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Career Preparation


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Do not wait until you graduate with an undergraduate degree to get started on graduate school aims. Take advantage of your time in college to break down the process into manageable steps while keeping an eye on the big picture.

Begin by exploring career opportunities for modern language majors and major employers of foreign language graduates, then use these eight steps as a guide throughout your undergraduate studies:

1. Who am I?
The first step on the path to identifying and pursuing your calling is determining who you are. Consult faculty and the experts in Office of Career Services to help you identify what you enjoy doing and in what work environments you excel.

A self-assessment process may affirm what truly engages you and may also lead you to reconsider some factors that have informed your educational and career choices. Typically, the process of self-assessment includes identifying your personality, interests, and values then ascertaining how they can be applied to various aspects of work life such as work environment, lifestyle preferences, jobs tasks, and your field of interest. All students are encouraged to meet with a career counselor in the Office of Career Services to discuss their major and career options and to participate in self-assessment inventories.

2. Consider a double major.
Language learning is about learning to observe, decode, infer meaning, contextualize, perceive connotations, draw parallels, problem solve, appreciate nuance, and consider other ways of saying and doing things. In today’s global and rapidly changing job market, these are highly marketable skills.

Enhance your marketability even further by considering a double major. Many major companies such as ExxonMobil, Citigroup, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Texaco, IBM, General Electric, DuPont, Procter and Gamble, and Westinghouse hire individuals who have a combination of skills. Combine your language major with another major that fits your interests to diversify your skillset and demonstrate your flexibility to employers.

Ranked in order of frequency, these majors are most often combined with a foreign language: business administration and management, marketing and sales, engineering, finance, international relations, accounting, economics, communication, law, public relations, advertising, journalism, statistics, psychology, cultural studies, public administration, sociology, political science, and fine arts.

3. Study abroad, volunteer, or complete an internship.
Gain experience and offer your language skills and expertise to a nonprofit, community organization or local hospital or school. On campus, join Alpha Mu Gamma, our Foreign Language Honorary.

Participate in an immersion experience to hone your language skills and familiarize yourself with a culture first-hand. Studying abroad is an excellent way to establish contacts and obtain relevant job experience prior to graduation.

Consider completing an internship as one may often lead to a long-term position after graduation. Here are a few examples of internship providers to get you started:

4. Research occupations in languages.
Research the various career options available in the discipline of languages. Not only will you learn which best fit your interests, but what additional skills may be needed to secure specific positions. Some good resources include:

5. Join a professional association.
There are myriad professional associations for foreign language majors. Student membership is relatively inexpensive, and the benefits are great. Membership can provide increased understanding of the profession; opportunities for additional training and certification; inclusion in a directory that potential employers might use for hiring purposes; and access to actual job listings and referrals. Some professional associations to get you started include:

6. Try informational interviewing and job shadowing.
The Grove City College Student & Alumni Directory is a database of alumni who have volunteered to assist students and recent graduates with career and job search needs. Users may search for alumni based on criteria such as geographic location or occupation and may contact alumni by email or phone for career advice and referrals to summer jobs, internships or full-time employment.

This resource is useful for requesting an informational interview of an alumni and for requesting to job shadow for a day. By talking with alumni, you can gain a better idea of how your skills and experience fit into specific industries and fields, discover what type of work environment different jobs provide, target future career searches, market skills effectively, and build confidence in approaching others.

7. Visit the Office of Career Services (again and again).
Meet with a career counselor in the Office of Career Services for advice on career and graduate school options. Consult with them early and frequently to ensure you are getting the best possible combination of courses.

8. Create an "international inventory."
Make a list of all of your international experiences regardless of their relevance to your job search. This "international inventory" allows you to assess how your qualifications are applicable to the work you want to do and to prepare for interviews. These questions will get you started:

International Experience
Where did you go? What did you do? How long were you there? What skills did you use? What did you learn?

Domestic Experience
  • Academic: Language study, courses studied in school, extracurricular activities
  • Work: Any international aspects to any of your previous jobs?
  • Hobbies and interests: Any interests in the music, literature, or art of other countries?
Personality Traits
According to Vault's Guide to International Careers, there are six personality traits required to thrive when spending an extended period of time in another country. Think about situations where you have demonstrated these traits:
  • Open-mindedness
  • Flexibility
  • Ability to cope with ambiguity
  • Relational skills
  • Emotional stability
  • Intellectual curiosity
Create a Compelling Story
Now that you have the material, create a compelling story about why you want to pursue an international career considering these 10 questions:
  • Why do you want to work overseas?
  • Why do you want to work in this country?
  • Why do you think you will be able to work in this country?
  • What have you done to demonstrate that you can thrive overseas?
  • What personality traits do you have that show why you are suitable for this position?
  • How will I know that you won't go home after six months?
  • You have no prior overseas experience. Why should I hire you?
  • How have you prepared for a career overseas and specifically in this country?
  • What is the toughest situation you have worked in?
  • What is the most challenging personal situation you have been in?