William J. Clinton, former President of United States, once said, “When we make college more affordable, we make the American dream more achievable." The same thing applies to studying abroad. While you cannot demand for an affordable education abroad, there are steps you can take to cut on cost and save big. The cost of studying abroad largely depends on the location, type of program you choose, the duration of your stay and many other factors.
Related:How Studying Abroad Helps Your Career
Hence, it is important for you to do your homework and get to know all the options available to make it a pocket-friendly travel and stay. This should be done even before applying for your program abroad.
Here are some common ideas to help you save before and while studying abroad.
1. Check out for every possible financial aid before you apply.
If you are already receiving financial aid from your present university, it may be possible for you to transfer it to a study abroad opportunity. You can inquire about this with the University or its affiliated institution. Few universities also allow the same with non-affiliated financial aiders. However the amount may vary according to the program you choose.
Most colleges offer open opportunities for applying study abroad scholarships. You might have to pay attention on the potential amount, the process and the deadlines. You may get access to general scholarships as well as targeted scholarships. The latter is for those with poor financial standards or the needy. They are very competitive though. So, it would be wiser to look beyond what your college offers. It would be a great idea to approach a study abroad counselor or mentor for more ideas and advice on scholarship.
2. The more you study, the easier would be your life abroad.
You may study the cost of living differences between your country and the foreign destination to get an idea on how much you can spend over the stay. Study abroad counselors should be able to help you with the exchange rates and the statistics on the cost of living including housing, food, and the transportation charges. It would be a great idea to discuss this with individuals who have studied abroad in the same location and the same program that you desire.
3. Practical means of saving money.
Food and accommodation makes up most of your expenses. Hiring a home stay option with cooking and laundry facilities is considered to be the cheapest practical option. You can even save more by preparing your own meals and doing the laundry work yourself.
4. Look for every possible opportunity to make money.
Internships abroad are growing in popularity. You may seek help from career service department or academic department that connects with private sectors to help students with internships. Universities on their part are reaching to alumni to enhance internship opportunities for their students. This would also help you enhance your professional records for the future. Care should be taken to ensure that you are abiding to the local labor laws.
5. Selecting shorter courses could help.
Universities these days are encouraging students to take on short experiences abroad. In such cases, the programs are usually coupled with on-campus course study, before departure as well as after arrival. They are relatively less expensive as time spent overseas is limited (usually 2 or 4 weeks). You must also know that these short courses may not offer as many scholarships as the regular ones.
6. Consider enrolling in the foreign university itself.
One of most effective methods of cost saving is to enroll directly in the international institution, thereby taking up a course and making your own travel arrangements. Here, you may attend classes as an international student and you might have to know the local language too in order to participate effectively. To make life better, seek help from websites assisting you with the right programs and the right institutions for a specific career. For instance, medical assistant classes online can help you choose the right medical assistant program or with other guidance related to it.
It is a pity that many students love to study abroad but hold themselves back under the false impression that it might cost them an arm and a leg. On the contrary, it could sometimes be less expensive than studying in your own country. You must also consider the enumerable benefits of studying abroad. Leaving apart the career and professional benefits, it makes you a better and fearless traveler, helps you cope up with tough conditions and makes you a tougher person overall.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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