Jun420095:45 pm

Three international orgs in San Francisco

by Mark Overmann

After the NAFSA conference in LA, I bounced up to San Francisco to visit with three Alliance members, all of whom are involved in international exchange in different ways. Check these three orgs out if you’re looking for international opportunities in the Bay area, or if you’re just trying to get a better feel for the kind of international work that is out there:

Camp Counselors USA, or CCUSA: Bringing foreigners to the U.S. to work as camp counselors is only one part of what they do. As official J-1 visa sponsors, CCUSA also runs Work Experience USA, a program that facilitates the State Department’s Summer Work and Travel program, on which participants come to work in the U.S. for four months during their summer holidays from college (you know those Chileans who operate the ski lifts in Vale, or those Poles who work the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach? All participants in the Summer Work and Travel Program). CCUSA also sends Americans abroard for work experiences. All told, they place about 35,000 participants in summer camps, ski areas, hotels, restaurants, and other work environments around the world.

CCUSA has a staff of around 40 or so, many of whom are young. The atmosphere around the office was laid back yet hard-working, somehow fitting (at least I thought) of their location in Sausalito (which I associate with beatnicks, though it’s mostly tourists these days).

The Institute of International Education/West Coast Center: An affiliate of the larger IIE, the West Coast Center brings international leaders from around to world to San Francisco on such programs as:

The West Coast Center has a staff of about 30 employees (again many young, all internationally-oriented) and, importantly, 20 volunteers. I talked with several of their volunteers and many of them were doing three-month stints with the organization to gain experience and contacts that would hopefully help them move into full-time international work. They emphasized that they are only “volunteers” in name, but the work they were doing was essentially that of a staffer (the regular staffers emphasized they couldn’t do it without the volunteers). The volunteers also spoke in gushing terms about the benefit of such a professional volunteer position in gaining practical career experience.

Intrax Cultural Exchange: A unique organization in that it has both for-profit and non-profit arms (CCUSA and IIE are nonprofits). Intrax is also a J-1 visa sponsor and the umbrella organization for several affiliate organizations: AYUSA Cultural Youth Exchange, the nonprofit arm, which runs State Department high school exchange programs such as the Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES); Intrax Career Development, which runs Summer Work and Travel, Intern, and Trainee programs, all of which are State Department sponsored and J-1 visa programs; and Au Pair Care, which facilitates the placement of foreign au pairs with American families.

Intrax has about 250 staff worldwide (130 or so in San Fran), (yet again) many of whom are young and all of whom are internationally oriented. While CCUSA’s office somehow fit its Sausalito location, the same can be said of Intrax fitting its downtown, Financial District location. It struck me as a smooth, well-oiled organization filled with passionate people who truly enjoy the work they do.

No responses yet | Categories: Career Resources

Jun420092:29 pm

Is a year abroad better than just a semester? ctd. again

by Mark Overmann

Here’s something I didn’t come across during the NAFSA conference (I can’t imagine how I missed anything there…[note sarcasm due to exceedingly large scale of conference proceedings]): research reporting that “even short-term study abroad seems to lead to improvements in students’ sense of ‘global citizenship’ and their attitudes, knowledge and skills about cross-cultural issues”—especially pertinent in light of several discussions (here and here) on the topic of short-term v. long-term study abroad.

The most intriguing comment: “At least in the reflection of the participants 5, 10, 15 years down the road, profound growth can happen.” Study abroad can and often is about learning skills in the short run: language and cultural skills, regional and country specific knowledge. But the longer effects of a study abroad experience on a person’s worldview and career choices, though never the most immediate, are often the most profound.

No responses yet | Categories: The World at Work

Jun4200910:55 am

The challenge of supervising your peers

by Mark Overmann

One of the most difficult aspects of teaching high school English in northeast China was supervising my students, establishing and maintaining some kind of authority over them without succumbing to the desire to try to be their friend. Similarly, in my previous job, a significant challenge was supervising a staff of two regular employees and three students employees, all of whom were about my own age (or in one case, older). How was I to establish authority when I felt like I didn’t really have it in the first place?

