Often you would have heard that studying abroad makes you more employable and you might have wondered why is that so, What makes a person who has studies abroad from the ones who haven’t? What factors make the companies employ them more?
In this article, we will be discussing how studying abroad makes your career prospects improve. How you become a preferable candidate in the eyes of companies. Let’s cover them one by one.
You learn to function out of your comfort zone
When you study abroad you have to do a lot of things that you probably won’t do if you study in your own home country. You will have to interact with a lot of strangers who don’t even speak your first language. The weather is different, the food is different, etc. All such experiences push you out of your comfort zone and that is what employers look for, a person who can function outside his/her comfort zone.
You establish diverse contacts
Studying abroad helps you meet new people. You make several friends and acquaintances in your University who are from different countries and in different fields of study. So if you make the effort to socialise and keep in contact with them even after graduating, you will end with a worldwide contact base. Your acquaintances will be working in several parts of the world in different sectors. This networking may come out in handy sometimes.
Get exposure to different cultures and languages
What companies like the most are a person with cross-cultural competencies. Who is aware of both western and eastern cultures, one who is broad-minded. Studying abroad does exactly that. You interact with different cultures and hence your understanding broadens.Another advantage that studying abroad offers is that you will be able to gain fluency in the language of the country where you are studying. Most often it is English, which is a global language. Speaking it daily will make it become part of you and you will be much better than your competition.
Learn to work in a team
While studying abroad you deal with different people from different backgrounds and have to sail through your life amid these differences daily. It makes you tolerant, empathetic, and adaptable to your surroundings. Thus, you develop into a valuable asset who will be a better team worker, will be considerate of each member’s opinion and adapt accordingly. Companies like that.
Communication skills improve and you become confident
In your home country, you carry out daily activities in your native language and use English less often. But when companies hire employees they expect them to have good communication skills in this global language.
Let’s take India’s example, people often use Hinglish (Hindi+English) and therefore in important situations too they will unintentionally start speaking Hindi in between. But when studying abroad you have to communicate in English 24/7, be it ordering coffee, asking directions, buying grocery, interacting with classmates, etc.
Being surrounded by the language to such an extent makes you fluent in speaking it without any accent. Your body language also improves and you become confident in putting forth your opinions convincingly.
Deciding to study abroad requires courage
Leaving the comfort of your home country and deciding to study abroad requires a great deal of courage. It shows that you can take up challenges without hesitations and have a great desire to learn. Companies love to have employees who are open to challenges and new experiences.
You grow independent
While staying abroad, you have to take care of every aspect of your life on your own. Back home you have family who takes care of half of the things, but while studying abroad, you are your own guardian. You have to take a wide variety of decisions for yourself and learn to take responsibilities for your actions. Such independent personalities are what companies look for.
You become mature
This is in continuation with the above point. Stating away from home for 3-4 years teaches you a lot. Life is the best teacher. Living your life on your own, making mistakes on the way, learning from those mistakes makes you mature. You become more aware of your surroundings and think like a mature person that how a certain action/decision is going to affect you overall. So companies would most definitely prefer a mature and aware person over a naive one.
You become a multitasker and learn to balance things
Most of the students who study abroad don’t only study there, but they engage themselves in some part-time employment too to finance their expenses. Studying and working at the same time moulds you into a multitasker who can balance his student life as well as working life efficiently. Companies would love to hire multitaskers who also have prior experience of balancing life with work.
Your decision making and time management skills improve
Should I go on a trip with my friends or will it be too expensive and time-consuming, should I complete my assignment first or prepare for the upcoming test, you will be faced with such situations all the time. You will learn to prioritise what is important at the moment and plan to do other things later. Your decision making improves. When you have lots of things to do and you plan them well, you develop yourself into a person who can be a perfect fit for high intensity and demanding job roles.
Internationally acquired degrees open up many job markets
Studying abroad provides you with degrees that are globally recognised. With them, you can either chose to work in your home country or any other country of your choice. You become pretty much eligible to apply anywhere in the world with these degrees. It greatly improves your career prospects. If you are the kind of person who doesn’t like to stay in the same country for long, then having a globally recognised degree is a must-have.
There are multiple arguments in favour of how studying abroad helps improve your career prospects. We have tried to give you an overall picture of all the benefits that you may get after having studied abroad. Your employability chances become much better as compared to someone who has not studied abroad. You develop as a person. So, don’t hesitate and embark upon this beautiful journey of studying abroad.