Tyler Kenny, Engineering Perspectives of the Renaissance and Sustainability: Florence Summer 2023
Raise your hand if you love interviews! Unfortunately, I cannot count how many hands just went up… but I will assume at least one person winced at the thought of an endless sea of applications, phone-screenings, and interviews. This blog is for that person.
I am passionate about engineering. My classes are interesting. Group projects are fun. But when I have three assignments due tomorrow and a midterm the next, my eyes don’t exactly glow up when I talk about school in an interview. Will the interviewer notice? Will they write down that my soul yawns at the thought of school?
Across many lists of what interviewers look for, passion often falls within the top 10. It makes sense, though. If you would dread the work that you’d be doing for them, they may be doing you a favor by moving onto other candidates. The issue isn’t that we aren’t passionate though, it’s just hard to silence the stress at times.
How, then, can you break through those grey clouds and wow your interviewer? For me, it was studying abroad. If you ever had your ears talked off by someone who traveled abroad, then you’ve seen how excited people are to share their global experiences. The unique twist with studying abroad is that you can tie your experiences into professional growth – meaning you can talk an interviewer’s ear off while showcasing how it will make you a great employee.
How can you frame studying abroad in ways that make you stand out as a candidate? Here are 3 ways that my experience helped me during the interview that led to my full-time offer:
- Breaking the Ice: Interviews are inherently awkward. It’s this guessing game of “how much personality should I show” to avoid coming off one-dimensional without being too informal. It wasn’t until I nailed an answer to a question or landed a small joke (regrettably about the poor weather) that I became confident. Working my study abroad experience into the conversation early allowed me to quickly lighten the mood and find confidence that will carry through the rest of the interview.
- Lighting Up the Room: As mentioned earlier, showing passion in your work leaves a huge impression on an interviewer. It is hard to fake the genuine smile and sparkle in your eye that comes from the joy of learning. This showing of passion is something the interviewer will remember when reviewing candidates. If an employer is confident that you enjoy your work, it shows you will strive for great results and bring life to the office.
- Showing Communication and Drive for Challenge: Studying abroad isn’t easy. You are learning in a way you never have before, in a place you likely haven’t been before. This shows you are willing to take on new challenges and grow from them. The ability to dive into another culture, interact with locals, potentially pick up on the language, and more will translate into your career. This may be a direct correlation, such as traveling to an international site. It may also manifest in less obvious ways like being able to communicate across different functions of a company, or willingness to take on a new project.
I cannot say that studying abroad was the reason I landed my dream job. What I can say though, is that I left my post-study-abroad interviews feeling much more confident than interviews I had prior.
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