Did you know that the new coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions do not prevent you from interning at a foreign company? With the home office system , many institutions are adopting the remote international internship, and it can be a good alternative for you to boost your resume in times of social isolation! Here are some advantages of this modality:

Advantages of a remote international internship

1. Is cheaper

Your resume will definitely stand out with an international internship experience. However, an opportunity abroad is not always cheap. That said, no plane tickets, travel insurance or accommodation costs are involved at a remote international stage. In addition, remote opportunities do not involve commuting or new clothing expenses (pajamas are totally acceptable when working remotely – just be careful with video calls!).

2. You make your own schedule

For most students, life is full of commitments, such as work, extracurricular activities, classes and assignments. When doing a remote international internship, instead of adjusting your schedule to the internship, you can adapt it according to your availability. The “traditional” schedule is practically non-existent in the remote environment and you can choose your own schedule. This gives you the freedom to balance your personal life and work.

Even if you need to meet a specific schedule, you can still reconcile with your other commitments. For example, if you are free to work on an internship overnight, consider an international vacancy with a time zone that matches the time you can be online.

3. Learn how to better manage your time

The remote international internships are incredible mainly because there is no one there physically to ensure you are focused on the task and not distracted. This allows you to learn how to take initiatives and manage your time and focus, skills that are highly sought after by employers.

Improving your time management skills will be critical to ensuring that you meet the deadlines for projects assigned to you. Remember that the challenges you encounter at a remote stage (such as the need to communicate well, manage yourself and meet all deadlines) are incredibly important skills for a successful career.

With the ability to practice these skills and demonstrate your professional maturity through online internships , your applications for future positions are much more likely to be successful.

4. Familiarize yourself with digital tools

Nowadays there are a multitude of applications and platforms available for companies to use to make remote work easier and more productive. By doing a remote international internship, you will begin to understand what communication platforms companies are using to stay connected while not working in an office. Zoom, Trello, Dropbox, Togl, Coschedule, Google Apps and World Time Buddy are just a few programs that are used by companies on a daily basis.

By becoming familiar with the systems your company is using during the time you work for it, you can quickly adapt to the same or similar platforms in your future work environment.

5. You can support small businesses

Unlike most face-to-face internships, which are generally done in large corporations that have a physical office, taking a remote international internship gives you space to work on smaller ventures that would not be able to offer a traditional internship due to a lack of resources and office space.

The internship at a startup is exciting, and you will probably have a lot more responsibility, in addition to better understanding what it takes to get a business up and running.

6. You can participate in significant projects

Some international internships offer the opportunity to not only gain valuable experience working with a local organization abroad, but also to contribute to a needy community! There are many significant openings available, such as working for a food-collecting NGO, contributing scientific research to a non-profit marine conservation institute, or assisting social workers at a community center.

7. You are more likely to actually work in your field

For many of us, the idea of ​​an internship involves providing the famous “coffee” for company executives, working on filing or being stuck in the reception room all day. However, doing a remote international internship will definitely eliminate any chance of that happening.

With remote internships, you can expect the job to be more project-based, meaning that you will perform roles related to your area. This will make all the difference in your resume and it will be much easier to articulate and use real-life examples in response to questions from future job interviews.

8. Do a full or part-time internship

Choosing your internship field is just the tip of the iceberg, as some companies may offer long and short term programs. With social isolation and the postponement of classes, this means that you will have the opportunity to choose which modality is best for you. That is, you can even do a full-time internship if you are interested.

If we were at a time without the possibility of contamination by the new coronavirus, it would be very likely that, because of the classes, you would need to choose a part-time internship or then close the college to be able to travel to another country and do a full internship. With remote work, adopted by several companies, this is not a problem!