Whether you’re looking for a career change or just want to expand your resume, internship abroad are a great way to gain valuable work experience and make new connections.
To get started, you’ll need to “translate” your resume to a CV in many countries, especially in Europe. That means you’ll need a proper CV layout when you apply for those international internships.
Read this guide to understand what you’ll get out of completing an internship in another country.
Gain Valuable Experience in Your sector
Completing an internship abroad can be a really difficult challenge. From cultural differences to vocabulary or even language barriers, it will be a tough task to complete.
However, if you can pull it off, you’ll have a great-looking resume and return home with much more knowledge and skills. Here is what you can get out of an internship abroad:
1. Add experience to your resume.
Having international work experience on your resume/CV will give you a competitive edge when applying for jobs, especially if they are similar roles within different countries.
2. Gain new skills and knowledge:
Working outside your home country will provide a unique challenge. You can expand on what skills you already have by challenging yourself with new situations.
3. Learn to manage expectations.
You will become more flexible and open-minded when working with colleagues from around the world.
4. Learn to manage time:
Working abroad can be frustrating as you have to adjust to new working hours and days off. You may even need to adjust to time differences.
Starting is not always easy, and you’ll need plenty of tips when you begin. However, there are many benefits to an international experience. It’s not only the experience in the office that you’ll be adding qualities to your personality as well.
Communicate with International Clients and Co-Workers
Internships abroad teach you to work effectively with people from different cultures and backgrounds. If you want to work in a global environment, you must learn how to communicate across borders. Most importantly, an internship abroad is a great opportunity for your resume because it shows that you can adapt to new environments quickly.
Thanks to this experience, you will likely be able to demonstrate that you know how to deal with clients from other countries, which is essential in a more and more globalized world.
Additionally, internships in foreign countries can teach you much about yourself and the world. If you have an interest in international affairs, travel, and languages, then an internship abroad is a great way for you to explore your options.
Learn a Different Language
There is a good chance you’ll learn a new language or at least a different variant. The learning process is accelerated by immersion, so you’re likely to pick up more vocabulary and better understand the nuances of grammar than if you studied in your home country. You can also ask someone who speaks the local language for help in translating documents—it will allow them to practice their English skills as well.
When working abroad, you’ll be expected to know how your company does business in its host country. That means if you go to a non-English speaking country, then you’ll need to immerse yourself in the language. That can be difficult at first, but with time you’ll get the hang of it if you practice enough.
Experience a Different Culture
You get the chance to learn about a different culture. Maybe you’ve always wanted to work in another country and get some experience abroad, but don’t know how or where to start. An internship is one of the best ways to do so.
Pick up new skills and ideas from the culture. You may be surprised by what you can learn while abroad that will be beneficial to your future career goals.
For example, if you take an internship in China, it may help you adapt better when working with people who speak Mandarin instead of English at home or on business trips later on down the road.
Enlarge Your Network
One of the most important aspects of any internship is building your network. It is well known that connections play a big role in determining future job success, so you should make every effort to meet as many people as possible while you are abroad.
This can be done by attending networking events and joining clubs or organizations where you will meet both foreign and domestic interns from other companies. It’s also essential that you keep in touch with these contacts after your internship ends. Who knows, maybe you’ll want to head back to that country on a long-term basis someday.
Author Bio:
Susan Noel is an experienced content writer. She is associated with many renowned business and technology blogs as a guest author where she shares her valuable articles with the audience.
