Are you looking for internship opportunities abroad?
In this article, I am going to show you how you can land an internship opportunity abroad in the next 3o days.
(without getting frustrated)
The secret?
I have summarized all the necessary processes into 6 actionable strategies that are sure to help you get results.
In this article, I am going to show you exactly how other successful interns abroad did it. Step-by-step.
Why You Should Intern Abroad?
No doubt, landing an internship opportunity abroad can give your career the boost that it needs to thrive. What do I mean?
Internships in general (local or abroad) provide a great opportunity for fresh graduates to kick-start their careers?
How does this work?
An internship opportunity exposes you to the activities of a professional environment even if you are still a student.
You will get to understand how an official environment functions (meetings, meeting deadlines, completing tasks, strategic planning, etc.), plus help you build work experience.
Generally, internships are a great way for you to build your work experience with less pressure. Interning abroad helps you take your work experience to another level.
What do I mean?
Getting an internship opportunity abroad will help you learn, and build your work experience on an international level.
- It allows you to build and grow a global network that will be useful for your career.
- It opens you up to career fields that you may not be exposed to in your geographical location.
- It broadens your horizon as regards growing your skills.
- Interning abroad helps you to stand out from other job candidates.
- Interning abroad helps you to build your professional experience from a global perspective.
There are so many benefits of interning abroad, but I just mentioned a few to give you a heads up on why you should intern abroad.
Are you convinced about interning abroad, but you don’t know to go about it?
Getting an internship opportunity appears easier, but companies want to hire valuable interns too.
How exactly do you present yourself as a valuable intern since it is your first time?
Presenting yourself as a valuable intern sure requires you to put in some work, but it is not a problem if you don’t have an idea. That is why I am here.
If you don’t know how to go about interning abroad, I will walk you through 6 tested strategies that are sure to help you get an internship opportunity abroad.
People have different methods of landing internships abroad (searching and applying for international internships, sending cold emails, etc.)
These methods work too, but in this article, I will walk you through my simple yet effective strategies for landing an internship opportunity abroad.
Are you ready? Let’s get started
Strategy 1: Discover Your Career Path (Know what you want to do)
Discovering your career path is the first step to landing an amazing internship opportunity abroad.
Why do I say so?
Discovering your career path helps you understand the kind of internship opportunities abroad that you should be searching for.
It gives your search a definition. Imagine leaving your house without a specific destination in mind?
You will likely end up anywhere which may not be your destination. This is what happens when you start searching for an internship opportunity abroad without discovering your career path first.
I understand that internship opportunities help you to figure out your career path, but things have pretty much changed these days.
These days, organizations expect prospective interns to have an idea of the field they are looking to play in.
If you look at adverts for internship opportunities, you would notice a pattern. Most of the adverts read:
Graphic design intern at ABC company, Communications intern at XYZ, etc.
This shows that discovering your career path and having some knowledge in your field of interest is important.
What if you have not discovered your career path and you don’t have an idea of what you want to do?
You don’t have to worry if you are yet to discover your career path or simply have no idea of what to do.
These worksheets will help you to narrow down your ideas and pin them down to a single career path.
All you need to do is to follow the instructions below and fill out the empty spaces with the correct information.
Career Path WorkSheet
This worksheet is designed to help you discover your career path and what you should be doing.
Discovering your interests
Even if you are not sure of what you should be doing, you at least have things that you like to do. In this section, you are going to sincerely answer the following questions.
These questions will help you figure out the things that you are interested in.
- What would you do for free? _________________
- What is that one thing that comes to you naturally? _________
- What is that one thing that you can do for hours without burning out fast?_____
- What is that one thing that you have loved to do even as a child? ______
- What do you constantly search for online? _______
- What problem do you feel the need to fix immediately? ___
- I have always imagined doing ______
- It interests me because________
- My friends and family say I am great at ________ because __________
Answering these questions correctly will help to figure out the interests you did not pay attention to.
Discovering your values
Values are things that people attach importance to. Values are things that drive people and ultimately forms their attitude.
In other words, what ethics do you consider as important?
In this section, you will brainstorm your values, write them down, and then tick your 5 most important values.
List of values
1.
Finding out your strength
There are things that you are great at, maybe you are yet to find them. In this section, you are going to think about your accomplishments.
Write ten of your accomplishments, and then select 5 that you are most proud of.
Write down the accomplishment that you are proud of. The following questions will guide you in the process.
- Why do you value this accomplishment?
- What did you enjoy the most about this accomplishment?
- What exactly did you do to achieve success?
- What motivated you to keep going till you achieved success?
- What core values helped you to achieve success? (communication, collaboration, accountability, etc. )
While you use the guide questions to write down your accomplishment, take note of recurring words or phrases.
