How to Build Your Resume while Traveling Abroad
As a business student, I’ve quickly learned that nearly everything is about the resume. Volunteering, student / community groups, steady jobs, etc. While surely they have other benefits, if you didn’t expect to get anything in return, I’d guess a majority of poor students and very young professionals would be less likely to participate in such activities when they could be working or partying.
So where does traveling fit in my resume boosting attempts? Well, nowhere yet, but here are some travel options for students or young professionals that can help out your resume.
State Department Internship
Arguably the most legitimate and reputable internship opportunity I’ve found thus far. The State Department has a variety of summer internships for students interested in basically every major that are looking to get into foreign affairs. It is definitely a competitive program, but would be well worth the effort if you are qualified.
In short, the internships that are placed abroad at various embassies are unpaid, but some offer free housing. But getting abroad for a fairly long duration, getting a great start in your career, and possibly getting free housing would make this a travel opportunity of a lifetime.
For more information, check out the Careers in Foreign affairs Facebook group or the State Department website.
Start a Travel Blog
Not soo glamorous sounding initially when phrased that way, but you’d be surprised at how much one can talk up the operation of a travel blog. Buy a domain, get a decent Wordpress design, write great content, learn the ropes of blogging (I can help, maybe..), and over some time you’ll have some revenue and profits. Using phrases like advertising sales, content development, search engine marketing, social media promotion, etc. can professionalize your travel blog, which is inherently not legitimate due to the mass’s portrayal of “blogging” in the mainstream media. Once again, if you want some help, contact me.
Language Courses
While traveling abroad, it’s super easy to enroll in some language courses. Best of all, it can be dirt cheap and fun. If you don’t want to mess with transferring and paying for credits, you can still give it a mention on your resume under your education section. For example, electing to take 10 hours a week of Spanish in Guatemala at a rate of $5/hour is a cheap price to pay for a resume mention and practical knowledge.
‘Holy shit where do I find those cheap language schools and programs’ you may be thinking. 123 Teach Me is the best language program search out there I believe. Google can help you find some language courses as well.
Study Abroad
I saved this for last since it’s the most obvious and widely used option. Enrolling at an international university is easy for anyone, especially for traditional high school or university students. Basically every college offers a lot of support for study abroad programs, and if you’re lucky enough to be at a large state university or nice private school you’ll have many very affordable options going basically anywhere. Living for months at a time abroad can give you an edge over others in the corporate world, and will probably even be expected in the not so distant future.
I was so excited as I read your post about resumes, it's so ironic with my own life. Still lovin' your site!
My husband and I leave on September 30th to backpack to various countries around the world for a year or so. Yesterday morning Justin published a post about USB Flash Drives. Then yesterday evening I updated three different versions of my resume, emailed attachments to him so he could throw them on the USB that we're bringing in our backpacks.
I created the three resumes to serve as three different purposes. One is an ESL resume with all of my English teaching experience, the second is all of my experience with kids (3 summers as a camp counsellor, etc) incase we want to work for an english camp or volunteer with kids, and the third version is more food and hospitality. You see I am a barista, and I would love to create espresso beverages somewhere else in the world.
As we have been planning for our adventure we have been updating a blog. http://www.nomadbackpackers.com We would love to have other opinions, ideas, encouragement, advice, helpful tips, and more left as comments.
Thanks,
Natalie
Hi Nick!
I really enjoyed reading your post! I am a student too and it's so true that having international experience on your resume is crucial for some positions or internships. Companies where I've worked were really interested by the fact that I volunteered abroad in Ecuador with United Planet. Volunteer experiences are a good way to prove that you're globally aware, independent and understand cultural differences. I was living with a really nice host family and I learned a lot of things about Ecuadorean culture thanks to them...
I've found that any experience abroad is beneficial. When working in London, I heard a business owner use the term "no london experience"... it means a lot to have international experience.