Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing a Country to Do Your Internship Abroad

All of the top colleges and universities in the Philippines offer internship programs to their students. However, not all schools offer an internship program that regularly places students abroad. Colleges with foreign internships make the extra effort to provide unique and renowned industry partners for their students to take their internships. This is so students are able to experience new things and learn esteemed brands and individuals.

With 195 countries to choose from worldwide, it can be a little difficult to settle on which country you should go to for your foreign internship. If you are at the deciding stage for your internship applications, here are some questions to ask yourself to help you get to the right answer.

1. What is your priority?

Everyone has different priorities. Are you after the establishment’s name on your resume? The culture that you want to experience? Is there a language that you want to learn or perhaps are comfortable in speaking? Listing down your order of priorities will easily help you narrow down your choices and may even help you decide right away where you should be heading off to.

2. Are you time bound?

Another way to decide is by checking your calendar. When does the next academic semester start? Or when will graduation be? If you have specific events that you are after, you can also time your internship so that you can be present for those events. Do you have 12 months to spare so you can do a US-based internship? Or would you rather take a 4 to 6 month internship in Europe. For those pressed for time, a local internship may be worth considering as well.

3. Are you seeking a challenge?

Depending on your personality you might be the adventurous type or someone who seeks to go beyond your comfort zone. If so, an internship abroad program in a far flung country might be ideal for you. Look for a country that you don’t know much about and one that you can completely immerse yourself in to make the best experience out of. On the other hand, if you are one who prefers a more comfortable option where you can still learn and enjoy, you might want to choose a country that you have already been to and that you are quite familiar with. After all, the experience you will have as an intern will still turn out differently from your experience as a tourist.

4. Do you have any downtime plans?

On your internship days off, what do you see yourself doing? Do you plan to stay indoors and rest? Study something online? Walk around the neighbourhood? Or do you have an outgoing personality where you would want to travel, go someplace new and meet new people? If you plan to travel and go out often, look for a country and a place that is easily accessible to public transportation and may have the culture and nightlife that you are seeking. Otherwise, you can opt for the countryside or a provincial area if you want to experience something more quiet and peaceful.