An international internship can be a delightful or an awful experience, depending on the way you manage and overcome obstacles during your journey. As one of the founders of Intern Brazil, I’ve also had the same experience as the one that we offer and I can enlist a few reasons that you should go for an internship abroad.
1. An internship abroad can open up your mind to new ideas and a new working culture
When you get exposed to a new working culture, you can distinguish what would/could work in your country from what wouldn’t. If you stay at a good company, not only will you acquire technical knowledge, but most importantly you will learn how to behave and how to get things done more efficiently and that skill can be used in any country and in any field.
2. It helps you to get a job
Whether or not you need/want a job, once you get back to your home country, an internship abroad experience will look good on your resume and it will definitely help you out on a job search. Keep in mind that employers value this kind of experience as they can assume that you are open minded(at least a bit), adventurous and it also counts as a work experience, which is the main reason of interning abroad.
3. It can open up your mind to new business opportunities
If you are an entrepreneur, there are a lot of ways you can use your skills at your home country. You can apply a popular/already validated business model that you saw at the country you’re interning (possibly Brazil) at your home country or vice-versa. Be opened to the experiences that might appear as some of them can arise outside the business environment. Sometimes an insight or a business vision of it can be the first step for you take action! Be prepared!
4. An international internship can be combined with traveling
During weekends and holidays you can…. TRAVEL! Yes, life isn’t always 100% about work, there is definitely an important portion that is allocated to your hobbies. Not only you can get to know your internship abroad country better, but you can also visit a few countries that are close to where you’re at. Plan those trips a bit before and double check the need of a visa to visit those countries. Otherwise you won’t be able to go there.
5. It will push you into tough situations and make you stronger
I’m not saying that physically, although it could happen if you practice some exercises there. By interning abroad you will experience a lot of pressure as you are looked at with different eyes. You haven’t traveled a few hundreds (or even thousands) km just to answer phone calls or emails. You came to contribute to the team and this willingness to succeed is what employers want from you. Some obstacles might appear, like not understanding everything at a meeting, having to present for the managers in your second (third) language, and learning technical terms, routines and other things in a really short period of time. So, what doesn’t kill you, make you stronger! That applies to your internship abroad in Brazil.
6. You can make international friends for life
Last, but not least, whether you get along with locals or other foreigners, people that you meet during this journey can become real good friends for life. Having friends worldwide can be a great thing, as you probably will have a couch to spend a few nights in many places you didn’t even know they exist before and, besides that, it is an unique chance to explore the culture of different countries, something that might not be so easy to do once you get back home.
Conclusion
During the experience abroad you might face some huge obstacles, but the reward can come in many different aspects of life. If I would give myself an advice a few years ago, that would’ve been to intern abroad in other countries. Even though I had done it once, I would’ve gone at least another time to a different country. So, what are you waiting for?
If you liked the idea of interning abroad in Brazil, please go to our application form to know a bit more about our process.
Also, if you decide to do an internship abroad in Brazil, please check how to get the most out of it.