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How to make the most of an Internship abroad
Whilst spending a period of time living in another country, you are undoubtedly going to encounter some things that you will never forget. Some experiences will be fantastic and will open your eyes to a new culture and new way of living, whereas other experiences will teach you things in other ways, they will make you appreciate your home country. In either case it is important to throw yourself into it, experience and learn as much as possible and here are a few tips as to how to do this:
• Speak the language as much as possible - it make sound obvious but try not to succumb to the temptation of talking in your native language when you know that the people around you will understand it. If you do this, you will learn so much more than just the language, you will be immersing yourself into a new culture.
• Be enthusiastic and be professional – if you have a positive attitude on everything then people are most appreciative of your work and you will be given more things to do! People are usually delighted if you show interest in what they do.
• Accept language difficulties – you are never going to get it right all the time, just try your best and improve from the mistakes that you make. The most important thing is that you throw yourself into it and don’t be too sensitive about your mistakes.
• Accept that settling in is normally the worst part- Arriving somewhere new, where you don´t know anyone and getting lost all the time is hard. This is even the case in the internship – no one likes feeling like the new kid. BUT you will be surprised at how fast you can settle in and make your new place seem like a home away from home.
• Try to engage with everything going on around you – learn about the business you are in! This way, you may learn business skills that can be applied internationally and may help you decided about your future career or help with obtaining the job that you want.
• Document all your experiences – this includes good and bad experiences and you are sure to have both! You can do this in many different ways (diary, scrapbook, videos, pictures, online blog) so do it in the way that is right for you. Once you are back at home, looking over these will help you recollect everything that you achieved and what you learnt.
• HAVE FUN – if you focus on one thing then focus on this. If you are having fun then everything else will fall into place.
So, these are just a few pieces of advice from one intern to another. Remember that every internship is different but that from each one the amount that you can learn is limitless.
Don’t forget that European Internships have a wide variety of opportunities if you can see yourself participating in an internship, so do not hesitate to get in touch!
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