Securing an international internship is a dream for many upcoming professionals. The world is a big place, and you want to explore opportunities outside of your home country. And you can, but it will require extensive internship research to find the perfect fit for you.
How do you choose the right international internship?
You’ll need:
Complete understanding of your goals and interests.
Extensive research into opportunities available to you.
If you’re willing to go out of your comfort zone, you’ll have an easier time securing an internship that will push your career to new heights.
Credits: Pexels Understanding Your Goals and Interests
Don’t take the first internship that you come across unless it meets your goals and interests. Successful internships are easier to find when you:
Write down your goals
Consider your interests
Once you have your goals and interests outlined, you’ll then want to create a long list of opportunities. We’ll be covering how to research different options shortly, but in terms of your goals, consider:
How will this position land you a career?
Do some of the core tasks that you’ll be working on fit into your interests?
Where do you see the future of the position? Will the internship help you reach this future?
If you consider your goals and interests, it will be much easier to find an internship program that will allow you to grow and prospect in the field.
Researching International Internship Opportunities
You know that you want an internship that will take you to a new country and way of life, but how do you pinpoint the right opportunity for you?
Sources for Internship Listings
Locating an international internship program is challenging, but you do have a few options:
Capital Placement – a source for finding international internships in places like London, New York and Singapore. The company’s programs help you secure housing, internship offers, visas and much more.
University – your university may have connections that can help you land internships internationally. You’ll want to speak to your university’s respective department lead to find internships that may be available to you.
Online – scour online opportunities to find any that may work well for you. Do your due diligence to avoid scams.
Once you have potential sources to choose from, you can then worry about the city and country.
Country and City Selection
Internship research is very personal. One person may want to work only in New York. It’s the person’s life dream to work in NYC and they can narrow down their search to this area only.
Others, if they don’t know where to begin, should look for:
Major hubs for their career
Cities that offer the best opportunities
Evaluating the Host Organization
Many organizations will host interns because it opens potential talent to them and is a good way to fill in gaps in the workforce. You must research the host organization to ensure that they’re a growing entity that can help you land a job on the basis of adding them to your resume alone.
Financial Considerations
You can start leveraging internship experience in the future for higher starting salaries, but what about now? How much will you need to pay to be an intern? How will you raise the funds? Will the internship be paid?
Preparing for the International Experience
Once you find the right internship and have considered the financial aspects, it’s time to prepare for the international experience.
International internships are exciting opportunities, but there are logistics to consider. It’s also important to prepare yourself mentally for the challenges that may lie ahead.
Here’s how to prepare for the experience:
Make sure you have a valid passport.
Start applying for the appropriate visa for your internship. If you’re working with an agency, they may be able to assist with this step.
Set aside funds for extra costs that may arise.
Start familiarizing yourself with the area, local culture and the language.
Start working on securing housing or working with an agency to find appropriate housing.
Shop around for insurance to ensure you’re covered while you’re abroad.
Leveraging Your International Internship Experience
International internships provide a valuable opportunity to develop skills that are highly sought-after by employers. Along with desirable hard and soft skills, you’ll also gain exposure to new cultures and learn how to work with others.
The potential skills you can gain through international experience include:
Independence and competence
Interpersonal skills
Flexibility and adaptability
Problem-solving
Language development
Career awareness on a global scale
Cross-cultural communication
Employers will find all of these to be valuable assets.
To leverage your international internship experience, make sure that you include it on your resume. How can you showcase this experience?
Identify and highlight transferable skills
Describe language experience
List any technical skills you developed both in and out of the office
Highlight relevant culture-specific experiences
Show the results
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