Why Become an Intern Abroad
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When going abroad for a semester, some programs offer a part-time internship component. Although most people want to take advantage of being in another place to enjoy the city and travel, I am here to show you why doing an internship will give you a lasting experience.
Culture and Adaptability
It’s important to note that your internship spot is not a guarantee; in fact, just like any other job, you have to send a resume, go through virtual interviews, and sign a contract. Resumes are structured differently across the globe, so while being on the Dean’s List or having a high GPA is significant for an American resume, here in France, for example, they couldn’t care less.
As much as it may come as a shock, it’s also good preparation. If you get an internship and are going abroad with IES Abroad, it’s mandatory to take an internship seminar. The seminar helps prepare you with skills and strategies to get a job in an international setting and helps you navigate differing work cultures around the globe.
Consequently, with my internship in Paris, my biggest shock was the work culture. Whereas in the US people live to work, here in France, people work to live. There’s a well-defined separation between professional and personal life. For instance, after 6 PM, hardly anyone will reply to your email until the next business day, and hardly anyone will check work-related messages during the weekend. Furthermore, when networking, one doesn’t normally ask what someone does for a living; in the process, you first get to know someone, and then their professional life comes out naturally in the conversation.
The best skill one acquires in their internship abroad, regardless of the sector, is the ability to adapt: the MOST sought-after soft skill in the past decade!
When you step into a global office, you have to learn how to read between the lines, pick up on unwritten workplace etiquette, and communicate across language and cultural barriers. That kind of real-world flexibility and adaptability can’t be taught in a classroom or gained from just being a tourist.
Internship Value for International Students Going Abroad (Again)
If you’re an international student in the US, you might think you already know and master these skills and cultural subtleties from having had experience living abroad in the United States. That issue, however, is that more than ever your experience was likely tailored to an American context; taking an internship in another country forces you to think that your adaptability is not a one-time trick, and further shows future employers that you can thrive anywhere in the world, and not just the environment you moved to.
Regardless of your background in the workplace, if you choose to take an internship, by the end of the semester you don’t just leave with memories and travel photos; you return home with a multicultural perspective, global confidence, professional maturity, and a unique story that immediately sets you apart in any interview you take in the future.
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