Melissa Buerkett-Vivian, LMHC - Global Experiences, Inc.Shawna Hurley - Gilman International Scholarship Program, IIEStacey Shimizu - Illinois Wesleyan University

Breaking the Mold: Identifying and Enhancing Students’ International Experience & Employability

CIEE Annual Conference 2014, Baltimore, MD

Trends in International Internships

Open Doors 2014

For-Credit Internships or Work

2010/11** 2011/12 2012/13

Total Students 17,536 20,676 20,498

Non-Credit Internships or Work

2010/11 2011/12 2012/13

Total Students 8,700 12,758 15,089

Gilman Internship Experiences Survey

• Gilman Scholars for 2013-2014 academic year

• 144 responses from interns

• 47 countries (top 3 countries China, Japan and UK)

• 78% participated in program that was a combination of academic study and internship

• 29% did not plan to participate in internship before program

How did you identify and arrange your internship abroad?

59%37%

4% 1%7%

Through my institution

Through a programprovider

Through friends or familyconnections

Through current job orprofessional connections

Other

Who was most helpful in assisting you as you set up your internship abroad?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ProgramProviderAdvisor

Study AbroadAdvisor/Staff

Faculty Member Friend Other (myself,on-site

coordinator)

Family

59

50

22

6 52

In what ways did your home institution prepare you for your internship abroad?

“As a first generation study abroad student, I really wasn't sure how to prepare for studying abroad. I really depended on my online study abroad advisor who truly went above and beyond helping me get ready for my internship.” 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

8079

59

3530

2112 10 8

How did you utilize your connections and skills learned abroad as you seek/sought employment?

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Put informationregarding my

internship on myresume and

referenced skills ininteviews

Networked andmade connectionsthat I have utilized

to find a job

Found a mentor Other Gainedemployment withthe organizationwhere I interned

126

3225 18

7

Small residential liberal arts college

~1900 students College of Liberal Arts

+ Schools of Nursing, Theater Arts, Fine Arts and Music

~50% of students have international experience by graduation

Illinois Wesleyan University

Pre-Departure Program

Pre-2014, 3-hour in-person departure meeting

Spring 2014, self-paced Moodle course + 3-hour meeting One hour now dedicated

to making link between study abroad and career preparations.

Illinois Wesleyan Nursing

IWU Spain Program Island program, originally for general

education and Hispanic Studies 2012, opened to sophomore nursing

students Two required nursing courses (delivered

using synchronous learning technology) with attached healthcare observations in local clinics

Complementary language component and workshop on healthcare differences between Spain and the US

Nursing Program Results

First cohort graduated May 2014; 100% job placement

No significant difference in nursing academic performance or GPA between first semester and second semester of sophomore year or between cohort grades, regardless of location

Reports of satisfaction with experience on exit interviews and self-reported sense of increased cultural competence

Global Experiences International InternshipsWho we are Over 4,000 alumni since

2001 10 Cities in 8 countries

on 4 continents Mission = "To provide

life-changing experiences“

Partnership with Gallup Education since Spring 2013

Why we use Strengths Develop innovative career

development program Identify how internships

abroad positively impact lives

Research shows that knowing and using Strengths leads to success

Phase 1: Pre-Departure Prep

Clifton StrengthsFinder Assessment – Top 5 Strengths

Individual coaching and advising Résumés and cover letters Mock interviewing Professional behavior and etiquette (during the placement process) Career planning and decision making (choosing a placement)

Career development webinar series Rocking Your Interview The Digital You Your Top 5 Strengths Using LinkedIn* Reflections on Language & Culture

Phase 2: Focus on Strengths Abroad

Orientation to deepen understanding and strategy for successSite visits for reflection and employer feedbackMidpoint workshop to overcome challenges and

enhance professional communication and networking skills Global Connections NetworkingDebriefing on career decisions and job search skills

An Experiential Approach

Orientation – “Where do I stand?”

Why did you stand where you did?

How does it relate to your Strengths?

What did you learn from observing others’ positions?

An Experiential Approach

Midpoint Workshop – “Your Best” Discuss in small groups, one theme that you feel fits best

and why. How do you use it in your internship? Past positions? How does it help you succeed? Practice presenting your best self to a new professional

contact or potential employer

An Experiential Approach

Debriefing Workshop No-lose Model to Career

Decision Making From Grad to Great –

Using Strengths as transferrable skills in résumés, cover letters and interviews

Mock interviews with location coordinators

Site Visits for Feedback & Reflection

Pick one task and tell me how your strengths help you perform it. "I used my Ideation in the

brainstorm meetings, and I have to think Strategically when considering which media companies to contact.”

