How to Talk About Study Abroad in an Interview

Living abroad usually gives people the main character feeling. Most times It’s a dream coming true after avid months and maybe even years of planning. Everyone who has ever lived, studied, interned, or has had any experience internationally tends to cherish these memories very deeply.

If you travel intentionally, it almost always leads to magical experiences.

However, living abroad isn’t just about memories, it’s about learning and acquiring new skills in a challenging environment. To choose to live abroad is to directly confront your comfort zone. It’s the time when people live away from family for the first time, learn a new language, and have to adapt their lives to a new culture and way of living. It’s when they learn new skills that can be used for the rest of their lives. It's (sometimes) a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Traveling can be such a transformative experience that people should be able to refer to it when looking for other new challenges, such as a new job. If you’re trying to figure out how to utilize your study abroad experience, you’re in the right place. Check our tips for how to talk about study abroad in an interview!

READ MORE: Why Experiencing Culture Shock is a Good Thing for Young Adults

Should I talk about my international experience during an interview?

The short answer is: of course! If you feel like your time abroad had a positive impact on your life, in the way you interact with people, and in how you see the world and yourself, then it’s clear that it made an impact on who you are.

Job interviews are a way companies try to understand who they are talking to and if the candidate is going to be a good fit for the company’s goals and culture. You should make who you are very clear in job interviews.

During an interview, it’s important to relax and be yourself.

However, talking to a recruiter is not the same as talking to a friend. Interviews are, in most cases, a formal situation where people present themselves on their best behavior. Stories about how you got crazy with friends in Barcelona or did something in Paris that could be considered offensive shouldn't be shared. Put your best foot forward, and opt for stories about what you achieved during study abroad.

In general, the interviewer will ask about moments in your life when you were challenged and had to overcome an obstacle, when you had to plan a budget, and many other questions that can offer the opportunity to talk about the skills you acquired by living abroad. Before the interview, think about how these skills can translate to the work you may be interviewing for.

How to talk about study abroad in an interview

1. Mention it when relevant

No need to say, but the interviewer is in charge of the interview. They will allow you to talk about your life and your accomplishments. Don’t overstep their work and overshare facts about your life. There’s a time and place for everything.

In interviews, it’s time for you to listen before talking. They are looking for specific answers, so if you go off on a tangent it might be detrimental to your performance in the interview. Let them know who you are by the terms they want to. Show your best self.

Use the adaptability you’ve learned in your time abroad to read and understand the situation. That's how to use study abroad in an interview without being obnoxious.

2. Use it as an ice breaker

Study abroad alumni *love* swapping stories!

Interviews can be nerve-racking. A good way to smooth the tension is to break the ice. Your international experience may have offered you some funny, unexpected moments and situations that when shared could help the recruiter see you through a different lens.

In many cases, recruiters have also studied abroad (depending on the industry you’re interviewing within). If not, life for sure has offered them several situations where you both can converge on the unexpected and interesting.

Mentioning a good story from your time abroad when something unusual happened might be a good way to bond on a personal level!

3. When asked about your communication skills

If you’ve learned a new language or improved your second or third language skills while abroad, that’s a great way how to talk about your study abroad experience. In most cases when asked about communication skills, interviewers want to understand how you deal with conflict (being that among colleagues, tasks, or any other problem that may arise).

This is the perfect opportunity to bring an example of a communicating problem or situation you had to solve when abroad. It could be how you had to rent an apartment, how you dealt with transportation, how you got home when you were lost in a different part of the city, how you made friends overcoming a language barrier, how you communicated your boundaries, and so much more.

4. To show your adaptability and capacity for learning

Recruiters want to know how well you will adapt to the company they are interviewing you for, as well as your capability for learning and mastering the new skills you’ll need to perform a new job.

That’s how to use study abroad in an interview—use the opportunity to mention that you have adapted to a new culture in a different country previously. Mention that you had to learn how to get around in a new subway system, or how to drive on the other side of the road. Maybe you had to adapt to new flatmates from different parts of the globe.

Did you learn essential aspects of the culture you were inserting yourself into so you could fit in? Did you take all the challenges that living in a new country brought to you and master the solution? That will show them that you are capable of adapting to any challenging situation this new job may bring your way.

5. To demonstrate your budget skills

Trust us—budgeting is a skill you’ll master during study abroad!

In most cases, the experience of living abroad is associated with a budget. Maybe you had to save money before going, had to find a job to pay your way while you were traveling, or you had a loan that you had to organize to pay after. In many ways, living abroad is a budget management task that you had to succeed in.

It’s even more interesting because when people are traveling abroad they want to travel even more. If they are based in Europe, people tend to go visit other countries in the region, and the same goes for anywhere else, such as Asia, Africa, South America...You naturally see the opportunity of traveling more for cheaper because of your current location on the globe. You maybe have to start planning that on top of your current budget, if not planned already.

A tip on how to talk about studying abroad in an interview is to mention stories from your personal experience with budgeting for travels, and the challenges you had to overcome to make your plans work. It shows commitment and exemplifies your organizational skills.

6. When conflict resolution is the topic

Again, interviews are a way for recruiters to try to understand your profile. How you deal with conflict in your life says a lot about your personality and behavior. It’s certain that while you lived abroad you had at least one problem that you had to solve.

This will be different than talking about your communication skills. When asked about conflict resolution you should talk about your actions, innovation, solutions, and ideas that you had to take to get out of a conflict.

Bring up a story of when you had to think outside of the box to solve a problem. That will show them you are reliable and can think for yourself, and in turn be able to help your prospective team or company when needed.

7. To show initiative

Traveling to a foreign country where you might not speak the local language shows a lot of courage.

Use the opportunities you have during the interview to show that you are one to take initiative, to put yourself voluntarily through challenges. That you see growth opportunities on going out and seeking more for yourself. It will show that you can be an asset, more than just an employee. It tells them that when given the opportunity you will jump into learning and perfecting new skills.

Studying abroad itself shows that you are one to accept challenges and new opportunities. Share a story of how you decided to take that action and jumped on the opportunity. That will remind them that you are one with initiative.

Studying abroad can help you snag your next job!

Knowing how to talk about your study abroad experience can be crucial during a job interview. It’s well known that studying abroad changes people's perception of self. It helps people acquire new skills in several areas, but mostly it changes lives.

Why not use that experience to help you in other areas of life, such as snagging a new job opportunity? Use our tips in your favor to rock that interview!

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