4 Ways to Secure an Internship While Studying Abroad

Photo by Wix.com

Let’s get right to business: studying abroad is more than just the cool thing you get to do in your late teens or twenties, it’s also a way for you to differentiate yourself in today’s highly competitive talent marketplace. However, for many of us, studying abroad is a luxury. The only way we can make our dreams of studying in a different country a reality is if someone in our desired academic institution believes we’re worth the investment. In other words, we’re not able to realise this dream without a scholarship award or a grant to both study and live in a different country than our own.

The truth of the matter is, we may be very talented, extremely hard working, or even persistent in pursuit for more, but a huge part of it is that we’re also lucky. For whatever reason, our application landed on the desk of the right person at the right time, and that person, usually on the admissions team, decided we were worth the shot and their decision changed our lives.

No matter how you got there, whether your parents could afford to pay for your international education or you secured a loan to finance your studies or you were awarded a scholarship, studying abroad is an awesome opportunity to broaden your horizon and to learn different business practises. However, studying abroad isn’t just limited to what you learn in the classroom or on campus. Whether you’re planning on returning to your home country or not, limiting your experience abroad to the university environment is a huge mistake.

The only thing better than studying abroad is interning abroad. Internships in particular are an excellent way to enhance your study abroad journey and allow you to apply what you learn in the classroom in a real business environment. They don’t just boost your academic credentials with real work experience, they’re also a chance for you to grow your professional network and develop intercultural collaboration skills which will get you far.

In this month’s post, I’d like to share with you my top four tips for successfully securing an internship while studying abroad. I’ve used three of these before, which is how I ended up interning at three different companies in Germany before I started working full time. In other words, they’re more than just tips. They’re proven methods to…