Internships Abroad for Recent Grads

Recent grads eager to enhance their resumes while getting international experience will benefit from applying to internships abroad. Whether it's gaining that insightful business experience at an international corporation in Europe or interning with a human rights NGO in Asia, there are tons of options to help your resume stand out when you apply for jobs in the future.

Young professionals who want to gain international internship experience right after university can choose from the following fields:

Business

Recent grads with an interest in business can choose from accounting, finance, administrative, management, hospitality, tourism, or international marketing opportunities. Whether your strength is in account management, creative outreach, working with people directly, or managing things from behind the scenes, you will be able to find a business internship that aligns with your career goals.

Communications

Get your foot in the door by networking with global-minded communication companies overseas. Internship journalism fields include fashion, sports, medical, and science journalism. You may also find internships in production, talent management, or media marketing.

Art

Fuel your creative drive by spending time overseas working at a graphic design, film production, performing arts, or photography internship. Music enthusiasts can even spend time interning at a music studio, an orchestra, or a theater. Fashionistas can land an internship working at a fashion magazine, or fashion design company.

STEM

With jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math holding more significance than ever, gaining experience at a global company is crucial. Program types in this field include marine biology, biochemistry, electrical engineering, civil engineering, information technology, computer science, and wildlife conservation.

International Relations

From teaching English to doing field work with NGOs, there are many opportunities for people interested in international relations. Internship types include teaching English as a second language, being a classroom language assistant, or interning in government departments and NGOs. This field is great best for interns with experience in international law, political science, or human rights.

Healthcare

Nothing can help you enhance your understanding of global health issues like living and taking part in field work, hospital and clinic apprenticeships, and learning from doctors overseas to see best practices in another country. Recent grads can land an internship in nursing, pre-med, HIV/AIDs prevention, medical research, traditional medicine, or physical therapy.

With the initiative to be more globally minded, businesses from all fields are focused on cross-cultural communication and collaboration, so it won't be hard to find an internship in your field, no matter where you choose to go. Here's a breakdown of internship types that are most prevalent in each region of the world:

Africa

Development continues to remain at the forefront of many businesses and NGOs in Africa, so the most common internship types include community development, education, medical, health, humanitarian, environment and conservation, and tourism and hospitality. Some popular African destinations include South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Madagascar and Seychelles.

Asia

In Asia, business, healthcare and tourism internships draw many recent grads from around the world each year. If this piques your interest, try heading to China, Hong Kong, South Korea, or Taiwan.

Recent grads with an interest in development and healthcare internships can look to Indonesia, Cambodia, and Thailand, for starters. If you're looking for an ethnic diversity and international relations experience, look to Bangladesh, India, or Sri Lanka.

Australia & New Zealand

Because of its grand biodiversity and perfect backdrop for movie sets, the most popular fields for internships in Australia and New Zealand include environment and conservation, journalism and media, art, photography, film, and hospitality. As a recent grad, you can land an internship in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, or Wellington to name a few cities.

Europe

There's something for everyone in Europe, whether it be an internship in fashion, politics, engineering or business. Popular all-around destinations include the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland. History and politics enthusiasts in particular may want to head to the Czech Republic or Poland, and recent grads who are interested in art or fashion will find Italy, Spain, and France to their liking.

Middle East

The most common internships in the Middle East include NGOs/international development, tourism, education, agriculture, and energy. As a recent grad, you can gain international internship experience working in these fields in Morocco, Libya, Jordan, Israel, or Turkey.

North America

Recent grads can gain internship experience in business, finance, eco-tourism, marketing, community development, or hospitality by coming to North America. Popular destinations include New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, San Juan, or San Jose, expanding across the US, Canada, and other islands.

Caribbean

For recent grads interested in environmental conservation, education, and tourism, the Caribbean would be a great fit. Find internships in destinations like Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, or Puerto Rico to enhance your resume and get real world experience.

Central America

Best for those interested in environmental conservation, business, or community development, recent grads should start their search with Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, or Costa Rica for their internship.

South America

South America is a great destination for nearly any internship. Recent grads interested in conservation, community development,ealthcare, law, or human rights may want to start looking in Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia.

Applying to Internships

When applying to internships abroad it's good to look into the following before you go:

• Required work experience
• Visa requirements
• Hiring cycles for specific types of internships
• Language requirements
• Costs of living
• Work culture
• Work attire, cultural norms
• Paid/unpaid opportunities

Go Overseas is a great place to start. Most of the program providers on our website list information about visas, language/relative work experience, costs of living, and hiring cycles. Many alumni reviews will talk about the work culture and other etiquette norms about interning abroad in a specific country to provide you with helpful information before you go.

Housing

Most internship opportunities abroad will require that participants find their own housing. In some instances, certain internship programs may provide participants with things like a housing stipend or a homestay. However, this all varies based on program, so it's really important to research the cost of living in each location if you need to find housing yourself.

Packing Tips

Work attire varies depending on where you are in the world, as well as your line of work. Someone interning in finances will need to pack more formal attire than someone working on environmental initiatives in the outdoors. Some countries may also be more conservative and will, therefore, expect modest clothing. Another thing to keep in mind is that most of your electronics will require adapters and power plugs in order to work abroad.

A good way to judge what type of clothing you should pack is by looking through photos on the company's website to see how current employees are dressed . It never hurts to ask your boss or refer to alumni to find out the preferred dress attire for the internship either.

Contributed by Danielle Ortiz