I wish I could have told past me at university how advantageous having an internship abroad would have been for my career. I studied abroad for a semester in the UK and I can honestly say that was my favourite highlight out of uni and a really once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I am grateful for taking.
What if I told you there was an opportunity to travel overseas whilst also gaining professional work experience with an internship abroad? What if I told you that you could apply for an internship abroad easily? Firstly, let’s examine some of the benefits from pursuing an international internship.
Benefits of an internship abroad
Gain valuable experience for your resume
Completing an internship will provide you industry experience and the technical skills needed for your career in your field. These are more valuable and practical than what you will learn in a classroom. I would also say an internship is essential to get ahead of the competition for applying for graduate jobs in a very competitive and cutthroat job market.
There is also an opportunity for you to be considered for a permanent full-time role in the company if you have performed well in your internship.
Having experience in a foreign job market can be incredibly lucrative for employers and opens you up to more opportunities. Work experience with an international internship is a great addition for your resume and will make you stand out from other candidates. Having an internship overseas doesn’t just show your professional competency but valuable soft skills that come from working with a different cultural or linguistic perspective. This is what is going to make you stand out from other candidates who have intern experience.
Build professional and personal soft skills
Whilst you will learn a lot of technical and practical skills on your industry-specific internship, you will also gain valuable soft skills that are applicable to any career. For someone to take an internship abroad, this clearly demonstrates that you enjoy challenges, initiative and risks. You’ll build your cross-cultural communication skills as you adapt to a different work environment, working style and culture.
One of my favourite personal skills I developed when I studied abroad was gaining a sense of independence and confidence. These are soft skills that employers will highly value.
Build your global network
Networking is difficult but it is incredibly valuable to build your professional network. Building connections leads to increased visibility, increased support and mentorship and more impactful connections.
You’ll gain a broad perspective of people and culture when abroad. You may work abroad in Seoul but meet people from all over the world including New York, Amsterdam and Singapore and these connections can open yourself to opportunities in the future that may not have been possible without meeting these people from your internship. These people you might meet might be the key contacts in your career.
Travel
Travelling is such an amazing opportunity. Having an internship abroad allows you to explore different cities and countries when out of work. You definitely will be able to tick a lot of places off your bucket list! Working abroad provides a unique experience in that you’ll also be immersed into a different culture, working style and maybe even a different language.
What Beyond Academy can do for you
Beyond Academy provides internships across many cities around the world including Seoul, New York and Stockholm. Their internships are industry-specific from business, fashion, consulting and tech. From finance in New York, London or Tokyo, architecture in Berlin or fashion in Barcelona – the sky is really the limit here.
International Internships Seoul with Beyond Academy will provide a valuable, unforgettable and unique experience where you will get to work in a major global city key to the communications and tech industry, with giants such as Samsung, and also experience the both the traditional and modern culture of Seoul and Korea. There are 12 world heritage sites in Seoul alone. You’ll get to sight-see historical temples and palaces and discover the rich art and food scene Seoul has to offer.
Beyond Academy offers such as valuable and rich experience because they consider the professional and personal development of you than solely just the work experience itself. They provide professional networking events, development workshops, 1:1 career coaching and social events including orientations, welcome dinners to day trips. Internship lengths can be as short or as long as you want from a few weeks to as long as 6 months.
An international internship isn’t just a cool experience because you’re travelling overseas. There is so much to gain from an internship abroad from both a professional and personal standpoint that I really do believe it is worth the investment.
Leave a Reply