of Argentinean expressions to help you in your everyday speech.
- Pibe/Piba: (Boy/Girl) “El Pibe” (The Boy) “La Piba” (The Girl).
- Che (This is pure Buenos Aires is similar to the Australian “Mate”)
- “Que haces Che ?” (how are you Mate?)
- La Vieja: (Old Lady) Very loving way to calling one’s mom.
- El Viejo: (Old Man) Very loving way to calling one’s dad.
Climate
Photo Attribution to Stuck in Customs
Neighboring land locked Bolivia and stretching to the tip of South America, Argentina encompasses a wide variety of climates. From beaches like Mar de Plata, to deserts like Monte Desert, to glacier carved landscapes in Patagonia, to a metropolitan soccer mecca in Buenos Aires, Argentina offers its natives and travelers a host of activities within a several hour drive.
Multinational Companies
Here is a list of multinational companies that have satellite offices in Argentina. To find a more comprehensive list to scope out potential employers, use the AMCham website (US Chamber of Commerce in Argentina). The website is written in Spanish however just type “translate web page” along with the url into Google and voila!
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Posted by: Olga at Going Global
Posted on February 15, 2010
Photo attribution to Bernzilla
As your international coach, it’s important for us at Going Global to keep you on track towards your international adventure. The Must Do Monday series is designed to help you go abroad while building the foundation for your career. These tips are applicable for any type of international experience, regardless if it is directly related to working abroad.
Today’s Must Do Monday is focused on auditing your progress to building your international foundation. The advantage of these tips is that they are broken down in manageable chunks that can easily be added to your weekly activities. As you reflect on what you have accomplished, focus on how this is helping you get to the next step of going abroad. Even if there is an area that you haven’t completed yet, that’s ok! Remember that going abroad is something that is unique and takes planning. Focus on all the milestones that you have achieved.
Have you completed all these weekly steps and want to share your story? Do you have any that you would like to see in the next coming weeks? We would love to hear your feedback.
The Must Do Mondays are shown in the order of most recent posts first. It is up to you as to which one to start with. As with any goal, it is always wise to have a sequential order for your upcoming tasks. That way you have the ability to track your progress as you accomplish each milestone.
- Seek Out International Advice
(The best people that can help you get abroad are the ones that have already been there, done that. Learn how to find them and build a relationship with them.)
- Write Your Resume
(The most important document of your professional career. Learn how to approach writing it in a manageable yet effective way.)
- Building Your LinkedIn Profile
(LinkedIn is rapidly becoming the calling card of all professionals. Start your international career on the best foot by creating your LinkedIn profile. It looks great on a business card and demonstrates your skills and accomplishments to the whole world.)
- Start Building Your Network
(The say ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’. It wasn’t built by one person either. Having a network of colleagues, mentors, friends and anyone who endorses you is your most powerful asset throughout your professional career. The best time to start building it is now.)
- Make a Timeline
(Knowing where you stand in your quest for an international experience is vital to getting there. Having a plan with due dates helps you to organize yourself and provides you with a road map for your trip. The added benefit is that you build up the anticipation for your trip!)
- Take the Plunge
(While most of the Must Do Mondays are tactical, it all starts with making an internalized choice to go abroad. Do your own self audit and assess ‘why you want to go abroad’ and ‘how this will fit into your long term plans’?)
- Make Friends with the International Programs Office
(As you plan for your trip abroad, start by reaching out to the professionals. Utilize the resources that you have available on campus through the International Programs Office. It never hurts to introduce yourself and your international mission.)
- Get a Passport
(Your passport is vital to going abroad. It is very easy to get and with these simple steps, you can finish the process in one week.)
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Posted by: Olga at Going Global
Posted on February 8, 2010
Photo attribution to Here Be Dragons
They say that it takes a village to raise a child. On the flip side, it also takes a village to go international. We often think of an international experience as something that we do alone. In reality, many people that go abroad seek counsel from more seasoned travelers, expats and people who have already had that international experience. Lucas Franchi, our guest who is teaching English in South Korea, recommends, “ seeking advice or counsel from every source you can conceive. Everyone you meet every day can teach you something; learn from them all.”
This week focus on talking to 5 people who have already gone abroad. We have outlined 10 key questions to ask them and where to find these pillars of international wisdom. When Kevin Kurkjian decided to take a gap year (an interim year after college to travel), he was clueless about how to embark on this adventure. He asked everyone he could about how to budget and plan for the trip, where to go, how to get there, etc. Because of their advice, he was able to travel around the world on less than $15,000. This challenge may seem daunting especially if you are not used to approaching strangers. Consider this your training bootcamp for going abroad. When you are in a new culture and country, you have to be flexible and ready to ask questions, no matter how silly it may seem to you.
Where to find your international counsel:
- International Clubs
- Language Classes
- International Chamber of Commerce (check your cities listing)
- Irish or British pubs (Yes…lots of foreigners hang out there)
- Meetup groups
Questions to ask:
- Why did you decide to go abroad?
- How did you choose where to go?
- How much money did it cost you? (Be a delicate asking this. Not everyone is as open about this.)
- How did you save money to finance your international trip? (e.g. a certain percentage a month, high yield savings account, cookie sale)
- What service did you use to book your flights and accommodation? (STA, Student Universe, Kayak, HostelWorld.com)
- What was your favorite and least favorite part of the trip?
- What resources did you use to research before you left?
- What kinds of things did you pack for your trip?
- Do you know of anyone in the (country/countries) where I am going that I could speak to?
- Who could you recommend that I speak with that has gone abroad as well?
What kind of advice did you get when you went abroad? How did you find it?
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Posted by: Olga at Going Global
Posted on January 28, 2010
Photo courtesy of Lucas Franchi
One of the biggest lessons that we have learned from our guests, Erin Bream (Fulbright Scholar in Colombia), James Norris (Young Professional in Singapore), Michael Pearsun (Winner of a Study Abroad in Korea) and Alan Perlman (Cost-of-living surveyor) is that there is no such thing as a cookie-cutter international experience.
So what happens when you decide to take ‘the road less traveled’? You open yourself to a world of possibilities, literally. That is our lesson from our guest this week, Lucas Franchi. He decided rather than to follow the normal trajectory for a recent college grad, he was going to explore his ‘road less traveled’. He ventured out to combine his love for languages and culture as an ESL teacher in Asia. His one-year adventure has turned into a three-year career that he hopes to continue building in other countries as well. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
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Posted by: Olga at Going Global
Posted on January 26, 2010
Photo attribution to TheGoogly on Flickr
The time has officially come. It’s resume time. Writing a resume is often correlated to a painful and dreadful experience. You know you have to but it takes so much time! Well not to fear. It doesn’t have to be that way. Your resume is the single most important document that you will ever write in your career. That being said, it doesn’t have to be perfect the first time. You will go through many, many iterations of your resume.
The goal for this week is to start and complete your first resume. If you already have a resume, spend this week polishing it up. Remember to include any relevant experience that has to do with international topics. That encompasses language abilities, international clubs, international volunteering, gap year travel, etc. Your resume is your international calling card and must convey your international aptitudes.
Generally in our Must Do Monday posts, we give a 5-day breakdown of how to achieve the goal for the week. This week we are going to tweak that slightly. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
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Posted by: Olga at Going Global
