Hey everyone and happy National Study Abroad Day! In case you didn’t know, today, February 22, is a big day for us abroad lovers! Whether you’ve studied abroad in the past, or hope to go in the future, it’s a cause for celebration! In honor of today and the recent reflection I’ve been doing about my time studying abroad in Sydney, I’ll be discussing my experience interning abroad with Global Experiences! This is a topic that I’ve never written about in detail, so I’m excited to share more. So, without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about interning abroad with Global Experiences.
Disclaimer: This blog post is sponsored by Global Experiences. My university partnered with Global Experiences while I was in college, and I worked with them during my time in Sydney to find an internship abroad. I’ve stayed in touch with the organization and am partnering with them for their National Study Abroad Day campaign. As always, all opinions here are my own.
Steps You Need To Take When Interning Abroad With Global Experiences
Pick A Location
Let’s cover some steps you’ll need to take if you’d like to intern abroad in the future. First, you’ll need to pick a destination! Most students opt to intern abroad as part of their study abroad programs, so usually you will already have a destination in mind. If you’re just looking to intern abroad, which newsflash – you can do, you’ll need to pick a city. Lucky for you, Global Experiences offers internship programs across Europe, Australia, and the Americas. Popular locations include Barcelona, Florence, London, New York City, Paris, Sydney, and Washington D.C.
Torn about where to go? Check out this blog post on everything you need to know about studying abroad in Europe vs Australia.
Decide On A Career Path
Once you have your program location in mind, you’ll need to plan out what type of internship you want. Are you interested in Finance? Marketing? Sales? Foreign Policy? This will be important information to know as you get paired with an advisor and begin the matching process.
Interning Abroad With Global Experiences: The Interview
Let’s talk about this a little more. Basically, once you’ve determined your program location and career path, you’ll apply to Global Experiences and upon acceptance, be in contact with an Admissions Counselor. If your university already has a standing relationship with Global Experiences, the application process is pretty simple. I’m pretty sure I was just put in contact with a program advisor directly with the help of my university. The Admissions Counselor will conduct an informational interview with you in an effort to learn more about you and your interests.
My Global Experiences advisor had me take an assessment so that she could determine which organization’s needs I could best meet. We determined that a marketing internship was the best fit for me.
What’s great about Global Experiences is that they guarantee you an internship! Discard all the unwanted stress that internship applications and interviews normally bring along, and rest easy knowing YOU will find something amazing to add to your resume with the help of this program.
Interning Abroad With Global Experiences: The Matching Process
After submitting a cover letter and working with my advisor one-on-one on professional development, I was matched with Quasion Conversion Lab, a family-run marketing startup in Sydney, Australia. They matched me based on my skills and interests, and also because I was a good fit for the company. It was a two way matching process.
Once I got my match, I had an “interview” with Quasion to meet the team and confirm the match. This was pretty informal as they already agreed to have me, and I was already interested in them. We basically just talked about the responsibilities I would have upon arrival and what their office culture was like. After this call, my internship was officially confirmed and I was off!
Interning Abroad With Global Experiences: The Arrival
I arrived in Sydney on February 10, 2019 and began my internship a few weeks later. As I mentioned above, my primary reason for being in Sydney was to study abroad. I took 3 classes, but also interned for about 10 hours a week. This internship was unpaid, but did count as a class for me. I was able to count 3 credits towards my marketing minor, a huge perk of interning abroad with Global Experiences!
One of my favorite aspects of this program was the in-country support they offered. Aside from my university’s orientation, I was able to meet other Global Experiences interns in Sydney and do activities with them to get acclimated. The Location Coordinator made sure we could all lean on one another and network about our experiences. He did this in very creative ways, including a city-wide scavenger hunt and a pizza party. We also had an internship orientation before starting work to ensure we understood our expectations.
Interning Abroad With Global Experiences: My Job
I was so lucky to be paired with the most amazing Australian family for my internship. The entire company was 3 people, a husband and wife, and their part-time employee, Ryan. Oh, and their dog Molly. And then me! Apparently, they work with students who are interning abroad with Global Experiences regularly, and take interns almost every semester. The woman, Annabel, was such a hoot and taught me so much about Facebook advertising, social media management, and content creation. The husband, Matthew, was an expert in cross-department facilitation, overall brand strategy, and the sales funnel. I learned so much from the both of them, and since the company was so small, was super hands-on.
Interning Abroad With Global Experiences: The Experience
Annie and Matt quickly became my host family in a way, not only by educating me on international marketing, but also by teaching me about Aussie slang, geography, and providing the best tips for Sydney. They were kind enough to treat me to lunch every Wednesday, something they defintiely didn’t have to do, and even welcomed me into their home. I met their kids, and almost accompanied them on a day trip, but had to cancel due to weather.
At the very end of my internship and time in Sydney, my sister came to visit. Annie and Matt were generous enough to take us both out to a really nice lunch at a local rowing club in Sydney. It was here that I was also able to meet the GE summer intern who had just arrived! It was nice chatting with him about his program and the differences between mine. I also gave him every recommendation I possibly could for Sydney and travel throughout Australia.
Interning Abroad With Global Experiences: Why You Need To Do It
It’s a common misconception to think that interning abroad with Global Experiences would be too time consuming, and/or prevent you from traveling. I can tell you, as someone who made it to 6 countries abroad and ALL of Australia’s territories and states, that this isn’t true. I was able to create my own schedule, and work my intern hours around my classes. Annie and Matt were extremely accommodating and even let me move around some days for travel.
I couldn’t recommend interning abroad with Global Experiences enough. First, it’s extremely impressive to all employers. No matter the field, it shows drive, passion for a future career, adaptability, and more! Second, it’s a great sneak peak at what life would be like working abroad. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of moving to London, but aren’t sure how you’d do working in an international office? Well, an internship abroad could be a great test! After my experience, I’ve decided that I would love the challenge of working overseas and hope to do this at some point in my life.
I highly recommend this experience to anyone who couldn’t study abroad. You can always intern abroad post-grad! So what are you waiting for? Check out Global Experiences today!
If you’re interested in learning about more programs that aren’t study abroad related, including post-grad volunteer opportunities, take a listen to my podcast episode where I share a list of 10 travel programs that aren’t study abroad.
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