Exploring international careers

In week 3 of Michaelmas term, the Careers Service held a variety of talks on international careers. Three themes emerged that are useful to anyone considering working or studying abroad:  

1. Grow and maintain your network 

• Our speakers referred to the ‘unwritten rules’, where you may be unfamiliar with a country’s customs and hiring practices. Create a network of individuals who live, work or study in that country. 

• LinkedIn has over 300,000 alumni affiliated to Oxford. On Oxford’s page, you will find a search tool that allows you to look for alumni in particular countries. Refine the filters and you can find alum in your chosen field, sector or organisation.  

• There are 150 Regional Alumni Groups for Oxford and Cambridge located across the world. 

• Make the most of the international community in Oxford, join relevant student societies and talk to those from your country of interest.  

2. Build your cultural intelligence  

• Having the ability to communicate to a wide variety of audiences, and showing flexibility and adaptability were all skills the speakers highlighted as important. 

• Demonstrate this in your applications by emphasising collaboration, communication, adaptability and empathy. How can you build this skill? You could undertake some work experience or volunteering, perhaps with an international focus.  

3. Demonstrable interest in your chosen country 

• Why do you want to study or work abroad? What is it about that country that appeals to you? Provide evidence in your applications. Can you include on your CV a relevant student society? Are there particular books or articles that you have come across?   

What's next? 

If you are set on working or studying in another country, or it is just one of the options you are considering right now, you may find some of our further resources helpful:  

• GoinGlobal has 120+ location-specific career guides, including job and internships listings, cultural insights, and visa information.

• Our Understanding the Job and Employment Market briefing provides signposting to resources such as the World Economic Forum, which draws on global employer insights.

• Read our International Organisations and International Development briefings. 

• Our International Travel and Work Experience Visas pages provides some general top tips for researching visas, as well as some country-specific resources for a few of the most common internship destinations.  

• The Summer Internship Programme provides access to hundreds of funded internship opportunities during the long (summer) vacation in the UK and around the world.  

• Our Finding Jobs Outside the UK briefing covers short and longer-term work, how to search for jobs and worldwide links to helpful resources.  

• The "Translating" Qualifications briefing provides some tips on to contextualise your academic results so that others can understand your achievements.  

• Postgraduate Study in Other Countries provides a comprehensive overview of some of the options available to you.