Be curious during the job search like you were abroad. (Photo taken in Siem Reap, Cambodia)
This article was written for a brochure for teachers who have just completed their stint with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) and want to transition into other careers back home. However, the advice is applicable for many professionals:
1. Communicate your transferable skills. Teaching exposes you to many skills that can be transferable to different jobs. For example, you could talk about how you are a great presenter and good at communicating an idea with structure if you want a sales or consulting job. Having to teach, evaluate, progress, and even discipline someone’s performance is very valuable in operations roles that seek improvement through performance management. And energy spent creating lesson plans that students would find captivating would be a transferable skill to marketing roles which seek to match a product or service with a consumer’s needs. Think about the skills that the jobs you are applying for requires and how you have learned something similar as a teacher abroad. Don’t let requirements such as major or years of experience prevent you from applying for a job that you’re really interested in and think you could do, and address any uncertainties in the cover letter and interview.
2. Highlight the qualities of being a teacher. Being a successful teacher requires many qualities that are valued in the professional arena. Teachers need to have attention to detail, be patient, be organized, work with different people and different learning styles, communicate instructions clearly, understand what it takes to help others be successful, etc. These characteristics are good to mention in the cover letter or interview. Also, having to learn how to become a teacher in a short period of time shows off your ability as a quick learner; being able to demonstrate your experience as a quick learner will give recruiters confidence that you can learn a job quickly even if you are not fully qualified for it.
3. Describe instances of situational leadership. Most recruiters do not expect young professionals to have had professional leadership positions, but they do want to know how you would lead if you were given certain situations or problems. Think about different situations in the classroom and while living and traveling abroad that you encountered and had to step up to resolve. These situational leadership instances make for good stories during the interview and can help a recruiter understand your potential to take initiative, solve problems, be resourceful, handle difficult people, adapt to a new environment, work under pressure or imperfect information, convince others of your idea, etc.
4. Emphasize your cross-cultural awareness. Many companies and organizations recognize the need to hire people with strong cross-cultural awareness skills (as well as language skills) to strengthen their competitive edge and ability to interact with diverse teams or clients in an increasingly globalized economy. Use this to your advantage to differentiate yourself against others who may just be familiar with working locally or have not had the unique experiences from living and working abroad.
5. Be curious like you were when you were abroad. You were probably curious about different people, cultures, history, etc. and asked many questions to get to know the people and country better while abroad. It’s a similar process when looking for a job; you want to ask recruiters thoughtful questions about the job, company, and industry, and you want to ask networking contacts about what they do, what makes one successful at their job, how they got there, how they like it, and who else they know that you should talk to. Showing genuine interest and having a meaningful conversation will help open doors to other opportunities and networking contacts, much like how doing so opened doors to new experiences while abroad. Start with your peer network, untapped network (e.g. parents/relatives and their co-workers), and college alumni association. A great way to break the ice is by sharing your interesting experiences while living abroad.
