Before even entering Sauder, I knew I wanted to go on exchange. After going on annual summer vacations with my family and spending 5 weeks away in Quebec, exchange was something I was aiming for in my university life. Now in my second year, I am ready to go on exchange. And guess what? This September, I will be immersing myself in the French culture in the small city of Lyon, France for a whole term. My exchange dream is about to come true in a matter of months.
So what does exchange have to do with marketing? My friend Jordon mentioned in one of his posts that exchange will distinguish yourself from the numerous other people that will also be applying for the same job as you are. I agree with him when he says that going on exchange increases your market value. And it’s true. After all, there are many many benefits of going on exchange. Spending 4 months abroad means self-growth in terms of independence and maturity, and gaining a new perspective on things. During interviews and recruiting sessions, you will have a larger bag of conversation topics, ones that will definitely be different from those around you.
So what now? Well for starters, I will definitely encourage and promote for students to go on exchange. Your experience on exchange could possibly be your sustainable competitive advantage. Everyone’s experience is different, and what you take out of it may be different from the person beside you. But either way, there is nothing to lose. Hope to see you on exchange!
But first here’s a video of some tourist attractions in Lyon, France, where I will be going 🙂
