InternshipRatings.com

By Melissa Cech

AustraLearn Internship Department

The classroom is but one of many places to obtain an education and real life skills. Students can opt for a broader experience by participating in college internship programs. Internships for college graduates and undergraduates alike provide valuable work skills vital in today’s competitive job market. Students can even earn college credit for participation in some programs.

When evaluating the available opportunities, students seeking an experience above and beyond the norm can chose to participate in an internship abroad. Of particular note are New Zealand and Australia internship programs. These offer distinct benefits beyond work and educational experience.

The Benefits of Australia and New Zealand Internship Programs

There are several compelling reasons why college internships in the South Pacific are a great choice for students seeking a college experience of distinction.

• Cultural Immersion—An internship abroad in Australia or New Zealand provides more than work experience. It allows student to live and work side by side with Australian or New Zealand nationals, providing a unique glimpse into the culture and society. The experience leaves a lasting impression and affects the students’ perspective on the world and their place in it. Participants in New Zealand and Australia internship programs find the experience better equips them to communicate and relate to people of different cultures with ease. It also imbibes a greater appreciation for cultural differences and similarities.

• Professional Development–College internships are an excellent option for recent graduates as well as undergraduates. They provide the training needed to succeed in a career, as well as practical experience critical in qualifying for gainful employment. While an internship in general provides the opportunity for real-world experience, an internship abroad in the South Pacific includes experience in a global setting; truly a distinctive addition to any resume.

• Appreciation of Natural Splendor–A summer internship in Australia is a fantastic way to experience the beauty of Australia in a much deeper way than you might if you were to visit for a short vacation. Being able to take the time to explore all of the wonderful scenery and sites available, such as the deserts, rain forests, and beaches, is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity that is possible through Australia summer internships.

•Affordability–It is expensive to attend college, but if you would like to experience a foreign country, then an Australia summer internship can be a cost-effective way to spend time in a new area of the world and experience it for yourself.

International internships offer students amazing opportunities to gain professional work experience while learning to be adaptable and understanding of other cultures. These characteristics improve the marketability of an individual and are a great way to build a resume for gainful future employment.

For more information:
AustraLearn

12050 N. Pecos Street

Suite 320

Westminster, Co. 80234

USA

Toll Free: 1-800-980-0033

studyabroad@australearn.org

www.australearn.org

By Becky Steinberg
Boston University 2010
Mass Communication, Public Relations & Spanish

Hola! I am a junior at Boston University, majoring in PR and currently studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. My study abroad program allows me to take an internship for credit, giving me a unique opportunity to observe office-culture outside the States. I work in a small marketing firm, Elipse Iniciativas and these are just a few of the cultural differences I wanted to share:

·    Kisses. I love the Spanish two-kiss salutation (also prevalent in other European countries). In general, I think it makes Spaniards less socially awkward and starts any relationship off on positive footing. In my experience, it also affects office culture. My 30-something boss greeted me with two cheek kisses my first day, immediately establishing a friendly relationship and making me feel like “one of them” rather than a foreign, temporary intern. I greatly appreciated it, and as a result felt more comfortable participating in the office banter and asking questions about everything from my assignments to Madrid nightlife. While this may not sound revolutionary, think about how long it takes to develop equally informal relationships with co-workers in the U.S when both parties speak English fluently.

·    Siesta. A two-hour lunch break. At my last internship in Boston, my boss wouldn’t take lunch breaks most days, sending me to get a salad and Diet Coke from the Au Bon Pain downstairs instead, which she would eat at her computer. Here, the siesta allows professionals to eat with co-workers, go home to eat with their families and even take a quick nap. I don’t have time to go back to my apartment, so I spend the time eating a three-course-meal with my co-workers or grabbing a sandwich and sitting on the patio with them, ultimately allowing us to be friends in addition to co-workers. Siesta also provides a break from the stresses that accompany deadlines, last-minute changes and computer malfunctions. My boss, for example, at the height of the craziness of planning the Madrid Marathon, would still come out to a long lunch. The siesta seems to help everyone stay sane, even amid event-planning frustrations. They say Spaniards have generally long lifespans, and it’s definitely not because the smoking restrictions (smoking in restaurants the university hallways is still custom). My money is on the siesta.

·    Politically Correct—the Spanish are not, or so I’ve been told. While I’ve never had a personal experience that speaks to this, in preparation for our entrance into the work force here, our internship-director shared one of her experiences. Apparently, her co-worker didn’t know she was pregnant and told her frankly that she looked like she was gaining weight and should probably stop eating so much. She told him she was indeed pregnant, to which he replied she should still maybe think about eating less.

To sum up, my experience at Elipse definitely verifies how my host-brother describes the Spanish attitude towards work: “We work to live, not live to work.”

By Catharine Bennett
Boston University 2010
Mass Communication, Public Relations & French

My internship at an international corporate event planning firm through a study abroad program in Paris, France, began six weeks ago, and will last a total of eight weeks. Coming into this company and knowing very little—except what I could find on their website– I had some ideas of how my internship would play out, most of which were wrong. I’ve learned a lot in the past few weeks, and I’ve compiled the most pertinent lessons to help students who plan to participate in study abroad programs with an internship component.

1. Internships are not the same everywhere. Starting an internship in a foreign country and thinking that it’ll be the same as your internship at home makes it really difficult to adjust to a foreign office’s day to day activities. I thought that I would have it all figured out, since I’ve interned for large companies in the States. However, my office experience in France in no way resembles my offices in New York. This office is very interactive and social. Given the seriousness of their work, I was surprised to find fellow employees sharing a cigarette in the parking lot, gossiping by the espresso machine, playing practical jokes on one another during lunch break, and taking long lunches at the local Japanese restaurants.

2. Make the cultural differences work to your advantage. My work day in France is much longer than in the United States; I work from 9:00-6:30 every day, but I get a 90-minute lunch break. Often, other employees opt to take an even longer lunch and stay later into the night. Take the time to learn the office culture and get involved. Find other interns, practice your language skills or help them with English during lunch. If the mood is very serious, act as professionally as possible. If not, engage in office banter (but tread lightly). You need not take up smoking or pretend to like sushi in order to fit in. Just be personable and friendly to co-workers and managers.

3. Don’t be afraid to bring what you know to the company. Especially in the context of an international business, employers will be looking to you in many cases to deal with their English-speaking or American clients. At the very least, bring your excellent English grammar. I offered to work with the clients in the United Kingdom and North America from the beginning, and doing so has made me a valuable member of this team. If you are working in an English-speaking country, you can bring your knowledge of American businesses and appropriate business language to the office. Just because companies share a common language does not mean that they share a common approach to business affairs.

4. At the end of the day, take your internship experience abroad in stride. You might love your co-workers and your job, or you might hate it. It’s all a learning experience. Take advantage of every aspect of your time in a foreign office: go to every meeting, answer every phone call, take on challenging projects and make friends with your co-workers. In non-English speaking countries, an internship is the easiest way to apply your language skills outside of the classroom. Being able to communicate effectively with native speakers in a professional environment speaks volumes, while sitting in class in the United States might not. It’s been my experience, in applying to summer internships, that American employers are very impressed with the fact that I’m interning in a non-English speaking country.

The advantage of a study abroad internship experience will definitely help you out in the future. As I begin to wrap up my internship in Paris, I am taking stock of the lessons learned, contacts made, and new experiences. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve such feats had I stayed in Boston for the semester and completed an internship there.