Another NAFSA session I attended focused on this difficulty young professionals can face supervising our peers. It’s not easy to manage those who aren’t that much younger than us, or our own age or older. Several suggestions presented at the session for dealing with this challenge included:

  • Ask for feedback. Don’t be afraid to ask those who might know more, even if they are younger than you/those whom you supervise.
  • Seek training for a professional supervisory role.
  • You might be self-conscious of your age, but typically those whom you are supervising won’t perceive your doubt if you don’t show it. So don’t show it.
  • Many of us (as I did in China) have a tendency to want those we supervise to like us—friendliness is fine, but drawing a balance is important.  “Don’t share drinking stories,” as you aren’t there to be friends with those you are supervising.

These last two points are especially important. I found that the best way to establish authority was to project it, even if it made me uncomfortable. Eventually, however, by projecting authority, I came to believe more and more that I actually had it, and thus became more and more comfortable as a supervisor.

No responses yet | Categories: The World at Work

Jun320095:12 pm

Should I stay or should I go now? ctd.

by Mark Overmann

One of the many sessions I attended at the NAFSA conference was “The Young and the Restless,” a panel of young professionals discussing issues of being a young professional in international education. A rundown of a few worthwhile points from the session:

  • Establish a network of peers and mentors: this is not only beneficial for your career but also helps keep you from reinforcing a negative stereotype of millenials as know-it-alls
  • A sense of entitlement about salary will get you nowhere—”it will take you awhile to get to a decent salary in this field,” said one presenter. I agree with both of these points (unfortunately the latter is often true), but I also cringe when I hear them, as I worry that they reinforce the perception that, when you’re working in these fields (and especially for nonprofits), you’re obligated to accept the salary that’s offered, no matter how pitiful. While none of us are in this work to get rich, I would argue (and have argued, actually) that you still have every right to lobby for yourself when it comes to suitable compensation.
  • Get involved with NAFSA and other professional development opportunities. (If this NAFSA conference was any indication, associations definitely give you access to an overwhelming world of contacts and organizations and career possibilities.)
  • Multiple and diverse international experiences will give you an advantage. (Although as one presenter also noted, “‘I studied abroad and loved it!’ isn’t enough to get you a job.”)
  • Get a grad degree. (Sherry’s and my take on the necessity of getting an MA a few graphs down in this post.)

Finally, there was a lengthy discussion of “job jumping,” a conversation that’s been had here before as well. The panel brought up an ever present question for young professionals: “How long do I need to stay in any particular job?” One slightly older man in the audience made the comment that it’s better to pass up an opportunity to move to a new job in order to stay in a place 3-4 years so you’re not perceived as a job jumper. I found this to be overly simplistic and was moved to chime in with another perspective: if you’re languishing in a job that you don’t like, aren’t learning anything from, and don’t see going anywhere, there’s no reason to stay for longer just because, especially if you have a better opportunity where you can learn and move forward.

But as my friend and former grad school classmate Susie said, “Of course it all depends”—on the particular timing, the particular jobs, the particulars of your life. I like her overall assesment, though: “Sometimes you have to go with your gut and seize those open door opportunities when you find them, even if it seems risky.”

No responses yet | Categories: Career Resources

Jun320093:48 pm

The long and winding (career) road

by Mark Overmann

I’m back from California and digging out from the under the real work that awaited me, but have a lot on tap, mostly thoughts and reactions from the NAFSA conference in LA and my jaunt up to San Francisco. But before I try to get some of stuff down and out, one short anecdote that struck me and that encapsulates a key Working World mantra, that a career path is never straight:

This past week I was introduced to a colleague who started her career, many years ago, working with the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ New York Programs Office (located at 666 5th Avenue, 6th Floor; phone: 212-399-5750). She moved on from that position to become an illustrator for children’s books, then to be a courtroom illustrator, at first abroad and then here in the United States. She eventually moved on to work in university alumni relations. Talk about a winding (yet for her, satisfying and fulfilling) career path—and one that there’s no way she could have planned out.