How have you used your strengths to overcome a challenge at work? "At first, I wasn’t sure what I could

bring to the table. I was nervous about how I would do. Knowing my Strengths helped me have more confidence."

Program Assessment

Survey collaboration with Dr. Shane Lopez, leading psychologist and author of “Making Hope Happen”

107 interns were surveyed online pre- and post-program

3 Measures: Hope, Well-being and Strengths awareness

The results of the exit survey showed: 78% increase in Hope 78% increase in Strengths awareness 86% increase in overall Well-being

Phase 3: Re-Entry Services

Career Toolkit Alumni Webinar Series

Using LinkedIn to Job Search Leveraging Your International Experience Networking Alumni Panel

Professional Networking LinkedIn, Facebook, Global Connections

Ambassador Program and the Alumni Assistant Role Business cards

Recommendations

Gilman Alumni Re-Entry Resources

Webinars/Videos Re-Entry Extending Your Exchange

Experience Networking Opportunities

LinkedIn International Exchange

Alumni Gilman-Fulbright Networking

Receptions Gilman Alumni Ambassador

Program (GAAP)

Re-Entry at IWU

Standard study abroad re-entry program Pre-return and welcome-back emails with resources Welcome Back reception hosted by university president Online resources Invitations throughout year to engage in IO activities and

mentor new applicants Career-specific re-entry

“Bringing It Home” workshop with the Career Center

Nursing-specific re-entry 3-week intensive May Term

for clinical training

Contact InformationMelissa Buerkett-Vivian, LMHC – melissa@globalexperiences.comAcademic Internship DirectorGlobal Experiences, Inc.

Shawna Hurley– shurley@iie.orgOperations Manager, Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship ProgramInstitute of International Education (IIE) – Houston

Stacey Shimizu– sshimizu@iwu.eduDirector, International OfficeIllinois Wesleyan University

Copyright © 2006 The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ. All rights reserved. Gallup®, StrengthsFinder®, Clifton StrengthsFinder™, and StrengthsQuest™ are trademarks of The Gallup Organization.

Career Activities

Quick activities to help students communicate their strengths in interviews, resumes, and conversations.

The Gallup Organization

Copyright © 2006 The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ. All rights reserved. Gallup®, StrengthsFinder®, Clifton StrengthsFinder™, and StrengthsQuest™ are trademarks of The Gallup Organization.

Activity #1: Meaningful Roles Goal: To help students think through roles they have had and how they used their strengths within those roles. This activity works best when students gather in groups of three or four to discuss their findings. You may want to provide your own example so they can understand how their strengths can relate their own successes.

1. Have students list three of the most meaningful and important jobs, leadership roles, or volunteer positions they have held. For each, have them describe five responsibilities or outcomes they achieved in those roles.

2. For each outcome ask them to write the Clifton StrengthsFinder theme or themes

that they utilized to help them be successful in achieving the outcome.

3. In any interview it is important for candidates to verbalize and give detailed information about what they have done in their past roles. Ask each student to take one of their outcomes and come up with a specific example of how they achieved that success. Students must “sell themselves” by using each of the themes they listed to describe exactly how they achieved their success.

Additional Ideas:

• The best interview responses are specific; they clearly state what the person has done and how they did it. Using strengths can help them paint a picture of who they are and what they are good at.

• Examples will help tremendously, so if there is time, walk through one or more with your students to give them good models from which to learn.

• To provide even more examples, after students have discussed their successes in their small groups, have a few students share their achievements with the larger group.

• Feedback is important. Try to help the lesson set in by giving them feedback and getting them to be more specific about how they can use their strengths to describe what they do and how they do it.

Copyright © 2006 The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ. All rights reserved. Gallup®, StrengthsFinder®, Clifton StrengthsFinder™, and StrengthsQuest™ are trademarks of The Gallup Organization.

Activity #2: My Best

Goal: Students need to own their themes and learn to truly understand the value of them. This activity helps them analyze when and how they have used a particular theme to be successful. This activity works best when students gather in groups of three or four to discuss their findings. You may want to provide your own example so they can understand how their strengths can relate their own successes.

1. Have each student choose one theme that they feel fits theme best. Have them answer the following questions in their small groups.

a. What is best about this theme? b. How do you use it in your school work? c. How do you use it in jobs or other positions you have held? d. What would happen if you didn’t have this theme? e. How does this theme help you be successful?

2. After each student has shared their responses, give them five minutes to prepare themselves to “sell” these talents as something an employer would want and could benefit from. They will have 2 minutes to present in the small or larger group.

