International internships
Your international opportunity is invaluable experience to prepare you for your career. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity by fully preparing, pursuing all aspects, and reflecting on your journey!
PREPARE
When preparing for an international opportunity, it is important to learn about the country where you will be working, consider what requirements you may need to complete before arriving, and navigate how you will incorporate cultural competency into your work. The below websites are great resources to help when preparing for your international opportunity!
PURSUE
One of the greatest advantages of an internship experience is the opportunity to network with individuals within your organization and across the greater UChicago community. Below are ideas for how to engage with your co-workers, supervisor, and alumni to set goals and learn about the industry.
Set Goals
Prior to starting your internship, identify the skills you would like to strengthen and gain from the experience. These may vary depending on the industry or type of experience you are interning in. It may also be helpful to identify 1-2 skills in both of the below categories, focusing on your career as a whole and the role you are interning in specifically.
- Technical Skills: These include skills necessary for the role you’re performing, e.g., data analysis, coding languages, project management, etc.
- Career Skills: These include skills that will make you an efficient, high-performing worker and collaborative team member in any role, e.g. problem solving, Time Management, Prioritization, critical and creative thinking, Public Speaking, etc.
Once you have identified which skills you would like to build upon through your internship, schedule time with your supervisor to review the skills. Determine available tasks you may be able to take on that will allow you to grow in the identified areas.
Evaluate Goals
Schedule time with your supervisor throughout the summer to evaluate how you feel about your goals and what may be helpful to ensure you continue to strengthen skills! It is recommended you check in at least once mid-summer, as well as at the end of the summer.
Network
Use your internship as an opportunity to build your network! Meet with leaders within the organization and UChicago alumni within the industry to further develop your career goals for post-graduation.
- Organization Leaders: Identify individuals within the organization whose work you find interesting and meet with them to ask about their career trajectory / current responsibilities. Be sure to connect with them on LinkedIn to stay in touch!
- UChicago Alumni: Reach out to alumni who are in your industry to learn more about potential expectations for your work, additional roles you may explore, and future opportunities. LinkedIn and Wisr will be helpful resources for identifying alumni!
REFLECT
You have an opportunity to communicate the skills you have learned through your internship to future employers! We recommend taking the following steps to after your internship to ensure you are taking advantage of your experience.
- Develop an elevator pitch based on your experience: Having an elevator pitch will be helpful to speak to the experience in future interviews and informational interviews. Highlight the skills you strengthened, tasks you completed, and what you learned about the industry!
- Reflect on next steps: Use your experience to further build out your career goals! Helpful questions to think through may include:
- What aspects of your work did you enjoy most?
- Was there another role at the organization that you would like to explore?
- What characteristics about the organization did you value most?
- Were there aspects of the industry you would like to learn more about? How can you begin to do so?
- Add the experience to your resume: Your goals will be incredibly valuable when updating your resume! You can add your experience, including the new skills and tasks you completed. Always feel free to schedule time with a Career Advisor if you have any questions on your resume!
Working Abroad
Whether you’re looking for a brief professional experience abroad or a long-term career, Career Advancement can help you find international opportunities that match your interests.
If you are an international student seeking jobs in the U.S., please visit the Office of International Affairs website for information on necessary visa procedures for employment.
EXPERIENCE OR CAREER?
Are you seeking a professional experience abroad, or looking for a steppingstone to an international career? Making this distinction will help you focus your search and establish a list of criteria to look for throughout the application process.
KNOW YOURSELF
Assess your capacity for flexibility and independence and identify the skills and experiences you bring to the table. For example, do you have:
- Foreign language skills
- Technical knowledge or skills
- Experience in your field of study
Depending on your comfort level abroad, some experiences may be better for you than others. Schedule an appointment with a Career Advancement adviser to help you determine what experience might be best!
KNOW YOUR GOALS
It is important to determine your goals for your international experience. Begin by thinking through:
- Why do you want to go abroad?
- How long do you want to work abroad?
- What skills do you hope to gain?
- Do you have any health issues or mobility barriers that may cause location restrictions?
- Do you want to be immersed in the local culture and language?
- Do you want to live with a host family, on your own, or with roommates?
KNOW YOUR RESOURCES
Whether you want an international career or a short experience abroad, you will need to decide whether you want to use a university program to find opportunities, or arrange an experience on your own.
An independent job, internship, or volunteer search abroad may require significant time, patience, and initiative on your part. Don’t underestimate the time and costs associated with arranging your own opportunity: you should plan to provide for your own insurance, plane tickets, housing etc. It is also smart to create an emergency fund equivalent to a month’s salary or a plane ticket home from your destination.
Programs that arrange employment, and in some cases accommodation and paperwork, can take much of the difficulty out of preparing for an international experience, but in many cases charge fees for their services. You should always carefully vet any program you plan to participate in by doing research using websites such as Transitions Abroad and asking lots of questions of both program employees and former participants. Connect with UChicago alumni who may have worked for the programs, via Wisr or Handshake!
You may also reference the following resources to identify funding and positions:
- UChicago’s Grant and Funding Opportunities is a document outlining the sources available to you.
- Handshake includes Metcalf Internship opportunities and employer-generated opportunities
- GlobalEdge is a reference guide for students, faculty, staff, and administrators to help match students with international internship opportunities offered by two- and four-year colleges and universities, governmental agencies, non-profit groups, private organizations, and corporations.
KNOW THE REQUIREMENTS
Before you go anywhere outside of the United States, you should ensure that you are complying with the local regulations regarding international visitors.
Please check requirements for acquiring a passport, visa and needed vaccinations. You can find useful information on individual countries through the U.S. Department of State website, as well as the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. For free travel vaccination consultations, schedule an appointment with UChicago Student Wellness. Travel consultations are provided on a limited basis and are generally scheduled 4-6 weeks in advance.