How To Find Paid International Internships Abroad

I earlier talked about the benefits of doing an internship abroad. Go check that article out if you haven’t already done so 😉

Internships can provide you with great professional experiences. From expanding your network to learning new technical skills. But an internship abroad? Now that is life-changing.

But before I talk about how you can find the best-paid internships abroad, let’s talk about administrative matters.

Things you need to settle before starting your search for an overseas internship

1. What are the local labor regulations?

One of my biggest mistakes when hunting for an internship is not knowing the host country’s local labor regulations well enough. 

According to Brazilian law, only students enrolled in universities can apply for internships. This presented a huge problem as, by the time I had been offered the role, my exchange program had already ended 😨

The HR department of the SAP US office even reached out to me to tell me that they had to withdraw the contract. I had spent months looking for an internship prior to that. Imagine my disappointment when I received the email. 

Thankfully, I was able to re-enroll for another exchange semester at Insper. And by a stroke of luck, my application for a leave of absence (LOA) went through at my home university and SAP subsequently approved me as a new hire 😊

Try answering these questions:

• Do I need to be a student in the country to apply for an internship?

• What type of documents do I need to apply?

• How long does a typical internship last in that country?

Now, this list is non-exhaustive. But it’s a good starting point?

 2. How to pay for an overseas internship?

International internships can be very expensive depending on where you choose to go.

For me, going to Brazil may not seem like such a big deal at first glance. While the Brazilian real is weaker than the Singapore dollar, the cost of living in the financial hub of the country can be pretty high. The cost of rent in the city of São Paulo is around the same as Singapore’s.

Thankfully, my internship remuneration covered this cost. I can’t imagine how high this amount would be if I had interned in a developed country. 

But rent isn’t the only cost that you need to cover while you’re interning abroad.  Regular expenses like food, transport, and entertainment all add up and can burn quite a big hole in your wallet 💸

Thankfully, I had other types of financial support helping me.

Using government grants is a great way to receive additional financial support for your international internships.

When choosing a country to do your internship in, it’s good to keep in mind the availability of government funding. Luckily for me, the Global Ready Talent Program (then Youth Talent Programme or 'YTP) provided by Enterprise Singapore offers grants to those who chose to do internships in developing economies. If not for the grant, I don’t think I could’ve afforded a decent quality of life that entails traveling as well.

Thanks to the grant, I was able to lighten my financial burden and could afford to travel a bit more. Here’s me with my hostel buddies on the top of Morro Dois Irmãos in Rio de Janeiro.

How to get an internship abroad as an international student?

1. Search for opportunities on university portals

This method applies only to those who are going on or are currently in the process of completing their exchange program. 

Exchange students will be given a student email account to access the student portals of their host universities. This account can then be used to access the job and internships portal where they can apply for positions. You can start here. 

You should also reach out to their career offices to ask for help. It’s better to have someone familiar with the local job market guiding you through the entire process so you won’t miss anything out (like I did, but more on that later). 

2. Actively connect with professionals through overseas universities 

Fernando and I on my last day with the team.

I went through quite an unconventional method to secure my internship. Again, this method is for those who are going on or are currently in the process of completing their exchange program. 

My then marketing professor at the Insper Learning Institution, Dr. Farah, regularly brings marketing professionals to her class to give guest lectures. They come from big companies like Facebook, PwC, IBM, and SAP.

After every guest lecture, I would proactively network with them. Eventually, I connected with Fernando Migrone, then-VP of Marketing at SAP Brasil, and landed a role as a Customer Engagement Intern in the marketing team.

Realistically speaking, most of you would not have the opportunity of speaking to professionals from established companies. But this doesn’t mean that you won’t get the opportunity to network with people.

Look out for EDMs sent to your email accounts about professional networking events. These are great places for you to start networking and get your name out there.

Again, don’t hesitate to reach out to the career or international offices to help connect you with the university’s partner companies.

3. Actively connect with professionals through local networking events

Spend more time attending local networking events organized by your school or companies.

Chances are, you’ll get to meet people from companies with offices around the world. Express your interest and willingness to work abroad. And if you’re willing to work in developing economies, you’ll probably stand out even more as there aren’t a lot of people who are willing to do so.

 4. Use social media to connect with people and find opportunities

LinkedIn is a great place to reach out to people and find opportunities.

You can customise your settings for the types of job notifications you receive.

Apart from simply sending connection requests, you can use LinkedIn’s job search filter to tailor the type of job notifications you received. 

You can even customise your workplace settings.

You can then customize the type nature of your employment and list the countries you are open to working in.

Remember, while LinkedIn is no Google, it is, in and of itself, a search engine. If you want to increase the frequency at which you receive InMails from recruiters on the platform, you need to include specific keywords in your profile.

If you need help with creating a LinkedIn profile that catches the attention of both the LinkedIn algorithm and recruiters, don’t hesitate to hire professional Linkedin Profile writers!

If this doesn’t scream job opportunity, I don’t know what does.

Other than LinkedIn, Twitter can also be a great resource for your job hunt.

You’ll be surprised by the number of professionals on Twitter sharing industry news and tips. In fact, it’s an even better place than LinkedIn if you’re looking for more genuine professional advice.

Professionals even post internship and job offerings at their companies. So do keep a close eye on Twitter as well 👀

 5. Reach out to the local AIESEC chapter

AIESEC is a global NGO run by and for university students. It organizes international internships and volunteer programs. There’s most likely an AIESEC chapter at your university.

I started my internship hunt when I was already in Brazil and reached out to the AIESEC chapter at Insper. However, there wasn’t any opportunity for me back then, so it didn’t work out. Funny enough, that very decision found its way back to me several weeks ago prior to publishing this article.

Someone from AIESEC reached out to me over two years later with a job opportunity!

Slightly over two years after I reached out to them, someone from AISEC texted me on Whatsapp about a job opportunity at a marketing company in the city of Porto Alegre. This pleasant little surprise brought a smile to my face.

 6. Use internship placement providers

These are programs that provide you with assistance with every aspect of interning abroad. These include administrative matters like accommodation, visas, and networking.

Some of these even offer internships in conjunction with study abroad programs. Others, on the other hand, simply place you in an internship role where you will only work at the company.

These programs can be really costly, though. It’s best to take this into consideration before proceeding with it.

Check out some of these internship placement programs!

So, what’s next?

Interning abroad alone can seem like a daunting thing to do but I guarantee that the benefits of interning abroad far outweigh many factors holding you back.

I hope this list has been helpful! Don’t hesitate to reach out to me on LinkedIn if you need any advice 😊

Check out other useful content from this marketing magazine!