No responses yet | Categories: The World at Work

Jun120091:53 pm

Thoughts on a Spirited Discussion in San Diego

by Sherry L. Mueller

When Mark and I were consumed with researching, writing, and polishing our prose, I never gave much thought to how we would eventually promote the book once it was published. One of the unanticipated joys of the publication of Working World for me is participating in a series of “book events” around the country. Sometimes Mark and I are together. These joint events are a lot of fun because we just continue the intergenerational dialogue we started in the book, laced with some added humor and recent experiences. We play off of each other well, and people seem to benefit from our contrasting yet complementary perspectives.

Sometimes — due to geography — I find myself doing an event solo. Despite missing Mark, I always enjoy the give and take with my audience — and their varied reactions to some of the ideas Mark and I share in the book and that I review in opening remarks that launch spirited discussions.

Last Friday was a particularly interesting occasion. Initially, my trip to San Diego was planned so I could speak at the 30th anniversary celebration of NCIV’s member organization there — the Citizen Diplomacy Council of San Diego (CDCSD). That festive event was held May 28 at the San Diego Yacht Club. CDCSD is a dynamic collection of dedicated citizen diplomats, and it was a privilege to be present in person to recognize their three decades of service to their community, our country, and to the foreign leaders whose lives they have touched and entwined with their own.

Last Friday evening, as part of CDCSD’s effort to draw more young people into their work as citizen diplomats, The Internationalists (a group designed to bring young professionals with global interests together) hosted a book event that turned into a lively discussion and a classic networking opportunity. The audience ranged from newly minted University of California, San Diego and University of San Diego grads to a Latina woman who works for Univision Radio to a Navy SEAL with experience in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I learned so much from each of them as I visited with them before and after the formal program.

I’m always quick to point out that we wrote Working World for idealists. Our target audience from the outset was readers who want to make a positive difference in our turbulent world. Now I am discovering how uplifting it is to interact with our readers who indeed are idealists. In this time of grim headlines and somber sound bites, it is truly heartening to interact with such impressive young people (and those seeking a mid-career change or an “encore career”) who are determined to be forces for good in this chaotic world of ours.

My thanks to Enrique, Mel, Christiana, and Eric — and all of your CDCSD colleagues for making the event such a success. The welcoming audience, the buzz in the room, the excellent questions and comments — all combined to provide inspiration and new connections.

Knowing I had a number of recent grads in my audience, I opened my remarks with a reference to Secretary of State Clinton’s commencement address at NYU (described in an earlier post—with a video— by Mark), where she said she hoped we could “harness the energy of a rising generation of citizen diplomats…My message to you today is this: Be the special envoy of your ideals…be citizen ambassadors using your personal and professional lives to forge global partnerships…”

It is a source of great satisfaction to know directly from our readers that Working World is helping them do just this.

1 response so far | Categories: Sherry and Mark

May2820092:33 pm

How much oversight for study abroad?

by Mark Overmann

The talk of the NAFSA conference today is an article in USA Today looking at U.S. student safety while studying abroad and the oversight of study abroad programs by universities and providers (it’s the first thing everyone saw when they opened their hotel doors for their complimentary newpapers). A quick overview of the article: the lack of central oversight for international education programs is a major impediment to increasing student safety:

Though most college students who go abroad — nearly 250,000 in the 2006-07 academic year — return home without serious incident, nobody knows exactly how many students end up hurt because nobody is required to keep track on a national level. Nor are most programs required to disclose incidents to the public.

The difficulty with a “federal standard for liability,” though, is that “such a law would effectively ‘kill overseas programs’ because no school or provider would be able to guarantee student safety”:

Higher-education officials don’t question the importance of safety abroad but argue that it must be a shared responsibility.

“This is one of those situations that is an impossibly difficult tradeoff,” says Terry Hartle, a senior vice president at the non-profit American Council on Education, which represents higher education in Washington. “We want students to study abroad … and we want them to be safe. But if we wanted to send students to places where we were sure nothing bad could ever possibly happen to them, we probably wouldn’t send them anywhere.”

