So I got the idea to make this blog post after talking to one of my friends who is planning to move abroad. She was telling me how her ideal plan would be to finish her current degree program and then move abroad to do a relevant internship program based on the career field she is hoping to pursue moving forward. I thought it was a great idea and really hope it works out for her just as intended. But I remember in the midst of us talking she also mentioned being really concerned about coming back to the workforce after her time abroad, especially if she isn't chosen to do the internship that's most relevant to her new career path. Her biggest worry was about how she'd be able to start job hunting again after "wasting" so much time abroad. I remember telling her that if she had to do an unrelated internship, recruiters could still see the value in the experience. And as long as she can speak to the benefits herself, it's not considered a waste. That conversation made me realize that anybody not planning to become a teacher probably feels the same way about teaching abroad. But I believe teaching abroad actually helped me stand out as I continued building my career and it can help you too, here's how.
Having "real-world" experience is great when applying for work and for graduate schools!
Working as an English teacher gives you a chance to experience the professional world. It shows graduate school and corporate recruiters that you understand what it's like to be in a professional environment, know how to work against challenges, can meet work expectations, etc. Having real-world experiences also gives you some great examples to answer interview questions in the STAR format.
And on top of that, having international work experience in today's global economy is a real selling point!
No matter the industry, if you are working for a large corporation, it's highly likely that they have offices and locations all across the globe. Having experience working cross-culturally shows that you understand how to interact with diverse groups, you can adapt to unique business practices, and you can respect other perspectives.
In my first job after returning to the US, I found myself consistently working with people from India, Egypt, and a few countries in the Middle East. And my current job is with a travel company that has hired people with lots of diverse backgrounds. For example, one person on my team is from Bangladesh, my director is Irish, and I've been trained by people in Canada and Hawaii. They also have a program that allows us to work from offices around the world. So being able to confidently speak to my international experiences was key for both of these positions.
Being bilingual is also a great skill for your resume.
When I taught abroad, I really wanted to come back fluent in Spanish. Unfortunately, I did not meet that goal but I'm still working on it! However, being fluent in Spanish would have been really helpful in my last job because I also worked with quite a few store employees whose first language was Spanish. Depending on the kind of work you are looking into, being bilingual can enhance your resume and give you a one-up against other applicants.
Teaching can build important professional skills.
As a teacher, you will gain leadership, organizational, planning, and time management skills. These skills are easily transferrable as they are important in every field of work. Your ability to create lesson plans can translate to completing a major project. Your ability to keep the attention of a bunch of teenagers may also indicate your ability to present in front of a large group. And working as a teacher shows that you can effectively manage your time and the times of everyone under your jurisdiction.
The other soft skills you gain abroad can be even more important.
Living and working abroad also helps build your communication, problem-solving, relationship building, autonomy, and adaptability skills. You were able to overcome language barriers to communicate with those around you. You were able to learn a new bus system to get in and out of the city. You were able to build relationships with the other teachers at the school. You were able to create and lead your own lesson plans for the classroom. And you were able to find alternative hair products to last until you got home upon realizing that you left everything in the States (LOL). These are the skills that recruiters need out of their candidates, sometimes even more so than the technical knowledge.
Plus it gives you something unique to talk about!
This is my favorite perk from working abroad. When I was interviewing for my current job, I remember mentioning that I taught abroad and the recruiter thought it was so cool! When applying for jobs, it's very possible that other candidates also have bachelor's degrees, interned at major companies, and all had a good GPA. But it's much less likely that those people also worked abroad. So as recruiters are flipping through resumes with the same type of information, working abroad sets you apart from other candidates. And now that I am in the role, it's one of my go-to fun facts.
So contrary to popular belief, teaching abroad is not only for teachers. I'd recommend it to any and everybody!
Save $200 With These Referral Links!
Hope this served as your sign to step outside of your comfort zone and teach abroad! I thoroughly enjoyed my experience! And if that wasn't enough, I also have a referral link that will save you an extra $200! (I wish I would've had one of these before my trip, $700 to cover housing, meals, placement assistance, etc. while living abroad for 3 months is honestly a steal! That would normally only cover 1 week in a hotel lol.)
And of course, there's no hiding that there is a benefit for me too if you use my referral link because if you get $200, I also get $200. Win-win lol. However, I'm not in it for the money. I genuinely did enjoy my experience and would recommend it a thousand times!
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