Increasing mobility in the employment market creates a greater degree of competition as well as opening up opportunities, so an international outlook can give you a sharper edge in your personal and career development.

Opportunities are out there for students and graduates of all disciplines, even if you do not yet speak a foreign language. Sensitivity to other cultures - particularly an understanding the workplace culture in a given country, your attitude, mindset and enthusiasm are just as important as linguistic ability, if not more so in some respects.   Similarly, skills that linguists possess, including communication, networking and analytical thinking, can help them to break into many different professional areas in the UK or abroad – management consulting or tax consultancy, just as a couple of examples. 

Starting points for information on living and working abroad:

• The EXODUS online databased published by Careers Europe can be accessed through the Interactive Career Planning course in Blackboard
• Working abroad section of the Prospects website
• Country profiles produced by the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS)
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office website  - travel advice and country specific information
• The Directgov public services website also offers advice about travel and living abroad
• Monetos provides practical guides on living in different countries
• International JobOnline, developed by the Careers Group at the University of London
• EURES - network linking the public employment services in Europe
• Eurograduate
• Europass - take your skills with you. The Europass initiative was designed by The European Commission to help people to make their skills and qualifications easily understood in and around Europe. See the UK National Europass Centre's website for information on the Europass documents and the UK NEC's services.
• Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL)
• jobs and internships in the USA:
  • The Mountbatten Internship Programme
  • BUNAC
  • Camp America
  • CCUSA
• Charities, volunteering and expeditions - these are mostly self-funding
• Further tips on finding a placement abroad
• GRADChina - only partly in English, but is of value to students seeking opportunities back in China.
• Swansea University’s Internationalisation Programmes