Kirsten introduces this post. As part of our Focus on International Students week let’s explore how the Careers Service can support you if you are planning to return home either after graduating or over summer.
- Get advice from your networks
Students are often quick to look for information on websites before thinking about who they may already know that can help them with their chosen career area. It can be especially helpful if you are returning home to think about who you know and who they might know. This could be family, school friends, work contacts or people you met through your undergraduate study for example. Often you can find someone who can give you some advice on where to start.
Don’t forget your wider network of University of Edinburgh alumni who are located around the globe. You can ask alumni for help and advice in getting your career started, to find them you can use Connect.ed which is our database of alumni who are happy to help you with your career. In addition LinkedIn is a powerful tool when contacting alumni while you are still in the UK. There are over 130,000 Edinburgh alumni on LinkedIn and many of them would be happy to give you advice on your career. Try using the alumni tool to see who is working in the country you are interested in.
The Careers Service can support you in finding people to connect with and for feedback on what to say in your initial approach to them.
2. Use online resources
The Careers Service provides numerous resources online to support you wherever you want to work. A great place to start are our regional guides and the Going Global database which has city and country career guides for countries around the world along with international vacancies. You can access Going Global via the Careers tab on MyEd.
You can also look at our guide for researching careers in other countries which is a great starting point wherever you want to go.
It is always worth checking MyCareerHub for international vacancies. Last year we advertised almost 2000 vacancies based outside the UK.
3. Want more information?
Talks on Returning Home for International Students run throughout the year. Please check MyCareerHub for details of the next talk.
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