10 Things International Students Should Know to Start a Career

Student life is loaded with challenges, but things get even tougher a soon as your student life comes to an end and your career starts. Feeling inexperienced and unskilled for a project is something everyone experience in the starting phase of their career. This is completely natural and it indicates you are learning new things and expanding your comfort zone. But for certain individuals, this feeling never goes away, they feel uncomfortable all the time. 

We humans are not perfect and we learn from our mistakes. If you are a student and is still learning, it is a great time to prepare yourself for the challenges which will arrive in the near future. Here are a few points an International student should know before starting a new carrier. These things will surely make you a more confident person who is ready to tackle all kinds of challenger put forward by life.

1. Introduce yourself

You must learn to introduce yourself. Whether you are in a meeting or at a public place be confident and introduce yourself. There is nothing wrong with sharing your knowledge and opinion with someone you don’t know.

2. Be a leader

 Leadership quality will help you in the long run. It is an essential quality which is required for handling different projects and tasks. A good leader is one who listens to everyone, learn from mistakes and then lead.

3. Improve your communication skills

It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable and skilled, a person is. His knowledge and skills are of no use if he is unable to communicate it well with others. He must be able to express himself and his ideas with others. This simply means good communication skills is a necessity.

4. Make life-long friends

The best thing about studying abroad is that you will meet with different students from around the globe. This gives you an opportunity to make new friends. You should make an effort to stay in contact with these fellow students even after your study abroad program comes to an end. These friends can be an important networking tool later in your life.

5. Personal development

Studying abroad brings out independent nature as you need to manage everything yourself. Being in an unknown place is quite challenging and it could be overwhelming at some point in time. This will test your ability to adapt to changes and will ultimately develop your personality.

6. Embrace fear

Fear is completely natural and we all feel it. But you should never let fear paralyze you, if you do so you will surely going to regret the rest of your life. To overcome your fear, you need to embrace it rather than running away from it. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations out of your comfort zone and challenge your fear.

7. Don’t hesitate to ask help

Never hesitate to ask for help. If you find yourself in a situation which is hard to manage or confusing, you must not fear to ask for help. Find a mentor who can help you in difficult situations.

8. Have a personal vision

Always have a personal vision and plan for your life. Having a plan and vision in life will open new doors of opportunity. It is completely fine if you plan changes with time. Plans for the future are important because it will force your mind to think about how you can achieve what you really want in life.

9. Accept yourself

You need to accept yourself and should never try to live someone else’s life. Everyone is unique and different and there is no like you. So never waste your time living others life. Develop your value, be ready to fail and learn from your mistakes.

10. Lead from the beginning

Leadership doesn’t require experience. Leaders are not made by time or experience but by leadership qualities. A leader is active, influential, passionate, focused and alert. He has the ability to work with a group of people. Don’t have a mindset that leadership is reserved for seniors. You can take the opportunity and can prove yourself.

Once you finish the abroad study program, you will return with new language skills and a great education. You will be a confident and independent person. And we all know these qualities are very attractive to any employer. These ten tips will make you ready and prepared for your upcoming career.