Since students who study abroad often make great hires, some companies are taking steps to accommodate them. Two years ago, Goldman Sachs began offering special “expedited interviews” for intern applicants a few days before Christmas, when many full-year- abroad students are home for the holidays. Among recruiters, there’s also buzz about students’ shifting their overseas experience—traditionally done during junior year—to sophomore year, which lets them participate in on-campus recruiting as juniors. “The value of the study-abroad experience is rising—it’s becoming the equivalent of a second major,” says Janet Raiffa, Goldman Sachs’s head of U.S. campus recruiting. Peggy Blumenthal, executive vice president of the Institute for International Education, says, “The bottom line is, if a company really wants to get students who have international experience, they will find a way to make it work.”
