Think of your resume as a map. It shows employers where you’ve been and where you’re headed. If your path aligns with the value they need, they’ll see you’re the right candidate for their company.
As an intern, the benefits of an international internship on your resume are extensive. Having the right resume can lead to finding the best opportunities to give you a competitive edge in the global job market. Like a map, when vital information is missing, people (potential employers) can lose their understanding of the value you offer.
When a resume lacks key details such as experience, certifications, and skills, it resembles a map missing essential information like landmarks or road signs. These elements are necessary for employers to understand your qualifications, making your potential to become less visible. Just as travelers might get lost or take a wrong turn without proper guidance, employers might overlook your strengths/potential, missing out on the unique value you could bring to their organization.
My name is Jilian Chavez, and through my experience working as a Candidate Experience Associate at Capital Placement, I’m going to be uncovering the correlation between doing an internship abroad and how that revamps your resume for the better.
The importance of global experience in today’s job market
A lot has changed about resumes since the days of millennials like me. These days, with the help of AI you can easily optimize your CV to suit the role you are applying for. This change or evolution reflects the shifting demands of the job market, where global experience is becoming increasingly vital.
For example, from 2020 to 2024, companies have increasingly sought employees who can speak multiple languages, especially in industries such as finance, technology, tourism, and healthcare. According to worldmetrics.org, over 60% of employers prefer candidates who can speak more than one language.
Also, the United Career Coalition explains that international exposure can help you gain valuable international experience and help you stand out in the job market. Under such a global job market, it is crucial to ensure you have all the right skills and relevant experience to set yourself apart.
When a company comes across a resume with an international internship, it tells them a few important things:
- It shows that you have passion, and are willing to adapt your skills in a global setting. An employer can see that you have taken the right steps to gain practical experience on a larger scale that matches your skills.
- It shows that you are always up for the challenge. Interning abroad means leaving your comfort zone to gain experience in an industry that might be different from your degree. When an employer sees this, they can feel more optimistic that they can be entrusted to lead projects and handle responsibilities.
- It shows them you have adequate soft skills to thrive in a global market. An internship abroad will mean building effective communication skills. It would mean being a team player which is what employers want to see: the ability to adapt, communicate, and grow.
Having an international internship experience on your CV, it signals to employers that you can adapt to diverse work environments and thrive in a global professional setting.
As important as an internship is, the kind of company you intern also matters. When we interview recent graduates or university students who are looking for an internship abroad, a huge part of our job is to ensure that we are matching them with the right companies abroad that will help their career development in the long term.
How an international internship builds cross-cultural skills
A CV is a way to highlight your cross-cultural skills or competencies. Cross-cultural skills are the knowledge that helps you adapt to a multicultural environment like what you find in an international internship program. How you interact with people from different countries who have different values and communication styles is important.
An international internship goes beyond building general professional skills; it fosters the cross-cultural skills that are critical in today’s globalized job market. Having technical abilities is great but employers will also assess how well you can adapt to different cultural settings and collaborate effectively with diverse teams.
During an international internship, you are often placed in situations where you must navigate language differences, varying communication styles, and new cultural norms. These experiences help you develop essential cross-cultural skills such as cultural sensitivity, adaptability, and the ability to thrive in a multicultural environment.
Working with colleagues from different backgrounds, you’ll learn how to adjust your communication approach to suit diverse work cultures. This ability to bridge cultural differences is valuable in your internship role; making you stand out to future employers, and demonstrating that you can operate effectively in a global business setting.
Ultimately, these cross-cultural skills can increase your chances of converting an internship into a full-time position. In situations where it doesn’t, employers in the global market highly value team members who can navigate international and multicultural work environments and provide value to their company.
Showcasing transferable skills from international internships on your resume
What are “transferable skills” you might ask?
Transferable skills are skills that can be used in various industries. These types of skills can highlight your experience in the global job market. For example, strong communication is a transferable skill that can be applied in any workspace.
