How to Network Like A Boss in Study Abroad with Zac Macinnes

Oh my goodness gracious. This post has been about eight months in the making. Waaaay back in May 2011 I interviewed Zac Macinnes and I'm only now getting around to editing and posting it. Shame on me! But surely, SURELY better than late than never. Right? I owe Zac a very large....coffee?....when I see him.

Regardless of my tardiness on posting this interview, the stories and advice Zac gives are timeless. 

And if you can't watch the video because you're at work (I won't tell if you don't!), here's a brief synopsis of what we chatted about.

Zac is a the Northeast regional rep for ISA: International Studies Abroad, as well as their social media manager. Like me, Zac ventured from the Midwest (he grew up in Austin) to attend college in Boston (love that city!) at Emmanuel College. While at Emmanuel, he started his global journeys on a summer study abroad program in Mexico. From there he was hooked and spent another summer in Spain and an entire year in Peru (all during college!). What I found really interesting is that Zac did an internship with his study abroad office at Emmanuel where he was able to meet a lot of regional reps and people in the study abroad field. From there he was able to parlay that network and experience into a full-time job with ISA as a regional rep himself. (I know a lot of you are looking for ways to break into the professional world of study abroad. Take a cue from Zac. Get an internship first. You can find several other tips on getting a job in study abroad here.)

Zac's key advice for people looking to start a career in international education?

"Network like a fool!"

Put yourself out there, be outgoing, start conversations with people you don't know...and eventually something will come along through someone you've made a connection with through your networking.

When it comes to social media, Zac's tips to anyone looking to get started in social media: 1) Start small with Facebook...and 2) make a plan and stick to it (oops! I'm clearly failing at this one!). Definitely follow Zac's advice (and don't blog like me...i.e. sporadically).

Thanks Zac! You were totally worth the wait!