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The taste of paella with fresh mussels in Barcelona; that feeling at the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town; the lights and sounds of Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. What are: things you can’t capture on a résumé?

We know a life-changing international experience can’t possibly be summarized into a few bullet points, but in order to enjoy the career benefits of study abroad, incorporating this experience into your professional materials and conversations is non-negotiable.

Think of this as the opportunity to take a stroll down memory lane and talk about your experience long after your friends and family have heard all about it—we’ll show you how, section by section and in our sample résumé example!

Four Study Abroad Skills to Put on a Cover Letter

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Adapting to a New Cultural and/or Professional Environment

Mention your ability to handle ambiguity and stay positive.

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Effectively Communicating Across Cultures

Consider any presentations you've done.

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Being Flexible

What steps did you take to mitigate challenges abroad?

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Multitasking

Emphasize your ability to keep organized in a new work culture.

Three Places to List Study Abroad on Your Résumé

students sitting in a Berlin Center classroom during a lecture

Education Section

When articulating your study abroad experience on your résumé, make sure to actually write about it! This may seem like a no brainer, but much of the time this information is omitted or not highlighted to its fullest extent, likely because it's unclear how to speak about it. This was probably was one of, if not THE most memorable periods of your life, so why not talk (or write) about it every chance you get?!

View an Example Education Section
a student intern passing out pens to elementary school students

Experience Section

While you were studying abroad, did you do community-based learning in South Africa, a professional assignment in Amsterdam, volunteering in Rabat, or a summer internship in Vienna? Yes? Then along with other work experience you’ve had (if any), put these in chronological order.

View an Example Experience Section
students practice writing Chinese characters in Shanghai

Skills Section

Skills, skills, skills! What skills didn’t you acquire while abroad? Good news—there is more than one place on your résumé where you can highlight your many talents. Whether "hard" (technical) or "soft" (intangible), your skills can be included in the bullets under each of the positions you held.

View an Example Skills Section
camels silhouetted against the sunset in the Sahara desert
Emma K. • Seattle University

Internationalize Your LinkedIn Profile

In much the same way it would be listed on your résumé, don't forget to feature your study abroad experience on your LinkedIn profile. You can put it in the “Education” section and also in the "Experience" section if you participated in some form of hands-on, experiential learning like an internship abroad. There's even an option to add “Volunteer Experience" if you did a service learning program or volunteered abroad. 

Certainly, you can add as much detail as you’d like—if you enrolled in a course(s) and subsequently gained knowledge that is very applicable to your desired job or internship, or the tasks you were assigned at your international internship show your strong or transferable skills, add these to the “description” area, as well. There is also a place for foreign language skills, so if you improved your Spanish skills while you were studying abroad in Santiago (or even grew up speaking a second [or third] language), put it on there!

View Our Sample LinkedIn Profile

Market Your Study Abroad Toolkit

Our toolkit is here to help you communicate the skills you learned (or refined) abroad.

Learn How to Ace Your Interview
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