Go abroad and turn your career into a global success

Your summer holiday may feel like a distant dream, but you don’t have to commit to a life working under the soggy Britishskies–workingabroadcould be the next step in your career.

Whether it’s Sydney or Shanghai, taking your career or studying abroad might seem like a daunting prospect. but a cultural and professional swap could seriously benefit your future career aspects as the European Commission Erasmus Impact Study (2014) found. The study discovered that young people who study or train abroad are twice as likely tofindemploymentquickly–so what are you waiting for?

VickyGough,SchoolsAdviser at the British Council agrees that the benefits of working or studyingabroadcanreallyopen your career aspects.

“Research has shown that internationalexperience–such as time spent working abroad – helps to build an individual’s confidence as well as their ability to innovate and to connect with counterparts around the globe”, she says.

“Depending on the destination, it can also result in the acquisition of a foreign language – a huge boost for a CV in a competitive job market.”

Don’t let basic language skills deter you though, as there’s no better way to learn thantobeimmersedinaculture –andEnglishlanguageskillsare always very sought-after.

It’snotjustemployeeswho’ll benefitthough.Businesseswith an international workforce are likelytoreapthebenefitstoo,as aWorldofExperience(2015)report found out.

The report found that a large majority of those who had benefited from an internationalopportunitydescribedthemselves as having the abilities needed for innovation, includingstronganalyticalandcritical thinking skills (73 per cent) and strong problem-solving skills (83percent),believingthattheir experience abroad had helped them to gain those skills.

More than half of those who had attended university overseas felt the experience had helped them find a job that interests them.

Vickyadds:“AstheUKcomes to reposition itself on the world stage,havinganinternationallymindedworkforceismorevital than ever.”

“We need far more young people to take up overseas opportunities and learn languages–notonlytoenrichtheirown lives, but to help the UK continue to prosper across the globe.”