What does everyone think? How much responsibility do universities and providers have for student safety abroad, since it’s impossible to guarantee? And how much can or should be chalked up to “bad things happen” and students could be assaulted in Kansas City as well as in Kingston? Is there a middle ground?

No responses yet | Categories: The World at Work

May27200910:10 am

The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas

by Mark Overmann

bigguide

Keeping with my so-far predominant impression of the NAFSA conference—i.e., that it’s big—it was delightfully ironic to come across The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas by Jean-Marc Hachey on the shelves of the NAFSA bookstore. Actually, I was glad to see it there if for no other reason than to remind me that I’d been meaning to write about it as a resource for some time but have kept neglecting the task. Marty Tillman, career advisor at Johns Hopkins-SAIS (and author of the review of Working World in International Educator), introduced me to the book and touted it as a great resource.

My initial impression of The BIG Guide is that its title is not false advertising—it is a huge book. But it looks to be packed with useful, practical information (perhaps even an ovewhelming amount of information). If you’re looking to get abroad for your work/career, you might want to check it out.

No responses yet | Categories: Career Resources

May2720091:05 am

The key to winning a Nobel prize is to have no idea what you’re doing

by Mark Overmann

Muhammad Yunus is a charming man. As the keynote speaker at the NAFSA opening plenary today, the Nobel Peace laureate admitted that “the one reason I could create Grameen Bank is because I knew nothing about banking…I could do things others couldn’t even think of.” When those who were working with him mentioned that what he had tasked of them they had no previous experience with, Yunus brushed away their concerns: “If you know it, you can’t do it.” Like I said, charming.

If I’m permitted to stretch just a touch, these remarks remind me of something I feel very strongly about when it comes to determining the future course of your career: go with your gut. You can’t possibly plan it all out, so why even try? Instead, pursue those things to which you are intractably drawn, and then see where it all leads you.

One other tidbit from Yunus’ talk, for recording now and for reflection later: in describing the model for Grameen Bank, Yunus drew a distinction between “charity dollar” and “social business dollar.” The charity dollar, he said, is one that goes and never comes back. The social business dollar, however, goes and comes back and has an endless life and, if used right, can become an institution. I wonder how this insight relates to the very deep discussion that’s been going on RE: international volunteering, voluntourism, and the merits of a volunteer paying for his or her volunteer experience. It’s too late to figure out now, but even my tired mind tells me there is at least some connection….

And one last thing: I would throw up some pictures of the conference proceedings, but my old, busted camera isn’t allowing me to download for some reason. So if forced to describe the scene in words, the late hour compels me to do so in only one: big. The plenary session hall in which Yunus spoke was like an airplane hangar; the exhibit hall has more buttons and fishbowls of candy than one should ever see in a lifetime (browse the list of exhibitors for a who’s-who of international education, exchange, and study abroad organizations); and the outdoor “LA Live!” opening reception was like a massive block party for which everyone was issued matching name badges and tote bags.

1 response so far | Categories: The World at Work

May2620091:40 pm

“The world’s common language is broken English”

by Mark Overmann

tongue_in_check

Waiting for my sessions here at NAFSA to get going, I ponder the WashPost’s contemplation of the translation technology revolution: “How big a deal will it be to culture and society to have a cellphone that will allow you to talk to most of the world’s 6 billion people?”

To this day, if you want to get a translation absolutely right, go find yourself a talented human. “Nuclear power,” says Kevin Hendzel, a spokesman for the American Translators Association, when asked of areas where you want tremendously good human translation. “Negotiations for disarmament. The pharmaceutical industry. Zero-error work with millions of dollars” riding on the outcome. Hendzel has served as an interpreter on the presidential hot line.

The trouble with meticulous, culturally sensitive human translation, of course, is that it is slow, pricey and rare.

Suppose you are willing to settle for blazingly fast, cheap, “good enough” translations. Especially those aimed at languages spoken by the rich, multitudinous or dangerous. Enter the new generation of machine translators that in the last year have begun to open broad new vistas.

