INTERVIEW SKILLS

Your international experience can be a strong selling point in a job interview. Before the interview read the job advertisement and know the key skills and abilities that the employer requires for the job. In the interview give examples from your international experience that demonstrate how you have used those skills in real life situations. Remember the STAR method when answering interview questions:

THE S-T-A-R METHOD

S = Situation - Describe the situation
T = Task - Describe the task
A = Action - Describe the action you took and why
R = Results - Describe the results of your actions

The S-T-A-R method guarantees you will give a specific and detailed example of how you handled a situation and accomplished your goal.

If your interviewer remarks or asks about your international experience, take it as an opportunity to expand. Don’t let the opportunity pass by with a simple “Yes, it was great!”

As for leveraging all that globe-trotting you've done, Brooks says,. "When students come back from a junior year abroad or a foreign internship, I always ask them, 'Okay, who has a disaster story?'," says Brooks. "And of course almost everyone does. They lost all their luggage, including their passport and visa, in a place where they didn't speak a word of the language, for example. Those are great stories to tell an employer! It's chance to show off your problem-solving skills and resourcefulness, and that you can adapt in an unfamiliar situation."

• Develop stories and responses in advance. Be ready to show it was a learning experience and provide examples.
• Emphasize to potential employers that learning a foreign language thoroughly is really about developing an understanding for a whole unfamiliar culture.
• Utilize the reflection questions to formulate your responses and stories.
• Review the list of skills and develop examples of how you gained these abroad.
• Don't present your overseas travel as just a series of vacations; instead identify skills in the job description and create examples from your international experience that exemplify those skills. If you lost all of your luggage, including your passport and visa, or took the wrong bus going the opposite direction of where you wanted, in a place where you didn't speak a word of the language, for example. Those are great stories to tell an employer to show off your problem-solving skills and resourcefulness, and that you can adapt in an unfamiliar situation.
• Be sure to use some domestic examples also and ensure your example/stories are balanced. It is better to illustrate critical thinking skills than to show-off or demean one culture at the expense of another.

If you work better with models here is one you could use:

• Why you chose the program
• Story that illustrates a skill
• A few sentences about how that skill is transferable to this specific job

FOLLOW UP

A follow-up letter is often appropriate after the interview, thanking the interviewer for the opportunity. Not only is this polite, but it also helps remind the interviewer about you and your qualifications. Any correspondence should be addressed to the interviewer personally including name and title, company name, street or post office address, state and postal code, and then the country.

For more country-specific information, check out Going Global at http://online.goinglobal.com/guides.aspx?context=Global

Lastly, to be successful in the interview process and abroad, you must be flexible and open-minded, both eager and willing to learn new ways of doing things. You must be willing to "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." To hold fast to your own cultural traditions even when they offend another or render you ineffective is a waste of everyone's time. People everywhere appreciate individuals who are at least interested in getting to know them and learn about their ways of doing things. Enormous cultural faux pas are forgiven of pleasant individuals who are making honest attempts to fit in. On the other hand, arrogant know-it-alls can sink million dollar deals just by their boisterous attitudes. So, be patient and observant. Ask questions; show your interest in learning and broadening your horizons. Be aware that you represent your country to everyone you meet. You may be the first "Australian" that a "German" has ever met. Both of these individuals will walk away from the initial encounter assuming that all Australians or all Germans are just like you. Representing an entire country is a major responsibility and one that you should be aware of in everything you say and do.