Additional Ideas:

• Think about more questions for the students to discuss. If you have a specific topic, role, or career you are focusing on, additional questions may help them bring more focus to this activity.

• Prepare your own example to show them how you can sell yourself. • Consider providing a specific job or project they must have in mind when selling

their strengths.

Copyright © 2006 The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ. All rights reserved. Gallup®, StrengthsFinder®, Clifton StrengthsFinder™, and StrengthsQuest™ are trademarks of The Gallup Organization.

Activity #3: Personal Statement of Strength

Goal: Who am I? This activity helps students answer this question and helps students pull all of their themes together. It can help them to take ownership for the themes and begin to see how to use strengths as a language to describe themselves. Using their top five themes students write one to two paragraphs about themselves. Their goal is to combine their themes in a way that tells a story about who they are and what is best about them. Students can be as creative as they want. The goal is to get them to start talking about themselves using the language of strengths.

Copyright © 2006 The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ. All rights reserved. Gallup®, StrengthsFinder®, Clifton StrengthsFinder™, and StrengthsQuest™ are trademarks of The Gallup Organization.

Activity #4: Job Analysis

Goal: A key to helping students utilize thei talents is to get them to analyze opportunities based on what they do best. The goal for this activity is to put some real positions in front of them to see how their strengths fit that role. You will need to have two or three job descriptions either from your own organization or a job board like Monster.com. Or, feel free to write your own description. This could be a job, a volunteer project, or a leadership opportunity. The descriptions should be fairly detailed in order to show the outcomes and the responsibilities of the position. The job analysis can be discussed in small or large groups.

1. Have the students read through the descriptions one position at a time. 2. For each of the outcomes or responsibilities listed for the job, ask them to look at

their themes and write beside each of them the theme or themes that would help them achieve the success described for each statement. Make it clear that not all of the outcomes or responsibilites may fit them, so there may not be themes written on some statements. Depending on time, students can do this activity for one or more job descriptions.

3. Next, ask students to consider the answers to these questions in order to think

through their fit for the role: a. Would most of my strengths be utilized in this role? b. Are there some strengths that wouldn’t get much use if I took a role like

this? What are they and how would that make me feel? c. Are there some things in this position that would be difficult for me to do? d. How well would this position fit me? e. What things would I like to have added to this if I could? f. What parts of the role do not fit? g. How would I feel in this type of a role?

4. In a group, talk about finding a role that fits you and your strengths. Talk about your experience in roles that may not have fit you very well and what that was like. Encourage students to do this with leadership positions, jobs, internships, or projects in which they plan to play a role.

Additional Ideas:

• There are no right or wrong answers to these questions — let students know that. You may even use yourself as an example to show that not everything in a role may fit you perfectly, but that it is very important to get into roles that best utilize your strengths.You may even talk about roles that didn’t fit you and why.

Copyright © 2006 The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ. All rights reserved. Gallup®, StrengthsFinder®, Clifton StrengthsFinder™, and StrengthsQuest™ are trademarks of The Gallup Organization.

• Encourage students to keep their strengths in mind as they consider taking on new roles in the future. Remind them to look every role and analyze it based on their strengths.

To help make the most of your time abroad—personally, academically, professionally—you should set some clear goals. The best goals are SMART:

Specific — "I plan to join a student club at the local university so that I can meet local students," rather than, "Make friends."

Measurable — "I want to experience/learn something new (try a new food, learn a new word, see a new museum) about my host culture each day," rather than, "Learn about my host culture."

Attainable — "I want to gain hand-on research skills through my field study class." Realistic — "I want to be able to hold a conversation in Spanish with someone I have just met,"

rather than, "Become fluent in Spanish." Time-bound — "By the middle of the semester, I want to have planned and booked my own trip to

another country." And remember that deadlines are sometimes a good thing.

To help you get started, here is a template you can use as you prepare for your semester abroad. Though it talks about career goals, it can be repeated to set personal, academic, or other goals. List three (3) career-related goals for your time abroad. Ex. I want to learn more about teaching English abroad.

1.

2.

3.

Now, list three (3) concrete actions to take now or while abroad to help you reach your goals.

Ex. I will talk with my program to see if there is some way I can volunteer as a language tutor.

1.

2.

3.

Prior to site visit: Contact both employer and intern separately to ask if there is anything specific they would like to discuss or get out of the meeting. Remind the intern that the site visit is for them – to help them get professional feedback and to ensure the rest of their internship is as great as it can be.

