Summer Internships Abroad – How to Select the Right One

In recent years, internships have become a much more necessary step toward building a rewarding career. Every year, students and recent grads add to their growing resume with this important career move. At World Endeavors, we believe that adding the element of travel deepens the value of the experience, both personally and professionally. And as businesses are looking for individuals with global perspectives and multicultural fluency, it’s a smart move. So now what? As the choices of fields and locations are endless, where should you start to find the right one? We’ve put together a list of questions that will narrow your search.

• What language will I speak? – You don’t necessarily have to start with this one, but it is a really practical question that will impact your experience. The short answer is: there is no hard and fast rule. We have had interns find success in internships with and without language proficiency. Ask yourself a series of related questions to arrive at an answer that is meaningful to you. How will I do my best work? Do I have enough second language knowledge to find success at a job? Is the work I am doing specific to a certain region of the globe? World Endeavors provides many English language internships if this is the best fit for you. There are also a number of other experiences (some with language classes as a feature) that are available in Spanish, Italian, Thai, etc., to round out a full menu of choices. If this one stumps you, take initiative in the beginning of the search process and call our office to discuss this topic further.
• How specific can I be about the job I want? – You can be as specific as you want. We have had very detailed questions from potential interns that run the gamut. But keep in mind that if you hope to find a specialized internship (ex. Marketing for non-profits run by women as opposed to Marketing), you may limit your chances of finding a job. Our offices respond to a pool of open positions available during a given season, and you might be missing out on a great opportunity in hopes of finding another one that may not be available at the time. We encourage
  applicants to have a few choices listed in order of preference to help guide our staff in the search. While many interns get their first choice, others have been grateful for what turned out to be the perfect position that was listed as a second or third choice. The key here is communication. Expressing needs and wants early helps everyone involved in the process.
• Will I need to earn credit for the internship? Be clear in your application about your credit needs. Many World Endeavors interns can receive credit for their experiences. It requires a little extra work but is relatively straightforward. Make sure you express this need at the beginning of the application process as opposed to the end when documentation might be harder to obtain.
• Should I get some recommendations of successful programs? Definitely! Our staff has facilitated so many internships that it would be unfortunate to let all that knowledge go to waste! Instead of reinventing the wheel, find out where interns with similar career goals have gone in the past. You will benefit from hearing about their successes and allowing yourself to be guided by the experiences of these alumni and our discerning staff.