The Lemon Life | online magazine offering a fresh perspective on post-grad life.

Words by: Dallas Brown

Image by: Jessica Chan

As I write this article to you all, I’m sitting in a budget hotel in Nice, France, looking out at charming hillside villas. There’s a warm breeze reaching me from the Mediterranean Sea. I am not telling you this to gloat. I am not exceptional. But I may have some exceptional advice: Forget your previous career plans for a while and consider leaving your home country.

Recently, we’ve all been bombarded with doomsday predictions about the economy, with our bright futures hanging in the balance. More often then not, these dire prophecies are made even scarier by the proliferation of percentage signs and decimals, headed in the wrong direction, that often accompany them. For many recent graduates the realities of the economic crisis translate into less jobs and more qualified applicants. Faced with these all-too-familiar facts, we may wish to consider alternatives.

I left the U.S. last year and it was the best decision of my life. Faced with my own post-graduate uncertainty and our faltering global economy, I took the road less traveled. I have spent this past year living in Amsterdam, attending an English literature graduate program at the University of Amsterdam. Like most European masters, my MFA took just one year to a complete and cost a fraction of U.S. tuitions. Initially, though, I had substantial reservations about moving abroad. I already had unpaid undergraduate loans. Without loads of cash in the bank to fall back on, did I really have any business moving to Europe? Also, I was ambitious and eager to get my career off the ground. Though my hesitations were well-founded and my fears justified, eventually I faced a breaking point; the moment where a not wholly small leap of faith was required to board that transatlantic flight.

My year in Amsterdam has meant many wonderful things for both my personal and career development. While pursuing my degree, I also completed an internship with an international communications firm, did some freelance writing and editing for Dutch companies and traveled Europe. Best of all, I’ve learned to converse about broodjes and bakfiets and discovered the meaning of my favorite untranslatable Dutch word, gezellig. The closest English term we have is ‘cozy,’ and for the Dutch, this is a way of life. The international experience and people I’ve met here have certainly broadened my worldviews. And they will give me a valuable leg up on the competition when I go back home and apply for jobs.

Interviewers these days are faced with hundreds of well-qualified applicants for each job. Having a unique experience on your resume that demonstrates your creativity and initiative can mean the difference between more interviews and gainful employment. Though graduate school isn’t for everybody, there are plenty of productive and amazing things you can do abroad that will actually make you more competitive and appealing to employers back home. While you wait out this recession, why not have an adventure? Have you always wanted to work on environmental conservation issues in Costa Rica? Ever dreamed of teaching English in South Korea? Now, may be the perfect time. No, you probably won’t get rich during your overseas adventure. But there are plenty of grant-making and funding organizations that can help make sure you at least break even. In a few months, I’ll face interviews with potential employers. When they turn to me and ask, “So what have you been doing since graduation?” I feel confident that the story I have to tell them will make mine a memorable interview.

• Features