It seems like there are many situations in which fast, “good enough” translations would be benficial: combat/conflict zone situations and the translation of web content to make it more broadly accessible to users of many varying languages, to name two. But would having a cell phone that can translate any language on the fly be a good thing, from a cultural exchange standpoint? It would certainly make some situations abroad easier (i.e., trying to hack out the details of a cab ride or a market negotiation in an unfamiliar language), but that might in turn deprive us of some of the best experiences abroad—those awkward, difficult, but often enlightening cultural-linguistic encounters. How many students studying abroad would increasingly use their cell phone as a crutch instead of really learning the language of their host country? How many vacationers abroad would use their phone rather than hack out even rudimentary phrases?

Like every new technology, we’ll adapt and figure it out. But this particular technology seems to have some pretty far-reaching implications, both positive and negative, for our fields.

2 responses so far | Categories: The World at Work

May2520097:09 am

A blockbuster event in the City of Angels

by Mark Overmann

Question: if you’re at the Staples Center in LA this week and run into flocks of beautiful, famous people, are they attending: a) Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, Lakers v. Nuggets, b) the NAFSA 2009 Annual Conference & Expo, c) WWE Smackdown, or d) a Dane Cook show?

Yes! B is correct (at least for the purposes of this post): the NAFSA annual conference, off to which I am headed in just a few hours! NAFSA is the largest gathering of the international education and exchange field each year, drawing anywhere from 8,000-10,000 participants. I’m a NAFSA newbie, so I’m not entirely sure what to expect, though I’m told that the exhibit halls are just absurdly huge, that I should bring more business cards than I possibly think I could go through in a week, and that the Wednesday night reception sponsored by the Irish universities association gets pretty ridiculous.

Not sure what the status of blogging will be throughout the week, but I’ll definitely jump on for at least a few links/thoughts, and hopefully provide some updates and photos from the conference. I’m also hoping that the other three above events, all of which are taking place at the same time NAFSA is underway, will result in some legit celebrity sightings, better than the kind that happen in DC where our idea of seeing someone famous is running into John King on the Metro (though I do love his Magic Wall).

Happy Memorial Day.

2 responses so far | Categories: Career Resources

May2520095:39 am

“Things they don’t teach you in graduate school”

by Mark Overmann

According to Chris Blattman, currently in Liberia, “how to respond to a former rebel general that you don’t necessarily need his ‘protection’ for your survey and help in ’sensitizing’ the communities.”

Blattman’s mobile dispatches from the field are entertaining and instructive. Follow his project coordinator on Twitter too.

No responses yet | Categories: The World at Work

May2420094:48 pm

Intl. development volunteering: dispelling the rosy view, ctd.

by Mark Overmann

Thanks to everyone who chimed in on our discussion, started last Sunday, on “voluntourism” and international volunteering. The post generated some passionate and lengthy feedback, so I want to revisit the topic, both to round-up what’s been said as well as to allow myself a few more thoughts.

First, a few organizations that entered the discussion and that international job seekers might be interested in checking out:

  • VSO: “the world’s leading independent international development organisation that works through volunteers to fight poverty in developing countries;” based in London
  • Cross-Cultural Solutions: “specializes in short-term volunteer abroad programs in 12 countries;” based in New Rochelle, NY
  • GlobeAware: develops short-term volunteer programs in international environments that encourage people to immerse themselves in a unique way of giving back;” based in Dallas, TX

Now, to the meat. My goal in starting a dialogue with Alanna RE: voluntourism was, quite simply, to find out more about it. I wanted to learn why an experienced development practitioner (Alanna) viewed voluntourism so negatively. And based on her view of the concept, I also wanted to revisit my initial opinion (I wrote many months back: “Voluntourism strikes me as not only a way to give back but also a means to gain short-term experience working abroad”) and determine if I was perhaps off the mark.

