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As an international student studying in the UK, there are several things to keep on top of, alongside acclimatising to a new country, finding work experience while studying can be tricky. If you’re just starting university, our advice would be to start looking for work experience during your first year and connect with your Careers team for advice.
UWE Bristol graduate Sofia now works as a Junior Business Developer and shares her advice for other international students. She suggests that students should “begin exploring career options and building your professional network as soon as possible. Attend career fairs and networking events and take advantage of any opportunities to gain work experience through internships or part-time jobs.”
If, for whatever reason you’ve not been able to do this, see our top tips below to help you create a CV if you haven’t been able to find work experience.
To start finding valuable experience quickly to add to your CV, one of the best places to look is online. There are online virtual work experience websites that partner with large companies offering remote experience. This can vary from a few hours or days work, and you can start to reference the experience as soon as you’ve started. To do this, ensure you talk about the role in the present tense to show the experience is current.
Online courses are another fantastic way to gain experience quickly. Many large institutions and companies have a back catalogue of courses available for free. Speak to the careers team at your university for advice on what is available in your city. Many institutions have opportunities for virtual experiences, including both paid and voluntary roles. Volunteering is a great way to gain skills; employers are only interested in what skills you have not if you were paid for the role, so make the most of all opportunities that can increase your skill set.
Use your skills creatively to demonstrate your skills and achievements. You can add a projects section to your CV and use this to highlight the skills required for the role. For example, if the company is looking for writing experience, you could produce a blog on something you’re interested in or if web skills are required, you could learn to build a website using YouTube tutorials. Anything portfolio or project-based can be added to the project section on your CV, just make sure it’s relevant to the role you’re applying for.
Showcase your talent in a skills or project section of your CV by using the experience you’ve already gained. This could be from a project at university or from skills gained at a society you joined. Look at the requirements in the job description and think about where you might have encountered such situations in other areas of your life and demonstrate with examples. Soft skills such as communication, teamwork, problem solving and critical thinking often appear on job descriptions, and most students will already have elements of experience in these through studying at university.
Use your unique selling points as an international student to showcase your experience and show the value you can add. International graduate Ahmed explains that its vital to “leverage your international experience and language skills. Don't see your lack of UK experience as a weakness. Instead, use your international experience and any additional languages you speak as a strength. The unique perspectives and experiences you bring can be very valuable in today's global marketplace.” As an international student, you have:
-Organisational skills. You have had to organise accommodation, finance, visas, employment, etc.
- Communication. Living abroad requires using and developing communication skills on a daily basis so that people can understand your requirements.
- Language skills. Your knowledge of more than one language could help an organisation to communicate with overseas markets and suppliers.
- Motivation. Your willingness to take your studies overseas and embrace new cultures and experiences demonstrates how committed you are to learning and developing as an individual.
- Flexibility. Adapting to a new life in a new environment. Also international students are often more mobile and happy to move to different locations around the UK in order to work.
- A broadened perspective. Your experiences of how cultures vary can bring a fresh perspective to a company. It may provide an insight into different ways of doing business.
- Cultural awareness. You could use your particular cultural background to advise and inform an organisation on how to make the right impact on their international customers and clients.
As you can see, there is a wide range of ways to showcase your skills and abilities to new employers just by looking at your own experience in the right way. For more news for international students and access to a free global database of employers and roles, register with GradLink today!