What are the benefits of an international internship?

An international internship conveys the message that a job candidate is willing to go out of their comfort zone, and willing to learn new skills. Other benefits are personal development, gaining work experience, practicing a language learned, trying out career changes, and career advancement by gaining leadership skills.

How an International Internship Later in Life Can Boost Your Career

Read how an international internship beyond academy can benefit your career and you personally at any time in life.

Contents

Internships Are Not Just for College Students
Why an Internship Is the Perfect Next Step after College/University
What Are the Benefits of Internships Aboard?
How an International Internship Beyond Academy Can Boost Your Career Later in Life
Why Beyond Academy Is A Great Choice for Internships
For Whom Will 2023 Be a Great Year for an Internship?
More Career Tips

Disclosure: Sponsored

Internships Are Not Just for College Students

In today’s society, we associate the term internship with college or high school students, especially those, who study languages, anthropogeography, fashion or history. These types of scholarships are often pointed out to the students by a dedicated office or professor of their home university or school.

Why an Internship Is the Perfect Next Step after College/University

In general, internships provide work experience. However, international experience indicates that you are open for new things and willing to step outside your comfort zone. Your exposure to a different culture extends your personal views, openness for diversity, and exposes you to different ideas how to make things work. Interning in a country with a foreign language shows your (potential future) employer that you can apply learned skills (your vocabulary). Taking this step also conveys the message that are willing to learn new skills to get a job done.

What Are the Benefits of Internships Aboard?

Benefits of an international internships go far beyond an item on your resume or curriculum vitae or learning new skills.

You can explore career options and define your goals and interests with an international internship beyond academy that places you with various departments.
Because internships are time-limited, they are perfect to try a new career path like building a finance career. Such a trial avoids the risk to get stuck in a career that fails to make you happy. By taking an abroad internship beyond academy, you won’t wonder whether a career change would have made you happier than your current career. You also wouldn’t waste time because having had the international experience not only looks great on your resume/CV, but also gave you job experience.
Abroad, you will become part of a new community, and make new friends.
You can practice or learn the local language.
The exposure to a different culture broadens your personal view.

Example: When I was a German graduate student in the 1980s, I took internships in atmospheric physics and chemistry transport modeling in France at Université Blaise Pascale Clermont-Ferrand, and in the US at SUNY Albany, respectively. Beyond the academic and language experiences, I learned about the different health care, administration and education systems. For instance, in contrast to Germany, students pay tuition in France and the US. French professors were like Gods whom you wouldn’t dare to ask a question, while German professors allowed questions after the lecture. In the US system, professors have even office hours for student questions, and record class attendance.

How an International Internship Beyond Academy Can Boost Your Career Later in Life

Interning opportunities also exist for people in the work force, especially, in international operating companies, and finances.

In the foreign work place, you will make international contacts that can be of value for future references or the development of a global work network.

Example: I stayed at the National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, CO for an internship. There, I met not only scientists from my field that were researchers at NCAR, but also visiting scientists from the US and abroad. My global network grew much faster during my stay at NCAR than it did during conference attendances.

Internships offer opportunities to learn new skills for the next step in your career.

Example: In my internship, at the age of 37, I learned about the newest developments in weather research modeling. Later, these skills were looked for in a job description for an associate professor, and I got the position

The international experiences advance your leadership skills.
You improve your presentation skills, and get comfortable presenting in a foreign language.

For all these reasons, when you apply for a promotion or the next job, you stick out of the crowd of candidates.

Tip: When putting together your application, check whether they ask for a CV or resume. If the latter is the case, use a resume builder to create a draft. Then edit to have a genuine voice.

interns listening to their peers final presentations — “Summer Internship Program Closing Celebration and Final Presentations” by MDGovpics is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Why Beyond Academy Is A Great Choice for Internships

There exist various online sites where you can find international internships in education, various business sectors, tech, travel industry, finances just to mention a few fields.

Beyond Academy, for instance, offers career-boosting International Finance Internships of various durations and in various programs. Many of them can even accommodate your family, time and/or work obligations. Plus you are never too old to learn something new with international internships beyond academy.