Internships abroad can help job search

Graduate student Mike Kiss always saw London as the financial capital of the world, so when the opportunity came earlier this year for him to intern at the public relations firm Edelman London, he immediately seized it.\n"(London) has a history of major global influence, and I really wanted to see these aspects first hand," Kiss said. "The convenience of the English language helped too."\nEach year more and more students are taking advantage of internships overseas. The Office of Overseas Studies offers a dozen programs in other countries, including Barcelona, Spain, Freiberg, Germany, and Melbourne, Australia.\nInternships completed through the Office of Overseas Studies count for credit in conjunction with the study abroad program. \nStudents apply for this program, and if accepted, they work with an internship coordinator abroad to write a resume appropriate for the country. \nThe coordinator then searches for internship possibilities in that country. Usually the students interview for the positions when they arrive in the country.\nThe major advantage to an internship in another country is being able to look at a profession through the eyes of another culture.\n"An internship experience abroad introduces a student to a local culture and another, possibly different way of looking at a task or field of study," said assistant director of the Office of Overseas Studies Paige Weting.\nMany companies are also looking to hire students with a better understanding of the world.\n"Students interning abroad also demonstrate global competencies that so often employers are looking for today," Weting said. "This cannot necessarily be done interning in the U.S."\nAlthough Kiss didn't get his internship through IU, he is still experiencing these benefits.\n"When I interviewed for an internship in the U.S. last summer the employers said how wonderful it was that I had the international experience of working in London," Kiss said. "Many opportunities have become available to me that otherwise might not have because of my internship."\nAnother way for students to intern abroad is through the Career Development Center.\nThe CDC has a library of books with information about interning overseas that students are free to peruse, as well as information on their Web site, www.indiana.edu/~career/internships.\nThe development center can also put students in contact with a company such as CDS International, which will arrange an internship with a company overseas for a fee.\n"The Internet can also be a good place to search for international internships," said Career Development Center director Pat Donahue. "Sometimes a company will decide not to put something in a book or market it, and you have to look it up."\nDonahue also advised that students looking to pursue an internship in another country do it during the summer months, as it might interfere with their school work if they can't get credits for it.\n"I cannot emphasize enough how absolutely vital internships are to getting a job today," Donahue said. "And an international internship just looks incredible on a resume"