According to a recent study, students who have studied abroad are valued by employers and should use the experience to beef up their chances at getting a job.

The study, which was completed in October and will probably be published next fall, was given at four universities -- Penn State, University of Notre Dame, University of Kentucky and Pacific Lutheran University -- and received responses from 352 employers. "In general, study abroad was looked upon favorably," Robert Domingo, a research associate at Penn State who was involved in the study, said.

Co-author of the study and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Council on International Educational Exchange Michael Vande Berg said employers said having the preferred academic major was most highly valued, but did rate studying abroad in a nonEnglish speaking country third, just below having completed a major or minor in foreign language.

At Penn State, 2,400 students study abroad every year, making it the fourth largest in the nation, Anthony Ogden, associate director of education abroad at Penn State, said.

The study surveyed several companies that the schoo has relationships with through career services, Jack Rayman, senior director of career services and co-author of the study, said. "[The study] raises people's eyebrows, because for years we've said that we wish human resources would pay more attention to study abroad when they hire," Vande Berg said. He said 16 percent of the human resources employers in the study had studied abroad.

"Over time, as the number of students studying abroad continues to increase, there will be more and more human resources professionals that value study abroad and therefore, students will find a willing ear when they start discussing it [in job interviews]," Vande Berg said.

Employers find studying abroad valuable because they want to hire employees who are not judgmental of different world views, as well as employees who are willing to take risks, Domingo said.

Many students believe studying abroad is a resume-builder, but the employer often doesn't ask about it when it's on a resume, Rayman said.

"Students who have had a study abroad experience should really take the opportunity to point that out to employers and show how what they learned will make them a better employee," Rayman said.