Using An Internship After It’s Over| 2 min read

First of all, the internship will make your resume stand out when applying for any position, especially one that was conducted internationally. Not many can show that type of ingenuity and inspiration so as to have stepped that far out of their comfort zone. Therefore it is important to always mention the internship when applying for a job and show how it has effected and helped you since. For example, learning the Chinese language might have helped you to connect with the locals better where you were, which lead to getting to know the culture at a more intimate level. It will also be important to show how you gained knowledge of the business culture in China, because China is rapidly becoming influential in many areas of business across the globe.

When a part of a program, like the China Internship Program, one is not simply fetching coffee. You are given meaningful tasks that are important and significant in regards to the operation of the company. This type of experience is not often found in the Western world. Therefore, you can express that you acquired real skills during the internship which will be useful in the company you are trying to get into.

In China, guanxi, or ‘relationships’, is an extremely important concept and should be valued and taken seriously. Therefore, whilst at your internship company, making many friends and business relationships can go a long way. The want for ‘guanxi’ will go both ways; knowing and befriending a foreigner is very important to a Chinese person, and having good connections in China can be a very good selling factor that gets you the job. Lastly, whilst working as an intern, doing the best you can at the job you are stationed at is important; getting a good recommendation letter could change everything – ‘Guanxi’ can effect the type of recommendation you get.

Going through and completing an internship is just the beginning. After gaining the experience and spending time abroad, one has to use that continually for the great benefits it can bring to your career and to your life.