Transferable skills highlight the strength of your communication and collaborative efforts within an international setting. Some transferable skills include cross-cultural competencies, decision-making, adaptability, problem-solving, flexibility, etc.
Just as important as it is to have these transferable skills is knowing how to showcase them on your resume. Here are examples of how to showcase your transferable skills on your CV after completing an international internship:
1) Cross-Cultural Skills
“Collaborated with colleagues from different cultural backgrounds during my internship in [Country], adapting communication styles to streamline workflows. This improved team efficiency by X% and helped meet project deadlines two weeks early.”
“Collaborated with cross-functional teams to streamline project workflows during my internship at [Company Name], effectively communicating across departments and ensuring clarity in project goals and deliverables.”
2) Resilience and Flexibility
“Successfully adapted to a new working environment and local business culture during my internship in [Country], overcoming challenges such as differing time zones, communication barriers, and new workflows.”
“Quickly learned and adapted to the company’s proprietary software system, significantly improving my ability to meet project deadlines in a fast-paced, international setting.”
3) Emotional Intelligence
“Improved team dynamics by using active listening and empathy to understand cultural differences, enhancing collaboration and trust within an international team.”
“Demonstrated self-awareness by adjusting my behaviour and communication style to better align with local cultural norms, resulting in more positive interactions with both colleagues and clients.”
4) Problem-Solving
““Resolved logistical challenges during a market expansion project in [Country] by researching local regulations and liaising with local experts. My solution led to a 15% reduction in project costs and ensured compliance with regional laws.”
“Adapted to unexpected delays in project deliverables due to cultural differences in work pace, finding alternative solutions to keep the project on track.”
Networking on a global scale: Building connections that last
You have probably heard the word “networking” before. It means having connections that you can leverage toward your career growth. But unlike what you might see in a TV series like “Succession”, this type of networking is more about meeting new and interesting professionals.
For example, as an intern in London, many free networking opportunities are available to you. You can meet young professionals across different industries and have the potential to meet proficient mentors while having fun.
In fact, Capital Placement’s London internship program helps arrange exclusive networking events where the interns can meet hiring managers in different companies because we recognise the power of connections.
In other words, an international internship opportunity will grant you access to people outside of your social circle and community. Leveraging those connections and making new ones is part of networking.
On a global scale, the connections you make during your internship will go a long way to help your career growth. You can find mentorship from your supervisors. Mentorship is an important tool that can help you grow personally and professionally.
A few other ways to build lasting connections include:
- Actively contributing to your work. You can read the story of Wala, one of the alumni at Capital Placement, and find out how she secured a full-time job offer after an 8-week internship in London.
- Compiling a portfolio and sharing it with your supervisors for input and guidance. Involving your supervisors in your career plans can be a good way to build rapport.
- Being proactive in reaching out to managers or mentors. Inviting them to coffee chats to pick their brains about their experiences and ideas.
- Focusing on building genuine relationships with colleagues or managers by finding shared interests, remembering their birthdays, and bonding over experiences in the country.
- Engaging your colleagues on LinkedIn is also a good way to build lasting connections.
Final Thoughts
It does not matter how you look at it, an internship experience is a good look on your resume. If you’re wondering if as a recent graduate or student the types of internships or experiences on resumes matter? I am here to tell you that they do. An internship abroad is like a stamp of certification that says to a future employer that this person is up for the task.
But don’t worry, if you’re not sure how good your resume looks now, we have you covered. At Capital Placement, we can work with student resumes for internships and give them the proper review to ensure they are up to standard for your application. We help streamline your experiences, qualifications, and skills to match the demands of companies seeking interns.
Our process at Capital Placement is interactive because we believe in getting to know you better and showcasing your strengths. In the same way, when you eventually secure an internship whether it is a London internship for US students or the other way around, you can be sure that the experience gained during the program will give your resume that competitive edge in the job market.
So, what are you waiting for? Contact us so we can get started on helping you build your resume to attract the best internship opportunities.