Discovering your career path: Pulling it all together
This simple worksheet is designed to help you discover your career or at least give you an idea of what you should be doing.
In this section, we are going to refer to the previous sections using a simple Venn diagram.
The goal of all you have done so far is to give an idea of the direction you should be going. A combination of your interests, values, and strengths (accomplishment) is what will ultimately form your career path.
That said, let us pull it together.
Step 1: Identify all your responses in the different sections represented by the different circles in the Venn diagram below.
Step 2: Fill in the circles in the Venn diagram below with the words that you ticked or circled in the previous sections.
Step 3: Once you are done with step 2, list out the common ideas from the three circles. Take note of the points of intersection.
Once you are done with this exercise, you would notice that you will at least have an idea of the career path that you should be pursuing.
Note: The more detailed you are with your answers and responses, the better result you would get.
Knowing what you want to do marks the beginning of your success in landing an internship opportunity abroad. I am glad that you have ticked that off successfully.
Strategy 2: Define what you want from your internship abroad
Do you need to know what you want from your internship abroad?
Yes, you do. Why?
Knowing what you want from your internship abroad will give you an idea of the kind of internship opportunities that you should be looking for.
The truth about searching for anything is; that “the more streamlined and specific your search is, the better result you will get”.
Plus it makes the process of searching much easier. Defining what you want from your internship will expose you to the specific opportunities that you should go after.
What do you look forward to gaining from your internship abroad?
- Do you want to intern abroad for the sake of adventure or cultural exposure?
- Do you want to intern abroad to gain access to educational opportunities?
- Do you want to intern abroad to boost your work experience?
- Do you want to intern abroad to make more money so that you can save up for other expenses?
- Do you want to intern abroad as a way for you to give back to humanity on a global scale?
Whatever your reasons are, it is fine.
Knowing what you want from your internship abroad plays a big role in determining the kind of internship opportunities that you would be open to.
For example, if all you want from your internship abroad is to gain work experience with top companies; then you may consider searching for unpaid internship opportunities abroad.
If you aim at gaining work experience from top brands, then an unpaid internship may be your best option.
If you want to gain work experience and make money on the side, then a paid internship opportunity abroad may be your best option.
Once you know what you want from your internship abroad, you would be able to rate the opportunities that you find.
As you expose yourself to internship opportunities abroad, use the priorities that you have set to narrow down your choices.
Strategy 3: Create a CV and tailor it to the kind of internship opportunities that you are looking to get.
Do I need a CV to apply for an internship role?
Yes, you do.
The CV is a formal document that tells your potential employer why you think you are the best person for the job.
It is an opportunity for you to formally introduce yourself to your potential employer as regards the role that you are looking to get.
If you don’t write a CV, then you are simply denying yourself the opportunity of starting a relationship with your potential employer.
That said, how can you tailor your CV to match the kind of internship opportunity that you are looking for?
In this section, I will walk you through 5 simple processes that you need to follow to tailor your CV to the internship opportunity of your choice.
5 steps to tailoring your CV to the internship opportunity of your choice
It is no news that tailoring your CV to a particular job (or internship opportunity) is critical to ensuring that you land the job.
With this in mind, I will walk you through how you can tailor your CV to the specific internship opportunity that you are looking to get.
- Go through the job description and discover what is most important to the company (generally and as regards the role).
The secret to tailoring your CV to match a particular job advert is to go through the job description carefully.
Many job candidates don’t know that all the information that they need to tailor their CV is in the job description.
To tailor your CV, you have to look out for the following in the job description:
- What requirements are listed in the job description?
- What qualifications are listed in the job description?
- What success in the role means for the company.
- What responsibilities are listed in the job description?
- The problem that they are looking to solve (narrow it down to your role).
- Generally look out for phrases or themes used repeatedly ( leadership, teamwork, communication, etc.)
- Match the content of your CV with the job description
Go ahead to match the company’s requirements with your content.
To do this, you would want to make sure that all the important points that you have noted in the job description reflects the crucial aspects of your CV.
The first section to work on when you are trying to tailor your resume is your “personal statement” or career summary/objective.
This section helps you to create a great first impression. You should use words that the employer used to describe the ideal candidate for the position.
The section that contains your work experience should equally be taken seriously. Employers are usually interested in your work experience.
Why?
It is because this is the section that gives the employer an idea of how well you will be able to take on responsibilities.
When you are working on this section, you can decide to skip work experiences that do not relate to the role.
Skipping work experiences that do not relate to the role gives you more room to focus on the ones that do.
You can tailor other aspects of your CV to match the job that you are applying for like:
- The section for your educational qualification.
- The section for your certifications.
- Your skills sections.
- Volunteering experience.
- Interests, etc.
- Rearrange the details of your CV to match the role
Note the sections you want to make changes to and re-arrange your CV
What do I mean by rearranging your CV?
