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Why invest in an internship abroad?

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6 min read
· Posted on
July 22, 2020
by Lucie Hett

In order to participate successfully in an international internship, one has to consider investing both finance and time into the project.  We understand that this is not a simple decision to make, so here are our top 10 reasons why we feel it is worthwhile investing in an internship programme.

Bridging-Gaps-Interning-at-DAWG
Bridging Gaps Photography
  • Increased Cultural awareness: Participating in an internship abroad increases your international and cultural awareness and it will lead you to have a better understanding of different working cultures and practices. Working with colleagues from different backgrounds, in a new and unfamiliar place, creates a challenging but valuable learning environment where you can discover a great deal about your industry in a foreign country.
  • Gain hands on, real world work experience: Internships are an ideal transition into the working world, and a fantastic way of applying your education based knowledge, in a practical way.  By participating in an internship abroad you will gain invaluable transferable skills, as well as industry specific knowledge that will benefit you hugely on your future career path.
  • Stand out from the crowd: Completing an internship abroad provides you with a competitive edge in today’s working world. It will greatly enhance your CV, whilst distinguishing you from other potential job candidates.  By highlighting the skills and knowledge you acquired during your internship, you will be much more attractive to employers than graduates with no work experience.
Wallies-Cave-Cape-Town-South-Africa
Bridging Gaps Photography
  • Ace future job interviews: Your personal internship experience is a great example to use in any future job interview. Talk about the challenges you faced and overcame, and your adaptability will shine through!  An internship abroad provides you with relevant and impressive examples to use in job interviews so don’t be shy to show off everything you gained from the experience!
  • Make more informed decisions about your career/educational path: The experiences you have while completing your internship, will directly impact the decisions you make towards your future career or educational path. You will discover your strengths and weaknesses and learn more about which aspects of your field you are more passionate about than others.
  • Create new and exciting opportunities for yourself: In today’s working world, making global connections is invaluable and in coming to complete a programme in Cape Town, you will meet people who will not only become great friends, but mentors to guide you in your line of work.  The contacts you make while oversees could help you along your career path at any point.
  • Add value to your trip: Partaking in any type of learning experience in Cape Town will add value to your trip.  As a result of South Africa’s turbulent history, economic resources in Cape Town are still unequally distributed and this means that your assistance is vital to all of the organisations we work with.  On top of this, you will not just be coming to Cape Town as a tourist; you will really experience the essence of life in another country.
Interning-at-the-Underdog-project
Bridging Gaps Photography
  • Personal development: Interning abroad will hugely contribute to your personal development.  Living independently in a foreign country will present you with daily challenges, and in the process of overcoming them, you will grow and learn an incredible amount about yourself.
  • It will benefit you regardless of what stage of your career you have reached: Completing an internship is beneficial to everyone; For Gap Year students it will aid your decision of what to study or which career path to explore.  For University students it will increase your employability and can add value to your University degree.  For professionals it will increase your global network and could provide an insight into potential new career paths.
  • You will have an unforgettably rewarding experience!
Table-Mountain-and-the-City-Bowl-from-Signal-Hill
Bridging Gaps Photography

What should you do next?

Easy - there's only one thing for it - download this free 37-page PDF guide we wrote just for you. It'll give you an overview of everything you need to know and do to have a rewarding and unforgettable learning experience abroad.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE GUIDE NOW
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