Integrated Career Readiness Programming
Navigating the journey from student to professional
The definition of success looks different for everyone and has some common themes: being happy, having a job with a sense of purpose, and having the time and energy to spend on things that bring you joy.
At AIFS Abroad, we believe that everyone deserves a career they love. Our goal is to help our participants maximize their time abroad by providing the resources they need, career development, international professional experience, and a sense of independence, to help reach their personal and career goals. From start to finish, our program structure is designed to provide support and encouragement for whatever is next on your journey.
Exploring Your Strengths
Career readiness begins with self-awareness. Rooted in positive psychology, the CliftonStrengths assessment is a foundational piece of AIFS Abroad programming. A personal development tool developed by Gallup Education, it allows users to discover where their natural talents lie, and how to incorporate them in a cover letter, interview, and their daily lives.
Focusing on your strengths daily has been shown to have profound positive effects on your personal and professional well-being. You can:
- Maximize your talents,
- Identify and articulate your skills,
- Impact your resume and professional documents, and
- Build self-confidence and define a strategy for your career path.
Leveraging Unique Student Strengths to Build Resilience in Education Abroad
Watch this video to learn more about how we believe leveraging unique student strengths through education abroad helps build resilience.
Strengths + Internships
Prior to their internship abroad, participants receive a personalized coaching call from a certified Gallup Strengths coach, professional document review, and interview preparation. Once on-site, Strengths are incorporated into midpoint site visits, where employers and participants can reflect together on Strengths at work. Post-program participants may opt in for another coaching call with a Gallup coach to close their program with reflection and discuss future goals.
Pre-Departure
- Students enroll, take the online CliftonStrengths assessment
- Complete 1-hour, one-on-one coaching call with certified Gallup coach
- Refine their professional documents through a Strengths lens
- Practice interviewing using Strengths-based examples to speak to prior experience or their expertise
During Program (on-site and virtual)
- Midpoint site visit. Location staff meet with each participant and supervisor on-site and use a Strengths-based report to track internship progress.
- If troubleshooting an issue in the workplace, AIFS Abroad staff encourage participants to identify which Strength could be accessed and start a conversation
- If receiving academic credit, AIFS Abroad coursework reflects on Strengths
Re-Entry / Post-Program
- Optional second coaching call
- Additional professional documentation edits
