Top 10 Reasons to Intern Abroad!| 4 min read
Feel like seeing more of the world and doing it on the cheap? How about gaining some valuable life and professional experience while you’re at it?
Becoming an intern abroad is something that more and more people are doing in order to achieve just that.
There is a multitude of reasons you should intern abroad, but we’ve managed to narrow it down to 10 for you:
1. Get outside your comfort zone
Nobody ever succeeded by taking the easy path, and traveling abroad can be just the challenge you need to jump start your life and career.
When you’re in a country where you don’t speak the language, everyday tasks like shopping and going to the bank that you took for granted suddenly become challenges that you must overcome.
You’ll be surprised by the confidence that will build up in you as you learn to navigate these obstacles.
2. Make your CV stand out
In today’s increasingly international job market, there’s nothing that makes a CV stand out like professional experience abroad.
It shows prospective employers that you’re independent, can adapt to ever-changing situations and aren’t afraid of taking chances.
3. Language
Similarly, as companies increasingly aim their eyes towards the foreign market, the need for employees who can speak more than one language is greater than ever.
Being able to speak highly demanded languages such as Chinese and Spanish will give you a distinct edge over monolingual job-seekers.
4. Living abroad makes you smarter
No, really. Several studies have indicated that those who spend extended periods of time abroad possess superior abilities in several cognitive fields such as the ability to creatively problem solve and empathize with others.
So take that trip abroad and get your juices flowing!
5. Global connections
Despite your potentially increased brain power from being abroad, as they say, it’s not what you know, but rather who you know.
Well thankfully interning in another country is a great option for that as well.
You’ll make plenty of friends both personal and professional during your time abroad, which will come in handy for any astute future businessperson.
6. Start a career abroad
It’s not a foregone conclusion that you’ll be returning home after you leave.
Many people find that they like it just fine abroad and end up making both a career and a life for themselves there.
In today’s modern society, more and more people are finding that they end up finding a home away from home, wherever that may end up being.
7. New Work Culture
Interning abroad can expose you to different ways of thinking that can enrich and broaden the way the way in which you yourself solve problems and get work done.
Whether it’s having Guangxi in China or going out drinking with the higher-ups in Korea, there are multitudes of customs and ways of doing things abroad that will allow you to increase both your business acumen and personal knowledge.
8. Adaptability
Tying into discovering new customs and ways of living is the ability to become more adaptable.
When you’re in a country of millions (or over a billion in the case of China), needless to say, you won’t be changing the way things work over there, so you have no choice but to learn to adapt in order to thrive, an invaluable skill in business and life.
9. Independence
Chances are that when you intern abroad, you’ll be doing it solo.
Heading to an unfamiliar place on your own forces you to step outside of your comfort zone and interact with others in order to make new friends and successfully intern and live outside of your home country.
10. Travel
As if you didn’t know this one already! Obviously interning abroad gives you the chance to see another country, culture, and way of life different from your own.
Immerse yourself in the local culture on your days off, and get a taste of the other side of the world while you gain invaluable future professional experience!