Rearranging your CV is re-ordering the structures and the content of your CV to fit the job description.
All you are required to do here is to replace some of the existing content on your CV that did not match the job description with the new words, phrases or sentences that you coined from the job description.
At this point, you can also delete some content that does not relate to the job you are applying for. So, what you are doing is reordering your CV to fit the job requirement.
- Give useful evidence about your achievements
Just like I said earlier, the section about your work experience is one of the most important sections in your CV.
Even while you have noted some things that the employer wants to see in this section, you should also give the right information.
For example, if the job description states that they are looking for candidates with maybe 3 years of working experience in customer service.
You should not just list where you worked and then add a scanty description of what you did there. It’s good for you to provide evidence about your achievements in your previous roles.
The best way to provide evidence is to use numbers and specific words. It allows the employer to have a clear picture of what you can achieve if given an opportunity.
For example; Instead of saying; I am an “excellent multi-tasker” which is very general, you can be more specific by saying something like this:
“I managed 3-4 projects while staying on top of my daily responsibilities. This means managing timelines, goals, and achieving results.”
This sounds more convincing, right?
Another great way that you can show evidence in your CV is by adding facts and figures to the content of your CV.
What do I mean?
Using numbers, percentages, amounts, and geographical locations can make the details of your CV appear real.
Let us take some examples:
- I contributed 20% growth to the company’s marketing results.
- I managed a project worth $30 million.
- I manage a team of 50 members.
You can also add links to related works that you have done.
- Go over your CV before sending it in
Once you are sure that you have covered all that you need to cover in your CV, then it is time for you to go over your CV.
At this point, I will advise you to take your CV side by side and match it with the job description.
The recruiter should look at your CV and immediately see why you are the best person for the job.
Strategy 4: Create a cover letter that will convince an employer to hire you as their intern.
Your cover letter is one of the most important documents you will have to submit when you are searching for an internship opportunity.
I understand that many job candidates feel like writing a cover letter when applying for a job is an extra task, but I don’t think it is too much to do.
If doing something a little extra will land you the internship opportunity of your dreams, then why not?
The truth is that writing a cover letter allows you to convince the recruiter that you are the best person for the job. It helps you go beyond the CV.
Yes, the cover letter is important, but it is even more important when looking for an internship opportunity.
Why is this?
This is because even if you don’t have work experience, the cover letter allows you to show the instances in which you demonstrated the required skills needed to do the job.
That said, let us take a look at how you can write a cover letter that will convince the recruiter that you are the best person for the job.
4 Tips to create a good internship cover letter
When it comes to writing an internship cover letter, there are certain things you have to put into consideration. These include the following:
- Show enthusiasm and passion for the role.
When it comes to internship roles, employers treat them differently. The recruiter is not expecting you have years of working experience.
Recruiters always look out for interns that are enthusiastic and show passion for the role. Your enthusiasm and passion for the role will show the recruiter how seriously you will take the advantage of the training opportunities.
Unlike the CV, the cover letter allows you to show passion for the role. You can show interest and enthusiasm for the role by doing the following:
- Describe your interests that are relevant to the role.
- Give an example about a time that you showed initiative (related to the role).
- Show interest in the company’s business.
- Show your achievements
Gone are the days when interns assist full-time employees and make coffees. These days, employers are looking for interns that are ready to make real achievements in the company.
To add achievements to your cover letter, you can add numbers and percentages when talking about things that you have done.
For example; if you are applying for the role of a marketing intern, you can state examples of what you did.
“I organized a marketing campaign for our student union project in school that generated 30% more income…”
This kind of example shows the recruiter that you will achieve great results if hired.
- Focus on your education
Since you don’t have the necessary work experience, then your education is a big deal. This means that the recruiter may judge your ability to perform based on your educational qualification.
You can talk about relevant coursework and projects that shows the employer that you can do the job if given the opportunity.
- Go over your cover letter, to be sure it is perfect
Once you have been able to convince the recruiter that you are the best person for the job, then it is time for you to go over your cover letter.
Going over your cover letter helps you to fix typos and grammatical errors. Typos and errors on your cover letter can make the recruiter disinterested in you before they meet you.
You can go over the content of your cover letter using grammarly.com
Strategy 5: Be on the lookout for internship opportunities abroad that suit your skills.
Niching is critical to landing a good internship opportunity abroad.
Just like we said earlier; When you know your career path and understand the kind of internship opportunities that you want, searching becomes easy.
It is good that you understand your skills and then look out for internship opportunities that suit your skills.
Once you have been able to discover the following:
- Your career path.
- Your interests.
- The kind of internship opportunities that you want.
- The kind of company you would like to work for.
Your search for a good internship position will become easy.
