Looking to take your career global? If so you came to the right place. Check out our 6 essential tips for finding an internship abroad.
Start early on to look for a great internship abroad opportunity
Good candidates don’t look for a last minute internship, especially when it comes to going abroad. You need to anticipate your search time and the potential length of recruiting processes and all the other expatriation-related issues. Between visa applications (check out our article here about how to kick-off the process) finding accommodation, the endless paperwork, bank statements and insurance, it will take weeks! But no worries, it’s all worth it in the end!
Understand your expectations
Since you are looking for an opportunity abroad, you might want to really understand your motivation to do so and what you really expect from this experience. Is it a career booster or more of a cultural exchange? Is it to start off a new job and take on greater responsibilities or to learn a new language? Answering those questions will help you determine the kind of internship you should take in terms of duration, compensation and level of responsibilities. Whether it’s a high paying full-time internship with a lot of responsibilities and possibility to be hired eventually vs. part-time internship with a small compensation that will allow you to travel and take language courses, each of these are factors to consider.
Pick a zone, not a specific destination
As we say, “to choose is to renounce”. And I guess you don’t want to miss your dream internship at the best startup just because you haven’t thought about a specific destination. So unless you have mandatory constraints to respect (imposed by the university or so), the more open you are about your destination abroad, the more opportunities you will receive.
Update your application material
Applying for an internship abroad requires some adaptation and updates in terms of resume and cover letter. You want your application material to convey your competitive advantages, what makes you different from a local applicant and how international your mindset is. Remember that hiring a foreigner could be a bit scary for a company so make sure you reassure them and express how beneficial it will be for them to bring a new eye/fresh ideas to their project. And of course, don’t forget to update your application material according to the local standards (ex: in the USA, you should remove your picture).
Activate your network
If you are lucky enough to have friends or family abroad, don’t hesitate to solicit them to advise you on the destination, to push your resume to companies they know and to provide you with great tips before you actually head up to their country. You can also rely on the alumni network of your university to share their experience with you.
Apply to Planet Expat
Last but not least, give us a shot and apply to our excellence program – you will be offered great internship and job opportunities abroad, not to mention great support to better prepare your international application.