During my post-high school years, I worked a series of jobs and internships – ranging from being a telefund caller, to becoming the supervisor of a concert venue. These experiences have invariably summed up a large part of my professional experience so far – however there’s nothing like interning abroad with an organization in a different country. So how can you use the internship experience that you’ve gained to appeal to future employers?
- If you’re like me, and you have the travel bug perpetually embedded into your system, then looking for jobs internationally is definitely a strong appeal to you. Interning in Barcelona can show that you have the flexibility and adaptability that is necessary to assimilate into the professional culture of a different country.
- It is important to realize however that adaptability not only comes in handy when faced with working with an organization abroad, but it is also an asset to assimilating into the corporate culture of your workplace at home.
- Although the majority of my conversations turn out to be in Spanglish, I was still able to complete projects and tasks to meet or exceed expectations of my supervisor. Interning in a country that utilizes a language that is not your mother tongue can be a challenge, but conquering this will show that you have the tenacity to tackle situations that can be daunting.
- Exposure to another culture can also mean diversifying your means of thinking and your ideas; organizations are always looking for innovative ways to implement new strategies and push initiatives to optimally appeal to their target audiences.
It’s important to recognize the amount of value that you’ve tacked onto yourself to future employers, with the newfound internship experiences that you’ve gained in another country. Knowing how to utilize these experiences as leverage will lead you to a more advantageous position over other competing candidates.
It also helps to document all the projects, tasks and interactions that you experience throughout your internship, as it will help you build your resume and it will provide you with talking points with future interviews.
And if you’ve also interned with BarelonaSAE, be sure to keep in contact with the wonderful staff and your internship supervisor! You never know what types of opportunities can arise from maintaining contact with these wonderful and helpful resources.
Here’s how to highlight your internship in your resume and in future job interviews! http://blog.barcelonasae.com/how-to-highlight-your-international-experience-to-employers/
By Ainsley Chac, University of California Riverside
Summer Internship Program