Shanghai Internship Program with CRCC Asia

I was ill for a few days whilst in China and that would have been very scary without the support of my CRCC Asia program manager.

Living overseas is an invaluable experience - you learn so much about the world and about yourself. It's so important to push your comfort zone and prove to yourself that you can survive. It's also great to have that experience on your CV to evidence your personality and soft skills to future employers.

Very similar to the average work day in any 9-5 job except in the evenings there are so many opportunities to explore your new city, bond with new friends and network with new contacts.

On the weekends, my friends and I tried to see as much of Shanghai and China as we could. It was such a privilege to have that time to really get to know a part of the World that many people never go to.

I was concerned about how much my internship would cost - from the program fee to flights and spending money.

Three years later it is honestly the best investment in my future that I have ever made. I have certainly made that money back given that I found a permanent job almost immediately after the internship (the loss of earnings in that 3-6 months of job hunting had I not gone to Shanghai would have cost as much if not more).

I also think I earn more than I would have done without the experience as I was able to be hired at a slightly higher level than I would have done and I have been promoted more quickly since then.

I'm now conversing in a more diverse global environment and everyday is a new lesson on new cultures. It's provided me with new perspectives that have catalysed creativity, an attribute that is heavily required for my position. I find that I enjoy and appreciate the stories and backgrounds of each individual I meet in this job more than in my previous positions.

The position also allows me to meet and network with many people across west Japan as we not only meet with host companies but groups we can collaborate with for cultural events, so I feel my knowledge on this area of Japan has grown since I have joined CRCC Asia.

I've heard many success stories, but the best highlight would be the time when an ex-participant successfully pitched his project to his host company. Although the participant returned to his home country, they were able to collaborate remotely.

I love this success story since it shows that building relations with your host company can lead to new businesses and highlights how more companies are accepting cross-border collaboration.

I would go to Seoul, which is similar to Osaka.

I happen to be half South Korean and half Japanese (born in the UK), but surprisingly I have never visited the country, so there would be no better opportunity than participating in an internship program in Seoul to understand the work culture and its traditions. I'm also a foodie and Korean food is one of my favorite!

I knew from the moment I had attended the first interview that the staff at CRCC Asia are passionate to help people. This unanimous goal fosters an environment where we are motivated to provide the best programs to our participants.

I've also seen the effort and care put in to make these programs a success and this is also evident as we have extremely high satisfaction results from participants across all of our programs.

Having a group of people with a unanimous goal.

CRCC Asia was started by people who cared for the development and support for the younger generations and society, and this has been upheld by all member of the company. I believe this has helped the company to grow and provide great experiences to thousands of participants across the globe.