Tips and Tales From Around the Globe

Chrissie Friedrichsen is a Program Advisor at Global Experiences. She helps interns prepare for their international internship programs around the world.

Peter Ballagh is Global Experiences' placement director in Dublin, Ireland. Here he lends his expertise on the advantages of start-up internships.

Your twenties are guaranteed to be tumultuous. There’s no avoiding this. Finding your footing in your budding, young career while simultaneously cultivating a clear sense of identity, self-worth, and purpose is no short order. Combine these certainties with friends and relationships constantly coming and going, and don’t be surprised if your life feels one big Taylor Swift song. On loop.

“What do you do?” As a 20-something living near Washington DC, I often face this question: in bars, group meetings, first dates, and even at the gym or on the bus. My usual prepared statement is “I prepare students for international internships through a third-party provider, from the time they enroll in our program until their ‘wheels leave the ground,’” and I usually provide context to this statement by explaining that our organization is somewhat like a study abroad provider, yet we give students and young professionals the opportunity to work abroad rather than study. People will often say “That’s cool,” or “Oh, fun! Do you get to travel a lot?” and then the conversation moves on. In perusing through the June 2014 issue of the Harvard Business Review today, however, I’ve discovered my new elevator speech:

1. Learn Language Survival Skills!

It's okay if you’re not multilingual(most of us are not), but learning some basic phrases of the country you're traveling to can be useful and fun!  Learn the basics; things such as "Hello. Goodbye. Thank you. Please. Sorry." can be really useful.  Other phrases like 'want a drink? You're Beautiful! and Crazy!' can lead to lots of fun!

Deciding to study or intern abroad is a big, and often times scary, decision. Getting outside of your comfort zone is never easy, but don’t let common misconceptions be the reason why you don’t see the world for yourself and gain the experience you need.

Your child has decided to intern abroad and now you have hundreds of questions about what that means and how you can help your child prepare for this experience. The best thing you can do is support him or her on this journey, and we are here to help you do that. Below are solutions to get you and your child  through this exciting and new challenge.

Kayla is currently interning for Global Experiences in the main office to help her prepare for an internship in Dublin, Ireland. Kayla is attends Anne Arundel Community College and is interested in marketing and event planning. 

1. Gain more professional experience while traveling

The reason why I want to have an internship abroad is to gain more professional experience, while being able to travel at the same time. I am currently about to finish my two year degree and plan to transfer to a university next fall. I felt that having an internship this summer would allow me to gain more experience in the field I am most interested in, which is Event Planning. So, by next fall I will have a better understanding of which path I want to head towards. I’ve always wanted to travel and knew that one day I would be able to. Before I knew about interning abroad, I was planning to study abroad for a semester. However, after I learned more about Global Experiences and the different programs they offer, I have decided that interning abroad would be a more beneficial experience for me. Having an internship abroad will allow me to develop more professional skills in a work environment that is different from what I am used to, while being able to experience the country and its culture.

We love the Clifton StrengthsFinder Assessment. We’ve mentioned it in a few posts, we provide  it to all of our participants, and we even divided them into the Divergent factions. You know that we love the assessment, but we haven’t told you why we think it’s important for people to be aware of their natural talents.