Why go abroad?

Make the most of your time abroad!

A recent survey by i-Graduate, an independent research organisation, showed ‘around 60% of the country’s top employers indicate that experience of international study enhances employability’.

"What global companies look for are people who we think can take a global perspective. Students are well placed to do this if they have taken opportunities to widen their cultural perspective. The people that succeed can work in multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural and multi-locational teams. If students have demonstrated they can work with other cultural and teams, that’s a big plus for us as we need students to be intellectually curious and culturally agile if they are going to work in a global context.” Sonja Stockton, Director, Talent, PricewaterhouseCoopers

-The Global Skills Gap, Think Global and British Council, December 2011

What is employability?

“ a set of attributes, skills and knowledge that all ….participants should possess to ensure they have the capability of being effective in the work place – to the benefit of themselves, their employer and the wider community “ - CBI 2009

Use your experiences abroad to boost your profile:

your self-confidence and ability to be flexible and adaptable will have increased
you may have had to resolve a number of problems and become more independent
take advantage of every opportunity and get involved in voluntary and extracurricular activities
learn / practice a language
develop international professional and academic networks
be an ambassador : make presentations (about Swansea, Wales, UK etc) write a blog! (contact s.a.matthews@swansea.ac.uk to become an official Swansea University blogger!

Useful links:

Selling your experience