studentsineurope

Ten Tips for Landing An Internship Abroad

By Thursday Bram

Internship applications can be competitive. If you’re applying for an internship abroad, the competition can increase: not all internships automatically accept international candidates and the number of students interested in interning outside their home country is growing. That doesn’t mean landing an internship abroad is impossible, though. You can increase your chances for an amazing internship with some extra work—and the tips below can get you started.

1. Start with your study abroad coordinator. Even if you’ve already started a study abroad program, emailing your coordinator back home can get you leads on internships you may be interested in. They can also help you with your application and give you a head start on preparing for such an internship. If you don’t have access to a study abroad coordinator, though, don’t worry: while they can speed up the process, they aren’t necessary to finding an internship abroad. Some study programs offer internships as a matter of course, however: if your program does so, take advantage of that fact. IES Abroad is provides such opportunities in dozens of countries, for instance.

2. Consider countries and companies you’ve never heard of. It’s increasingly difficult to land an internship in countries considered “popular,” but there are many opportunities in other countries: Jeff Swedarsky applied for an internship in Slovenia in 2003. Jeff had to interview, but the process was much simpler than if he had chosen France or England (other options offered through his school). And with his experiences in Slovenia, he was able to land a job there a year later.

3. Take a look at international organizations. Many organizations based in the U.S. offer overseas internships—government agencies particularly offer a wealth of opportunities. The U.S. State Department, for instance, has lists of opportunities for students to work abroad, in a wide variety of fields. Many non-profits also offer opportunities as well.

4. Contact alumni working abroad. Even with internships, landing a job is at least partially a matter of who you know. If your network extends overseas, try to get recommendations from individuals living in countries you’d particularly like to work in. Your school’s alumni can provide a shortcut: most schools maintain a list of alumni by the cities they live in. You can contact those alumni and ask for a connection to an internship.

5. Research internships that aren’t necessarily for international students. When most companies offer internships, they don’t necessarily consider international applicants at all. They might contact a local school or two and list their internships online. If you’re interested in an internship in a particular company, try searching local job and internship listings. Apply for them just like you would apply for an internship at home.

6. Do the paperwork as soon as possible. At a bare minimum, you’ll need a passport in order to do your internship abroad. Depending on where your internship is and how it’s structured, you may need to do some other paperwork. The U.S. State Department has visa information for U.S. citizens traveling abroad. If you plan to work a job besides your internship (in order to cover your costs and so forth), you may need a work visa. The paperwork can take a while, so getting a head start is useful.

7. Double check language requirements—and go beyond them. For intern coordinators considering applicants from another country, language skills are a crucial consideration. If you are comfortable working in another language, demonstrate that fact. Offer to send a writing sample or your placement scores in order to prove that you’re ready to work and learn in a language other than English.

8. Research local resumes. Resume and CV formats aren’t universal. Tailoring your resume to a local format can give you an edge against the competition—submitting a resume that looks “normal” to an intern coordinator will give you a bump over applicants who simply provide what they think is standard. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has prepared a list of resources on preparing international resumes that includes information on a variety of countries.

9. Make your overseas experience an asset. Many companies consider interns as a way to bring new insight to the business, usually focusing on youth as a benefit. But the fact that you’re coming from another country—an entirely different culture can be an asset as well. As you prepare your cover letter and other application materials, consider writing about how your experiences in another culture will be an asset.

10. Be persistent. Simply turning in an application isn’t always enough. Be proactive and contact the intern coordinator. Ask for an interview. Ask him (or her) to check that your application is complete. You don’t want to be an annoyance, but you do want to be more than just a piece of paper to the intern coordinator. By making contact at least once beyond submitting your application, you’ll have a better chance to stick in the coordinator’s mind.

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Thursday Bram studied Communications at the University of Tulsa and is currently working on her MA in Communication Design at the University of Baltimore. She has studied abroad in Ireland—and visited eleven other countries in the past two years.

More information about Thursday is available at thursdaybram.com.