The first aspect of my post that some readers took issue with was nomenclature: “voluntourism” vs. “volunteering.” A few mentioned that voluntourism is in fact not volunteering at all—commenter Steve Jackson suggested they shouldn’t even be “mentioned in the same breath.” I’m respectful of Steve’s opinion, as well as his position as a skilled VSO volunteer, though I’m doubtful of this assertion. I wasn’t purposefully trying to conflate the two terms, or to use them interchangeably. But I did view, and still do, voluntourism as a form of volunteering, which for better or for worse I think many people would consider it to be (the original SF Chronicle article that spawned my first post on voluntourism defines voluntourism as a way in which one might volunteer, not as a wholly separate concept).

Those who stridently oppose voluntourism as wholly unbeneficial and with none of the redeeming qualities we typically associate with volunteer work are welcome to do so, though I’m unwilling to join them in this assessment, largely because I’m reluctant to judge the intentions and benefits of a large group of people and programs that are not all the same. I guess I’d just rather discuss than assume.

All of which leads to the second issue that arose as a result of my post: what does it mean to pay for a volunteer experience abroad?  Or, what do we really mean when we say “voluntourism”?

Read the rest of this entry »

8 responses so far | Categories: Career Resources

May24200911:01 am

Equal benefits for same-sex partners of American diplomats

by Mark Overmann

I noted on Friday that, while the State Department ranked a high fifth in the ‘09 rankings of best places to work in the U.S. government, it ranked much more poorly in the subcategories of Pay and Benefits and Family Friendly Culture and Benefits (17th and 26th). In a heartening related note, though, I now see that State will finally offer equal benefits and protections to same-sex partners of American diplomats:

Mrs. Clinton said the policy change addressed an inequity in the treatment of domestic partners and would help the State Department recruit diplomats, since many international employers already offered such benefits.

A response to its poor benefits and family culture rankings? Possibly, but probably not. The long-overdue reversal of a shamefully discriminatory policy? Absolutely:

“At bottom,” [Clinton] said, “the department will provide these benefits for both opposite-sex and same-sex partners because it is the right thing to do.”

No responses yet | Categories: The World at Work

May23200912:04 pm

‘The Obama factor’ x ‘This economy’ = Tough times placing interns

by Mark Overmann

A friend of mine here in DC (a lawyer for a nonprofit that advocates for victims of international human trafficking) tells me that this summer will be a tough market for internships. A friend of hers, whose organization places students in political, nonprofit, and other internships in DC, is “desperately” looking for available positions. According to him, this summer is one of the toughest he’s ever faced finding placements for his undergrad interns coming to the Capitol City:

I regularly encounter tougher-than-normal times getting all of my students placed in internships. Summertime is by far the worst, because DC internships are extremely more competitive in the summer months than during other times of the year. But even given that phenomenon, this summer is proving particularly challenging, primarily for two reasons:

  1. the Obama factor: It’s a brave new world. Everyone wants to be in DC right now. Applications at all of the agencies we work with have shot up by huge factors. When we met with the White House a couple of weeks ago, they said they received no less than 6,000 applications for this summer.
  2. the economy: People who would normally be entering the workforce right now are turning to internships to (a) beef up their resume a bit more and (b) try to wait out the job slump. The result: a ton of people running around with Masters, PhDs, and JDs snatching up the spots that undergrads would normally be viable candidates for.

I post this not to be discouraging but only to present the reality of the situation. There’s no one, right solution for overcoming this reality, but I will say: it’s not going to be enough to rely on your stellar resume and your well-written cover letter to get you noticed (not when there’s 6,000 others sending in a great cover letter and resume too). Rather, step up your networking, your volunteering, your informational interviewing. Work any and all contacts, no matter how obscure (your parents’ dentist happens to know someone who knows someone who works at a great international nonprofit? Who cares how tenuous the connection—pursue it). The best way to get yourself noticed amongst the throng of other applicants is to become a known quantity. Get yourself in front of the decision makers and make it obvious that they can’t live without you.

I recognize that this is not an easy thing to do. But I really believe that making yourself a known quantity and proving your skills and your committment, not simply relying on how they look on paper, is the best way to stand out from the masses.

No responses yet | Categories: The World at Work

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