The Benefits of an International Externship
Can an international externship improve your career prospects—Yes, Absolutely!
Internships are a pivotal moment in your professional career. This will be your introduction to professional life, where you experience the reality of timelines and deadlines, customer service, dealing with people from diverse backgrounds, and workplace politics. It’s important that you choose an internship that jumpstarts your career and positions you for further success.
Author note: Internships are defined as a student or trainee that works in a organization, to gain work experience or satisfy requirements for qualification. Externships are temporary training programs in a workplace where you shadow and learn daily duties (typically between 1 week and 10 weeks). Both experiences can be paid or unpaid, for the purpose of this article, we will use the terms interchangeably.
Of course, you could do an internship locally, and that would certainly be easier, but there are many reasons to travel abroad for those first professional experiences, here are a few:
1. It challenges you and puts you out of your comfort zone. Interning internationally will expose you to other cultures, ways of communicating (including other languages), and viewpoints completely different from yours. These will help you to better understand problems and trends, assist you in approaching problems in a unique way, as well as broaden your perspective and position you ahead of your colleagues.
2. You are building a global professional network. We all know the phrase, “it’s who you know” and why not expand your network to its maximum. You will learn from and connect with professionals from your internship country, or those who may be living there temporarily. These individuals may be key contacts for your professional future, as you never know where you may choose to live and work.
3. You will develop your communication skills. Your interpersonal skills will be of critical use to you as you grow in your career, and one of the primary benefits of an international externship is the opportunity to develop these skills in a diverse, multi-cultural setting. Interacting and understanding people from other cultures will benefit you in countless ways throughout your career and will always be viewed positively by management. Further, if you can learn a new language, even just the basics, you’ll be surprised at how much you will use it and how it benefits you.
4. Independence. Your industry skills are guaranteed to improve as you work as an intern, but you will also gain countless soft skills such as adaptability, problem solving, and independence. Just the confidence to take public transportation in a new city develops and demonstrates these skills. This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the confidence and autonomy you will gain living and working abroad. You will have encountered a number of difficult situations and conquered them all! You will be unstoppable!
5. You have an opportunity to explore! And to have fun! International externships aren’t all work and no play. Depending on your externship contract, you may have a number of opportunities to travel locally or even to nearby countries, expanding your knowledge base even further. You can go for a hike in the afternoon, and maybe hit the beach a day later. Or better yet, catch a train or flight to a new destination and explore.
6. It sets you apart from you peers. Doing an internship is not a unique experience, many people do internships. However, really pushing yourself to intern in a new city, a new country, a new continent, in a new language—this will really catch the attention of potential employers. Additionally, you will have discussion points with clients, you can build a portfolio, and use the knowledge gained in your time abroad throughout your career. Don’t forget this phrase, “Well, when I trained in Europe…”
7. Fall in love… Not that kind of love! Well…maybe. Traveling and living abroad allows you time to really explore an area in depth, to feel its heartbeat and the rhythms of a country. You also have some time for introspection and self-exploration, this is a critical time to develop your identity and your priorities in life. You never know, you may just fall in love with a new city, with yourself, or a local.
For all of these reasons, doing an externship abroad can only positively impact your professional, and personal life. You will have a leg up on the competition when applying for high-demand jobs and the ability to draw on a diverse range of experiences as you progress professionally.