Study Abroad's New Focus is Job Skills We've always believed in the many merits of Study Abroad and have encouraged our clients to take full advantage of these opportunities. However, employers have not felt as warmly about these opportunities, often dismissing them as "a few months backpacking through Europe."

However, that tide is slowly turning and, thanks to people like Cheryl Matherly, the former assistant dean of students for career and international education at Rice University, who are helping students to describe their study abroad experience in terms of transferrable, marketable skills.

Hopefully, more and more employers will see that value that hiring a graduate who has spent time navigating their way through a foreign culture can bring to their companies.