AIFS Abroad: Intern Abroad in England

Global Experience made my summer amazing!!!
They found the perfect job for me it was exactly what i wanted in an internship. Everyday was a new adventure and i learned so much! I couldn't have asked for better! The housing was very nice and they went above and beyond with their program and staff! I truly have nothing bad to say!
This program was an experience of a life time and I could not be where i am now with out it!

As the RA for London's Summer program, I had the opportunity to work closely with Global Experiences' incredible staff and most of our large group of interns. Although as the Resident Assistant most of my work was behind-the-scenes, my daily duties included organizing several group outings and events, organizing teams and sending out RSVPs, taking location photos, creating promotional materials, and media publications (photos, videos, posts). The staff was very helpful during all stages of my stay and I felt very comfortable asking for help when I encountered issues or needed some direction.
There was a real sense of community from the very beginning with the interns, GE, and myself, and aside from the fantastic location, that sense of community was the greatest highlight of my experience. I would absolutely recommend Global Experiences' London program!

London was everything I imagined and so much more! Global Experiences really helped me through this journey. This experience made me a better well rounded individual. Global experiences answered all of my questions and I asked every question that I could until I felt comfortable. They want to help you, so ask your questions! Do the webinars, they prepare you for what you need to know before your internship and how to enjoy yourself while you are in London. Do your own research as well, I personally googled things to do in London and found out more about transportation.
The INTERNET is seriously your best friend, so use it. WIFI is almost everywhere in London, so you can use your phone on wifi applications but also check with your carrier about using your phone in Europe. Some helpful apps to use on WIFI for communicating with people are VIBER and WHATSAPP. Learn about London and find out how the TUBE works. When you get to London, use google maps to plan out how to get to work and actually take a run through of getting to work when you arrive in London so you can plan out how long it takes to get there. Become familiar with the area and learn how the money system works. In London they use pounds! But in other places in Europe they use the EURO.
London is the best location to travel to other places in Europe, so take advantage!! The culture in London is out of this world amazing! There is a time difference so you will probably have jet lag when you first arrive. Don't be afriad to get lost with a friend or even by yourself, because people there will help you, just ask. There is always something to do in London, so it's impossible to get bored. The experience is what you make of it, so be independent, and just go for it. Have fun and enjoy!

My experience was a little different than most people looking to do internships. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do accounting or finance, and Global Experiences put me in a perfect placement to where I could explore.

My day to day was like preparing financial statements and doing on-site visits with companies/charities to discuss where they are at financially and what we need from them to do our job.

One highlight I really liked was GE's help in improving our professionalism along with our strengths. Not everyone went to these workshops, but it should be advertised more to the interns because it was so helpful.

My internship with GE was amazing. Not only have I excelled in my professional career, I also grew as a person. I was terrified to go across the world by myself, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. I met so many amazing people, and learned a lot about myself and other cultures around the world. I couldn't have asked for a better job placement. GE helped me developed lifetime friends, references, and comfort in knowing I can to do anything I put my mind to!

I was placed in a fabulous internship that fit me perfectly, and it has only given me the resume boost that led me to other internship and job opportunities that I could not have done without Global Experiences. The onsite staff made it more comfortable for me during my stay, and I felt like I always had a person to talk to about every obstacle and opportunity that I was given. I am thrilled that I was apart of Global Experiences.

After I was accepted to Global Experiences they guaranteed an internship placement. My first choice interview went well and I got a marketing position in a company I really liked. For the months leading up to the program, they hosted regular interactive webinars and called us individually to help us through the interview and visa application process. Mine went smoothly and I didn't really require much extra help, but it was nice to know it was available.

When I arrived in London at our housing facility, the advisers I had been speaking with the last few months were waiting to help us move in and give us some advice about settling in. We had a orientation session, icebreakers for the people in our groups and two tours that weekend.

During the internship our advisers held office hours, visited us at work, spoke with us about any issues that may have cropped up at work. They also had lots of social events for us from bar crawls to day trips around England. Our adviser was very knowledgeable about life in London and had suggestions from cheap pubs, to free museums and unique cultural events around the city.

The other interns in the program and I quickly became friends. Several months later, some of us are planning a bit of a reunion back in the US.

My actual internship was great. My manager gave me a lot of freedom and a lot of responsibility after proving myself early on. I got experience in the sales and advertising side of marketing and realized which I like best. My work was actually put to good use in the company. At the end I had a great letter of recommendation and a lot more confidence in my decided career path. It was a lot of hardwork, but I definitely grew over the course of the summer.

Night life is obviously fantastic in London. While I hung out with my GE friends a lot, I broke out and made local friends, which really made my experience something special.

A few months back in the US, and I still keep in touch with my GE advisers, former employer and of course my friends I made in London.

I definitely enjoyed my internship experience abroad with GE. London is a fabulous city, but I can't imagine what a difficult time I would've had there on my own. First of all, they placed me in an amazing place which was the biggest plus right there. I got to work doing something I love, which, if you're doing something for free, you really want to have. I also felt like the program supervisors were very accessible and if I had a problem--thankfully I didn't have many of those--that I could come to them. The accommodations where we were staying were safe and for the most part, nice, but there were a lot of technical problems like the water going off, the refrigerator occasionally dying. I also would've liked if we had the option to choose what kind of room we wanted, like the studio flats they offered. Otherwise, this was an incredible experience and I'll never forget it.