Tips and Tales From Around the Globe

A little more than a year ago, the Global Experiences team was challenged to move its spring semester global interns from in-person to remote internships.

Many students required credits from the internship to graduate and we worked with hundreds of our partner employers to move to remote supervision to ensure academic continuity.

While we rushed to reorient our participants and partners, I challenged our whole team to work together to build a new virtual internship program from scratch. How could we create a virtual program as successful as on-location programs we had been refining for almost 20 years?

We had no idea at the time what the biggest issues or opportunities would be, and whether the experience would measure up to the benefits of interning abroad, in-person.

Not all resumes are created equal. There are short resumes, long resumes, confusing resumes, boring resumes — and your job as a potential employee is to try your very best to avoid all of these. It’s not an easy task, especially when putting together your resume for the first time.

So you don’t get overwhelmed, here are our top tips to perfect one of the most important documents of your life.

Announced on January 22nd, 2021, GoAbroad named Global Experiences’ Virtual Internship Program the Top Rated Online Internship Program of 2020!

We are honored to receive this recognition based on the innovation and hard work of our team, and most importantly, the reviews from our participants.

In short, yes.

Internships are essential for university students and recent graduates -- they are the stepping stone from academics to working life. Internships help you take what has been learned in the classroom and put it into practice.

With COVID-19 still among us, internships have taken to the “new normal” and  been fully transformed to be remote work settings.

The remote workplace has become a reality for many, making it a great time to build your resume and gain professional work experience without leaving home!

A virtual internship is worth it for many reasons… it reduces juggling travel uncertainties, it trains students on a new set of digital skills and independence, and most importantly, it provides flexible and convenient professional experience.

Don’t let travel bans stop your career growth!

For most of us, summer 2020 was a time to discover new things about ourselves. Whether you enjoyed remote learning, how many episodes you can binge watch in one sitting, which food delivery service is the fastest — these uncertain times brought new experiences.

Many university students had summer internships to look forward to but were disappointed to learn that they were cancelled. Read about how Marymount student, Sibeso M., adapted to these challenging times.

Working virtually can be a challenge, especially if it’s your first time in a remote position. As with any new experience, it’s best to educate yourself, prepare well, and connect with people who can guide or advise you.

This past summer, our team worked with 100+ interns on our first ever virtual internship program. Even though most of the interns had not worked remotely before, the program was such a success!

Here are four top tips from our interns to help you crush your virtual internship.

The current pandemic pushed us all to adapt quickly -- how can we still provide life-changing international internships and cross-cultural experiences when we can’t travel?

On April 7th, 2020, we launched our very first virtual internship program in response to a need from our students, our university partners, and our employers.

Fast forward to the middle of summer and our first virtual internship program closing! Check out what these seven virtual interns had to say about their remote internship experience.

During a time of immense uncertainty, two things are for sure: COVID-19 has flipped the world on its head, and it’s not going to disappear anytime soon.

Thousands of students have cancelled travel plans, lost their internships, and tried to figure out what to do with themselves for the foreseeable future. We know it’s not easy, and our hearts go out to everyone who’s been affected over the past few months.

Although the virus has presented a ton of new challenges, we hope that Global Experiences can help you have a positive and productive internship experience during the upcoming year.

“Why am I paying for an unpaid internship?”

Over the years, this has always been one of our most frequently asked questions - and we understand! For starters, you are getting more than just an internship. Through Global Experiences, you are getting a complete and well-rounded internship and professional development program.

We understand that you might think or your parents might ask you, “why am I paying for you to do a virtual internship?” and we’re here to help! Here are some of the key benefits of our virtual internship program you may not have thought of:

For those of you who recently graduated from high school, you could be thinking, “I don’t know what to do with my life.” We get it!

If you’re a current university student who just went through having spring semester switch to virtual and fall semester in limbo, you may be thinking “why am I paying full price for tuition for an online education?”.

Or, you may be a student or young professional who really likes the concept of virtual learning and fully embraces the flexibility and new skills - like internet literacy, digital competency, adaptability, responsibility, and time management.

A gap year is a great option for you all, now more than ever.

With many universities planning to remain online in the fall or those who may be back on campus with more restrictions, it’s safe to say that the “normal” college life is on pause for now. Many students have been forced to look at alternatives like gap year programs.

According to recent surveys reported by Axios, “more than a quarter of college students are questioning whether to return to their current college or university in the fall due to uncertainty around plans to reopen… 35% of prospective college students said they’re planning to take a gap year.”

A gap year is a strong alternative for not only prospective college students but those currently enrolled who are uncertain about what the future of their education looks like.