Compared to finding an internship in your own country, finding an international internship requires a lot more work and preparation. However if you have a strong international orientation and aspire working in a different environment and culture, you will definitely find the extra effort worthwhile.
Your sources for finding international internships are basically the same as when searching for internships in your own country:
- your university career center or professor
- the company directly: inquire directly via the company’s career section whether they offer internship programs
- internship (job) boards online, such as iHipo
- via social and professional networks, such as LinkedIn
- via family and friends.
However you might face extra hurdles when finding internships abroad, which can include language barriers, cultural differences, different timezones, extra costs etc. You can find the largest overview of international internships in the iHipo internships section.
An internship abroad can be an extremely valuable experience for students and an important asset on your resume: it demonstrates cultural adaptation, interest in other cultures and languages, the motivation and determination to explore beyond the comfort zone, and reveals a possible exposure to different leadership and team work styles. Hopefully you will meet interesting new people, both professionally and socially, and will be able to look back at a culturally and educationally rewarding period.
Tips for finding international internships:
- Determine your goal of doing an international internship: is this to learn a new language, gain international work experience, exposure to different cultures?
- Determine what kind of internship you are looking for: work experience internship, summer internship, research internship? Which country/region is strong in what you seek?
- Research about the country you find interesting: does daily life meet my budget, is it easy to find accommodation, how expensive are flights, what kind of internship programs are available there, what are the visa requirements?
- Search for international internships, network extensively (for example try to find students who previously interned there, friends and family, people working there now etc)
