Transitioning from an Academic Environment to a Professional Setting Abroad

For students who decided to take a leap of faith and follow their dreams of studying abroad, being able to graduate is definitely an achievement like no other because of other challenges encountered throughout the academic journey there. After this momentous milestone, these graduates decide to take another leap of faith, facing another challenging experience that would mold their professional careers. If you’re one of these students, you are taking the opportunity to be part of the workforce in your chosen destination country and pursue a related job career to your accomplished degree.

Since you already have sufficient experience of living abroad upon completion of your studies, you already have the advantage of preparing to apply for a job there. Taking this next step allows you to gain benefits of having new learning experiences, improving your social skills, and maximizing your honed capabilities from your finished course. However, this kind of transition could be overwhelming for international fresh grad students, which is why there are important things you need to know as you shift from an academic environment to a professional setting abroad.

With that, here are the steps you can take to prepare in applying for a job in your chosen destination country:

1. Analyze the extent of your knowledge and skills

After finishing your degree abroad, you have the chance to determine what additional skills and knowledge you have gained and to evaluate your capacity to utilize these as you browse through job opportunities that could make such skills and knowledge useful. To properly determine your skillset, have a list organizing your strengths as an international graduate student and examine how you can apply these to your desired or preferred jobs. By making this list, you can also pinpoint what kind of tasks you can best use your skills in which could further enhance your capabilities and build your work ethic as well.

Additionally, since you are already analyzing your strengths, you can also identify weaknesses or in which areas you are lacking. By including these weaknesses, you are able to know what you need to improve so that eventually, these can be turned into strengths as well.

2. Determine which career path is best suited for your skillset

Once you have already accomplished analyzing your skillset by listing down the strengths and weaknesses of your capabilities, you can now move on to figuring out what specific career path is best suited or most relevant for you. You can research job opportunities online and find out what specific job offers work where you can best maximize your learned knowledge and skills from your studies. You may also consult members of your course department if they manage internships with company partners which could kickstart your career.

Make sure to consider all the factors you can think of before deciding on choosing a job so that you know that what you have chosen is the perfect steppingstone for your professional career.

3. Accomplish and collect all the required documents

In starting your professional journey abroad, the initial things that you need to prepare are the formal documents that are required upon applying for a job. Take note that some of these requirements may have already been accomplished by you at the beginning of your study abroad journey, so you may review which particular documents have already been gathered. There could also be additional requirements besides the formal documents that are required, so it would be beneficial for you to also inquire about your preferred job and find out the complete requirements to be considered as an applicant for opening jobs.

With that, these are the essential documents you need to prepare in applying for a job abroad:

• Academic Transcripts
• CV
• Resume
• Recommendation Letters
• Proof of IELTS Test Scores
• Passport
• Post-study work visa
• Green Card
• Work Visa
• Work Permit
• International Driving Permit

Be reminded that not all these requirements are necessary for all destination countries for studying and working abroad. It depends on the migration laws and system of a specific country on what requirements they need on the list above. That is why it is best to research as much as you can about your destination country and its needed documentations for international applicants.

4. Create a clear and concise resume or CV

A curriculum vitae or a resume is a document containing the overall summary of a person’s career, qualifications, and educational experience. Besides the other documents listed above, a resume is very important because this is the first document which employers would be looking at as you start applying for a job, and therefore, it is important that you leave a good impression through it.

In making this important document for employment abroad, you have to make sure that its content is sufficiently clear in terms of the details and organization. Furthermore, the information included should be concise so that job interviewers could easily scan through the details. Being direct to the point is preferred by companies.

If you have already created a resume, then what you need to do is look over the information you have included and proofread it as well as add other necessary details which are part of your qualifications. Review the content of the resume as much as you can to make sure that every detail is correct.

5. Do your research on your preferred company

Putting in time to do extensive research on a prospect company is a must-do for applicants in order to properly understand its goals and the jobs it assigns its employees. Educating yourself to prepare for a job interview for a company is beneficial because there is a high chance that you would be asked what you know about the company and why you decided to choose it to apply to. By doing this, you are also giving yourself the chance to know more about the position you are applying to and as well as the tasks in line with that particular position.

Doing research on a company is an important step to take in preparing for your possible future job because it also allows you to let the company know of your characteristics as a person as well as your capabilities as a potential employee. Being knowledgeable about important information of a company is also one of the ways you can make a good impression.

6. Study what you need to do before, during, and after your job interview

Once you have finally decided to apply for a certain position in a company and you have already been assigned a job interview, you need to prepare by studying what you need to remember before, during, and after that job interview. It is important that you are well-prepared for the interview because this is your final step in the process of applying for a job. This will ultimately determine whether or not you get accepted for the position you are applying for.

Before an interview, you can prepare by studying as much as you can about the position you are applying for and the company you are applying to. You may also review strategies in answering job interview questions. During the interview, it is important to remember to be as honest as much as possible with the questions and to answer in complete but concise information. You can also show your keenness and enthusiasm in applying for the job to give an impression to employers that you really want the job. Lastly, after a job interview, what you can do is wait patiently for updates from the employer and respectfully accept the outcome of your application. Should there be a significant time wherein the company has not contacted you again yet, you can write an email indicating that you are asking for updates about your application politely.
 

7. Ask for advice from family and friends who are professionals

If you are unsure of what kind of job you want to take at the moment, you can always ask for advice from those close to you, like your family and friends who are already working professionals. It would be helpful for you to seek help from friends and family who are currently working abroad so that you can start building connections or a network specifically for your professional endeavors. You can ask any detail regarding preparing to work abroad and how you can manage once you have already began working.

It is important to have this kind of network abroad especially for work because if you have this connection, you have a support system which would guide you throughout your professional journey there. By having this network, you can freely communicate with other international applicants and employees about your experiences and everything else you need abroad.

Transitioning from an academic environment to a professional setting abroad is a big jump for international students. They need the proper guide in preparing everything they need to be ready in applying for a relevant job opportunity they could choose which could maximize their learned capabilities. Through the provided steps above, they could complete everything they need and be ready to work in their chosen destination country.

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