Finding an internship abroad: why? Where? How?

For business school students, completing an internship of several months abroad is a real asset when looking for a job, and even an essential step for young graduates whose professional ambition is to work abroad. Despite the health crisis and waiting for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give the green light for expatriation, you can already prepare your project. Here are a few tips before you start looking for an internship...

Why doing an internship in company abroad?

We can never say it enough: to learn a foreign language, nothing beats an immersion of several months in a foreign country. You will definitely improve your language level, both at work and outside the professional environment.

Doing an internship in a company abroad also means discovering other ways of working, other way of managing people or even other approaches to communication or marketing... in short, it is an extremely enriching professional experience for young people considering an international career.

Finally, living abroad for 6 or 12 months is an opportunity to create an international professional network, to open up to other horizons and to discover another culture.

 

Where to go for an internship abroad?

The choice of the country will obviously depend on your objectives but also on your ability to live more or less far from your home and your family. You can perfectly well do your internship in Europe, in a country participating in the Erasmus programme for example, but why not go further afield (internship in Canada, internship in Australia, etc.) or get out of the Western world and do an internship in China, India or the Middle East?

Remember also that if you want to learn Spanish, an internship in Spain is not the only solution, you have can explore Latin America, just as to learn English, an internship in London or an internship in the USA may be less exotic than a stay in South Africa, New Zealand or Malta.

 

What help is there to find a student internship abroad?

Doing an internship in a foreign country often entails higher costs than if you stayed in your home country, but the European institutions can grant you an Erasmus scholarship under certain conditions. Do not hesitate to contact your school's international office to find out more about the Erasmus traineeship, the conditions for obtaining the grant, etc. Please note that these grants can be cumulated with your traineeship allowance, so you can both do a paid traineeship and receive these grants. Isn't that good news?

 

Is it possible to find a paid traineeship abroad?

Of course, but the trainee's remuneration depends on the legislation in force in the host country, on the company's policy in this area, but also on your level of education and the duration of the internship: it is obvious that doing a 6 or 8-month end-of-study internship will be more remunerative than an observation internship of a few weeks in the first or second year. In any case, most internship offers clearly state this fact and you will be able to check it in the internship agreement before signing it.

How to prepare for an internship abroad?

Many foreign companies are looking to recruit French students for example, but many of you also want to do internships abroad. Therefore, put all the chances on your side by fine-tuning your applications, take part in workshops to design your CV and cover letters in a foreign language, don't hesitate to highlight any international experience in your student path (travel, language stays, etc.), prepare your interviews well and, if need be, take language courses.

Finally, doing an international internship requires a lot of preparation beforehand, you will need to find out about the internship visa, the work permit and worry about many administrative details of this type. Get in touch with your school's mobility department, they will be able to give you advice and will even be able to put you in contact with other students who have found an internship abroad.