As you make your summer plans, you’re faced with a decision: Do you fulfill your wanderlust dreams, traveling and taking it easy? Or do you get serious and score some professional experience for your resume? We ask: Why choose? We want to have our cake and eat it too, obviously. The solution: Intern abroad this summer!
Interning abroad can seem super daunting; it’s hard enough to figure out where to live and how to find housing, and harder still to find the perfect internship for you – where do you even start, and how do you convince a foreign company to take you on? That’s where The Intern Group comes in; it’s the fast track to the best internship (and the best summer) any ambitious collegiette could ask for! Find out why you should intern abroad (and how to make those dreams a reality):
1. You’ll gain unparalleled professional experience
The easiest way to stand out from the crowd when you’re hunting for a job after college: have something amazing, unique and unforgettable on your resume! Internships abroad are one-of-a-kind, and they show you went the extra mile with your professional development – not only did you hone your skills in a world-class company, but you also sought out and succeeded in an all-new, challenging environment (something employers will swoon over).
With the Intern Group, you can apply directly and then be placed at a top company in the industry of your dreams in London, Hong Kong, Madrid, Australia or Latin America. Check out their offerings – with over 1,000 partner company relationships that regularly host their participants, they can find the best internships for every person in all these fields:
- Architecture
- Art & Design – example company: Proud Galleries in London
- Engineering
- Entrepreneurship
- Fashion – example company: Paolita in London
- Finance: – example company: Franklin Templeton in Hong Kong
- Government & Politics – example organization: The Colombian Government in Colombia
- Hospitality, Events & Tourism – example organization: The Pan International Events Management Company in Melbourne
- HR & Talent Management
- International Business
- Information Technology
- Journalism & Media – example company: Guidepost Magazine in Madrid
- Law
- Medical Electives & Public Health
- NGOs/Nonprofits – example company: TECHO in Colombia
- PR & Marketing – example company: Quintessentially in London
- Real Estate
- Theater & Music
No matter which field you intern in, you can score professional development through leadership workshops, specialized training and other perks!
2. You’ll experience a new culture
Whether you’ve already studied abroad or have yet to, you know that one of the biggest benefits of the experience (and one of the reasons why it also looks awesome on a resume), is that allows you to see the world, your work and yourself from completely different perspectives.
Capitalize on cultural experiences
Take advantage of cultural offerings in the area set up by your program! The Intern Group experience in London, for instance, includes excursions to the theater, traditional afternoon tea, trips to iconic tourist destinations, a guided cruise of the River Thames and more, meaning you’ll soak up all the local flavor and learn about the people and places around you. Plus, you’ll get to spend your free time exploring your city, chilling out in the sunshine and eating all the national treats you can get your hands on.
Opt to live in a homestay
There’s no better way to get to know a new culture than to live right in the midst of it! You have the option of living in a shared apartment with other interns or student housing, but you can also live with a local family in Colombia or London. Opportunities like these make the difference between traveling abroad and living abroad; you’ll never experience anything like it anywhere else.
3. You’ll make friends and networking connections
A friend a day keeps homesickness away! The best way to make the most of interning abroad (and traveling abroad in general) is to get to know the people around you so you feel at home wherever you are. Programs that organize internships, housing, group activities and the like let you make friends you otherwise would never have met in a foreign city, so you’ll have brand-new besties to make all those memories with.
Bonus: Some of the most valuable connections you’ll make while you’re abroad are networking connections, so take advantage of your time surrounded by ambitious people! Whether they’re your peers in the program or your superiors in the office, these new acquaintances could give your career the jump-start it needs to land you the perfect position down the road. Stay in touch!
4. You could learn a new language
Internships are all about gaining professional experience, networking and learning more about what you love (and what you don’t), but that doesn’t mean you can’t pick up some life skills on the side while you’re at it. By interning abroad, you’ll be able to learn a brand-new language or advance in one you already know. Language study opens up new doors and makes you stand out even more in the professional world, so why not brush up on some business Chinese or conversational Spanish for the summer?
5. You’ll have the travel experience of a lifetime
The most obvious reason to intern abroad? Obviously it’s the opportunity our wanderlust was waiting for – exploring a brand-new place and gaining world-class experience you could never find so close to home. Think of the pastries, the Insta opportunities and, best of all, #lifegoals you’ll be checking off in one single summer! Having our cake and eating it too never tasted so sweet.
Ready to take the plunge and intern overseas? Apply now to The Intern Group to score your spot in the program and find the internship you’ve been waiting for!