For example, lets us imagine you are a skilled graphic designer, you search using the term “graphic design intern” then you can add your preferred location.
That said, let us take a look at where you can get an internship opportunity abroad.
Where to get internship opportunities abroad
Just like full-time jobs, there are loads of internship opportunities abroad on the internet. These are some of the best places for you to find internship opportunities:
- You can find internship opportunities on social media platforms like; Facebook, Instagram, etc.
- Professional social networks like LinkedIn are a great place to find internship jobs.
- Another great place to find internship opportunities is company websites. You can visit the websites of the kinds of companies that you wish to work for.Go to their career page and see if they have a job vacancy that fits your skills.
You can also subscribe to their newsletter to stay in the loop.
- Internship jobs publishing platforms abroad are the best places to find internship opportunities abroad.
Just like searching for a full-time job, landing a good internship opportunity can as well take a while.
The amount of effort that you are willing to put into the process and your strategy can help you get results faster.
Working with an internship placement company can drastically increase your chances of getting an internship job. Search for platforms that connect interns with good internship opportunities abroad.
Note: You get to see up-to-date internship opportunities when you frequently visit internship placement niche websites or subscribe to their newsletters.
Strategy 6: Practice your skills
This is one secret that you may not find everywhere, but I am willing to spill it all out to you.
If you what to stand out as an intern, especially if you are looking for an internship opportunity abroad, then you need to have something to show for it.
What do I mean?
Do you remember the first strategy?
When I talked about discovering your career path. Once you have found out the kind of internship jobs that you are interested in, then it is time for you to start practising your skills.
How do you practice your skills?
You practice your skills by doing something about what you are interested in.
For example, if you are interested in graphic design, you can do random designs in your free time and add them to your portfolio.
If you are a writer, you can create a blog and upload your writings. Doing this while you are job hunting helps you to build some form of unprofessional work experience.
It might be unprofessional, but it does count.
Doing this helps you to stand out from other interns that have little or no work experience. This is one strategy that I know works all the time.
The Best Strategy to Landing an Internship Role in the Next 30 Days
Now that you have an idea of what you need to do to get an internship role, I would like to walk you through my tested 30 days internship job search plan:
Day 1: Positive Affirmation (Believe that you can get an internship job abroad).
Day 2: Self Assessment (Discover your values, you can use the worksheet above to do this).
Day 3: Self Assessment (Discover your skills, know what you do well).
Day 4: Self Assessment (Know your career path)
Day 5: Job search assessment (Find out the kinds of internship jobs that you want, you can research different kinds of internship opportunities).
Day 6: Find out the kind of work model that works best for you (are you looking to get remote internship opportunities abroad? Do you prefer full-time internship opportunities abroad? etc. ).
Day 7: Create an internship job profile (this job profile will include in clear terms all that we have listed from day 1 to 6. At this point, you know for sure the kind of internship opportunities abroad that you are looking for.
Day 8: Start searching for internship opportunities that match your job profile. At this point, you are surfing the internet to figure out the best websites and platforms that suit your search.
Day 9: Start taking note of websites and different platforms that you think will work best for you.
Day 10: Streamline your search (pick the top 5 – 10 websites or platforms that you are going to work with)
Day 11: Be committed (subscribe to the newsletters of the websites that you have endorsed, or become a member). This is how you can get the best out of the platform.
Day 12: Create a job search directory (Keeping a job search directory will help you keep track of all your applications. It also ensures that all the details as regards your job application are intact. Details like; the roles you applied for, the application URL, the name of the company, etc.)
Day 13: Start searching for internship opportunities that match your job profile. I will advise that you apply for 1 job per day.
Applying for one job per day gives you time to properly tailor your application to fit the job description.
Day 14: Go through all the available jobs for the day, then pick the one that best fits you.
Day 15: Tailor your CV and cover letter to fit the job that you have selected.
You can repeat the process on days 14 and 15 and use it for subsequent days till you get an interview invite. You can repeat it for days 16, 17, 18 and 19.
If you follow these steps carefully, you would likely get an interview invite around day 20 or more.
Let’s imagine that you get an interview invite by day 20 or day 21. The next thing for you to do is to prepare for the interview.
The interview is an important aspect of the job search process. If done right, you get the job, if not it will bring all your efforts to nought.
If you don’t want this to happen, you have to prepare well for the interview. You can prepare well for your interview by practising common internship interview questions and answers.
If you follow these strategies and move at this pace, you will realise that by day 30, you would have landed or are close to landing the internship opportunity of your dreams abroad.
Simple right?
These strategies are simple but very effective. People have tried this and have gotten results, you can do the same too.
These are my simple but effective strategies for landing an internship opportunity abroad. Did you find these strategies helpful?
I would love to hear your contributions in the comment section.