Site visit recording form

Company: Supervisor name: Intern name: Date: GE representative:

Introduction: explain purpose of the meeting and that the questions are designed to help the intern reflect on their experience in a way that they might present it to future employers. Encourage intern and supervisor to create a discussion around each answer.

NB. It might be appropriate to have 2 minutes with the supervisor and intern separately first, especially if there are known issues.

Questions posed to intern, but encourage supervisor to input their thoughts too:

1. Tell me about your experience so far and some of the projects/tasks you’ve been working on. •

2. Thinking about your responsibilities, what are the three most important aspects of your role? •

3. Pick one of these responsibilities and tell me how your strengths help you perform it. •

4. To employer: What strengths have you seen the intern use during the internship so far? •

5. To intern again: Who do you partner with in your role? What strengths or talents do they have? •

6. What’s been the highlight of your internship so far (ie. What do you enjoy most)? What do you enjoy the least?

• 7. Have you had to overcome any challenges at work so far? If so, how have you used your strengths

to do this? •

8. What are some things you’ve learned as a result of your internship and how has this better prepared you for your future?

• 9. To both: What goals do you have for the rest of the internship?

• 10. To both: Is there anything we could do to better to prepare you both for this experience?

• 11. To employer: Does your organization have additional needs for other interns? Do you have friends

or colleagues who would benefit from having an intern? •

Update notes for Salesforce (if it needs updating please highlight yellow): Supervisor name and contact details: Address of internship: Skills/experience required (“ideal candidate” description for website): Key internship tasks: 1. 2. 3. Number of interns required at a time:

*****Don’t forget to take a photo!*****

Breaking the Mold: Identifying and Enhancing Students’ International Experience and Employability Further Resources

Resources

CIEE Annual Conference 2014 |

FURTHER RESOURCES

British Council, Ipsos Public Affairs, and Booz Allen Hamilton (2013). Culture at Work: The value of intercultural skills in the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/britishcouncil.uk2/files/culture-at-work-report.pdf

Gardner, Gross, & Steglitz. (2008). Unpacking Your Study Abroad Experience: Critical Reflection for Workplace Competencies. Collegiate Employment Research Institute Research Brief, 1 (1). Retrieved from http://ceri.msu.edu/publications/pdf/brief1-2008final.pdf

Gilman Scholarship Program Web Symposium. Career-Oriented Internship Opportunities. Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program/News-and-Social-Media/Videos/WS-International-Internships Working Together, Working Abroad. Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program/News-and-Social-Media/Videos/WS-Working-Together-Working-Abroad

Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa. (2012). Tippie Roadmap Skills Inventory. http://tippie.uiowa.edu/undergraduate/roadmap/skills-inventory.cfm

Kuh, G. (2008). High-Impact Educational Practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Association of American Colleges and Universities. Retrieved from http://www.neasc.org/downloads/aacu_high_impact_2008_final.pdf

Levinger, Morrison, & Jouannelle. (2011). Beyond "It was awesome!” Enriching the Student Experience after Re-

entry. CIEE Annual Conference 2011, New Orleans. Retrieved from http://www.ciee.org/conference/downloads/past/new-orleans/skills_survey.pdf.

NAFSA Association of International Educators. (2014). Study Abroad Career Plan: A Guide for Advising Students. Retrieved from http://www.nafsa.org/Find_Resources/Supporting_Study_Abroad/Network_Resources/Education_Abroad/Study_Abroad_Career_Plan__A_Guide_for_Advising_Students/

NAFSA Association of International Educators. (2013). Subcommittee on Work, Internships and Volunteering Abroad (WIVA) – Resource Library. Retrieved from http://www.nafsa.org/resourcelibrary/default.aspx?catId=429109

School for International Training. (2008). After Study Abroad: A toolkit for returning students. Retrieved from http://www.worldlearning.org/linkservid/056F078A-EDEB-BEAE-FD0050C1F1E0F368/showMeta/0/

Tillman, M. (2011). AIFS Student Guide to Study Abroad & Career Development. Retrieved from http://www.aifsabroad.com/advisors/pdf/Tillman_AIFS_Student_Guide_Career.pdf

Tillman, M. (2014). Campus Best Practices: Supporting Education Abroad & Student Career Development.

Retrieved from http://www.aifsabroad.com/advisors/pdf/Tillman_Best_Practices.pdf

University of Texas at Austin, Center for International Business Education & Research (CIBER). Planning for Study Abroad with Recruiting and Your Career in Mind. PDF Retrieved from http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/Centers/CIBER/Summer/~/media/Files/MSB/Centers/CIBER/Study%20Abroad%20and%20Career/Planning%20for%20Study%20Abroad.ashx