After all the time you’ve spent in class, studying, and in the library, you probably cannot wait to start working at a real company for your internship experience. As you get ready for your upcoming internship, you might be wondering where you should take your experience.
There is no better place to do your internship than abroad. As the world becomes more and more interconnected, many more students are daring to live an international internship experience. Going out of your comfort zone and entering a new country with different customs, traditions, people, cities, and even different languages is an amazing experience.
There are many advantages to stepping out of your comfort zone and living the adventure of an international internship. Here are some of them:
Developing your language skills
There’s no better way to master or learn a language than through immersion. By working, living, and breathing in a new language, you will rapidly accelerate your communication skills. We know that in some cases, you may choose to go to a country where they speak your native language and you might think that this would not count as an advantage. However, you are bound to learn a wide array of expressions and vocabulary that is unique to the country you will be in and will help you fit in as a local.
International Friendships
During your internship abroad you will make great connections with people who will share unforgettable moments with you. It is very common that being outside of your country, you start to make friends of all kinds. When you return, you can have friends spread all over the world. Sooner or later you will meet again and remember the good moments of your internship and time together. Outside of the friends sector, you will also have the opportunity to extend your network of professional contacts. This can be very helpful when looking for work later on.
Professional experience abroad on your CV
This is one of the most important advantages. Having experience abroad will serve 
you for a lifetime. It is always good to have on your CV something that differentiates you from others. Your experience abroad will stand out on your CV and Human Resources will take notice of your unique experience.
In many cases, your internship will be your first contact with the labor market. That is why it will also be useful for you since you will learn to work as a team, be flexible and proactive, and acquire practical knowledge in your area of study. Best of all, you will be able to learn and see from the inside how are the working methods of the companies in your sector abroad. This is a very important plus that you can offer to organizations in which you work for in the future.
Learning to adapt to change
It is clear that leaving your com
fort zone can be difficult even for a short period of time. The process of adaptation depends on each person. In the first days or even weeks, everything will be completely unknown and simple things will be more difficult than usual. Every day that you passes of your experience will be a new adventure. This will help you to be a more independent person and without realizing it, you will be developing your ability to solve complex problems or handle unexpected situations. You will also get to know more about yourself and gain more confidence in yourself.
These are the advantages that, personally, I considered most relevant when I was doing my internship abroad in France. At the end of this experience, you will realize everything that it brought to you and that each experience is different. Dare to enjoy and create your own experience!
