How To’s – Page 7

Being on my own for so long made me forget what it was like to be surrounded by my loved ones all the time. When I finally did come back home to my loved ones, it seemed so different. It is not because I was sad that I was home, but rather I wanted to be left alone because that was how I lived and grew as a person for the last 4 months in a country unlike the United States in almost every way. Reverse culture shock is real, and for me, it was hard to handle on my own.

I studied abroad in Beijing, China at Peking University for four months in the Fall of 2014. It was the best and the most challenging experience of my life, but it was more than worth it in every aspect. The culture, the language, and the food were like nothing we experience here in America; its like China was a whole new world just waiting to be discovered.

After being home for 2 months now, I have found some things to help the transition back to life both in America but also here at the University of Denver.

Take Time to Reflect:

It already seems as though my time abroad was a dream, if it were not for the reminder of all the great pictures that I took. Spend some time reflecting on your own about your experience, especially considering what you learned from it. Take this time to relive the memories, go through all your pictures, and contemplate how you felt about the overall experience. This helped me better understand what differences I appreciated about China, and the specific parts of my journey that really mattered to me; maybe it will help you in even more ways!

Find Your 2 Minute Short Story:

You will be asked by almost everyone (family, friends, Facebook followers, random neighbors, old co-workers, distant relatives, even dogs if they could talk) how your time abroad was and what your favorite memories were. I had to answer this question so many times it started to just become routine. Many times, the questions were just in passing so I picked a couple cool experiences and a few difficult ones to tell people about that really summed up my trip. Finding your study abroad short story will save you time, and brain power; it allows you to tell your story on your own terms, so enjoy!

Stay Connected with Your Friends from Abroad:

It is easy to fall out of contact with people, especially when you live in different states, and even different countries. Making the effort to chat and catch up with friends from abroad is very rewarding. Sometimes I just needed to chat with Lily because she was a part of the story about getting lost in the mountains in Southern China and finding our, or understand the hardship of being abroad as well as coming back home. They can be the greatest resource for you, as well as the best life-long friend. Getting back in touch with your friends from home and DU is equally important! Be sure to surround yourself with people who love you, care about you, and understand you

Find a New Routine to Help You readjust:

Sometimes familiar can be helpful when trying to adjust back to life at DU. Having a familiar routine that fits your desires and needs makes things seem a bit more normal. This can be going back to activities you did before you went abroad as well as joining new groups based off your experience abroad. Coming back onto campus, I continuing my work with the debate team for a sense of familiarity while also joining a sustainability group on campus to advocate for better environmental efforts on campus; I never want the city to be as polluted as Beijing was.

Tread Water, Don’t Dive into the Deep End:

Instead of jumping in and joining a bunch of clubs, taking a full course load, and finding a job; try to ease your transition back to life in the U.S. by making a little bit easier schedule. Take three class for winter quarter, be a member of a club rather than the leader of it, or work less hours at a part time job. The transition back is not easy, so make some time for yourself and enjoy being back!

-Nicole, Study Abroad Assistant

How do you handle pressure?

How do you handle conflict?

Tell me how you handled a difficult situation.

Tell me about a time when you faced some adversity in your life and how you overcame it.

Study abroad- while we returnees tend to focus on the amazingness of our experiences abroad, it is hard to imagine a study abroad experience without some sort of adversity, difficult situation, conflict or pressure. This adversity is meant to be capitalized upon. Use your experience to prove to employers that you are resilient and you have what they need.

Are you a leader or a follower?

Tell me about an accomplishment you are most proud of.

Give me one example of when you’ve used your problem-solving skills.

Tell me about a time you made a mistake.

Tell me about a time you failed, what you learned from it, and how you would act differently if you encountered something similar again.

Let’s imagine you are one of three candidates in a final round of interviewing, all with similar qualifications, skills, and background. Except for one thing: you studied abroad. Are you prepared to convince the interviewer of the value added you can bring to their company because of your study abroad experience?

Or let’s imagine you and the other candidates all have same qualifications and all studied abroad. Can you make yourself stand out in a crowd with a study abroad experience that shows a combination of desirable skills? Most of us are probably thinking, no, not yet, I couldn’t do that in this very moment.

The thing about professional development—preparing documents required for job applications and job searching in general—is that it is a process of research, reflection, and improvement. We research positions and required qualifications, we match our skillsets with the job descriptions’ vocabulary, and we practice aloud our rationale of how we match the position.

It is often easy with study abroad experiences to follow the STAR method- Situation, Task, Action, Result; proving your skills through a story. Go back to the list of questions; did any of them resonate with you and of one of your study abroad experiences? Try to set up your story in the STAR method to demonstrate skills like flexibility, active listening, ability to work with people different than yourself, solving problems, critical thinking, and managing conflict.

By using your study abroad experiences in interviews you are displaying maturity through the reflection it took to draw out those skills. It is also a great topic that creates an opening for more conversation. Use your study abroad stories to help you land your next job.

Finally, look for the annual Lessons From Abroad—Study Abroad Returnee Conference in your region to learn how to improve your resume writing and interviewing skills. You will also have the opportunity to network with professionals who have internationally-focused positions and learn how to work, teach, or volunteer abroad after graduation. http://www.lessonsfromabroad.org/

Tag: How To’s

A Returnee’s Guide to Surviving Reverse Culture Shock

How Study Abroad Can Help Your Professional Development