International Internships

I am sure you’ve heard at least one of your elder siblings or cousins whine about an internship! For all of you university students who are aspiring to enter the world of jobs and employment, internships are one of the best ways for you to gain exposure to life after academia. Some internship is run through university programs while others are run through summer and winter breaks. For universities in Bangladesh, internships are usually part of one semester. Grading is also done based on your internship report. The significance of internships has been growing. The trend is reflected in the increasing number of programs in which major international universities have made undergraduate internships compulsory and a part of at least one semester in the junior or senior year. Typically, at the end of the semester, you have to submit a formal report on the internship experience to your course instructor. Some of the business schools also require formal presentations from students on their exp...

None of us would be at Refinery29 if it weren't for a bevy of past experiences that prepared us to thrive in such a fast-paced, interactive, and creative work environment. Yes, we're talking about that dreaded coveted-but-elusive career-changing internship, and early February is just the right time to start thinking about your summer situation. In fact, our inboxes have already seen every type of application for summer '12: the good, the bad, and the ugly. With this in mind, we decided to unlock the key on some insider trade secrets. Through dedication to the field (read: sleepless nights), endless drafts of CVs, and yes, even some trial-and-error on the job, we've mastered our own winning formula for getting ahead in an extremely competitive market. Read on for tips you've got to know when applying, and hey, don't be afraid to list us as a reference — we've got you covered. Cover Letter Basics DON'T copy/paste we’ve all made a fatal copy/paste mistake ...

Our great leader Mahatma Gandhi said, "The future depends on what you do today”. It helps us to see what is before us at present. Students are always in search of shaping their future. They want to do everything which makes them outstanding so that they can have best future prospects. But it is not easy to map everything some things are taught to you as the time passes. Maturity comes with age! Our elders and teacher’s give their best to guidance to us but since they might not have all around experience in all sectors so students should not stop searching themselves. They should decide what to do next! Many times it happens that students are clueless to choose from a variety of subjects, a variety of choices in career etc. They fear that one wrong step taken can affect their career and spoil their academic or career path. So to be sure of what you want to do when you complete your education or which job profile suits you better or to know whether you are an entrepreneur or not you...

Congratulations–you’ve gotten yourself an internship! Internships provide valuable, foundational job skills and experience for any field you’re pursuing, and the majority of them are a lot of fun as well as fulfilling. You should probably know by now that you will have some sort of supervisor “over” you in your internship, as it is a professional opportunity. You are now in a position to demonstrate what you know and to put this knowledge into practice, while showing your supervisor you are worth promoting to even greater positions. Unfortunately, some interns may jeopardize their position by what they say in their internship, especially if they say certain things to people of higher authority. Here are the four things you should never say in an internship (if you’re interested in keeping your position, that is). 1. “Hey, sorry I’m late, I’m still kind of high from this afternoon’s kickback.” Certain details should be left out of your internship interactions entirely. Referencing your ...

Kristen Purdy studies environmental science at Portland State University, but her coursework alone didn’t inspire her to pursue a career in sustainability. She’s also done four environmental services-related internships in the past three years. “My internships and my work experience have been so closely related to my career goals that they’re almost as important as the education itself,” says Purdy, 21. Internships give students like Purdy the opportunity to explore career paths, get resume-building experience and show a company what they can do. Nailing an internship can also be the difference between struggling to find a job and sailing straight into one when you graduate. More than 70% of employers said their primary goal in bringing on an intern was to hire them as a full-time, entry-level employee once the internship ended, according to a 2015 report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Use these five tips to get your employer’s attention during your internship s...

We all know internships can be stressful. With employers who expect quite a lot from students working out in the “real world” and our own desire to do everything that they ask for perfectly, these positions put a load of pressure on us. When this is combined with the expectations of our professors, peers, and friends, in other aspects of our lives, the workload and of course, stress-load, can become immense. There have to be ways to manage this stress so that it doesn’t become too much, and end up consuming your mind and your life. Often, stress relief can be found in the little things. There is not much you can do about big projects and looming deadlines for internships, but there is something you can do about the environment you do your work in and the organization of your workspace. Here are a few ideas to help you create a stress-free workspace at your internship that will inspire you to accomplish all of your tasks, while maintaining a relaxed and positive attitude throughout. 1. ...

Business schools abound with stories of motivated interns landing lucrative positions after graduation. But there are also stories of interns who sweat out the summer in a cubicle without ever receiving a significant assignment. How do you ensure that you end up in the internship that is right for you? These are some signs that indicate your internship is on the right track: 1. You have a thorough training program when you start. You want an internship that involves real responsibilities and opportunities. Logically, an employer offering such a position will want to take some time to prepare you for those things. And it is only fair for you to expect adequate preparation for the challenges you will face during the summer. An internship without a thorough training program is a red flag. 2. Your supervisors take you to networking events. Just like the school year, the summer is a key time to build your professional network. An internship is a short-term commitment, but if you play your c...

If you’ve ever been a summer intern, you know how real the struggle can be. Between mastering the coffee maker, making it through your first meeting, and keeping it together when your desk phone rings — sacrificing your summer for work experience can be all kinds of stressful. Rewarding, yes, but mostly stressful. Below, the 11 stages of being a summer intern, from start to finish: 1. Relief Receiving that “Congrats, you’re hired!” email was one of the best days of the year, if only for the fact that you can stop updating your résumé for a few months. 2. Freak Out As your start date approaches, your panic increases exponentially. Are you even qualified for this job? You probably are. Kind of. Or else they wouldn’t have hired you, right? RIGHT? 3. Acceptance After all, intern status basically gives you license to screw up pretty much anything. Even your boss was an intern once — they’ll understand 4. Overconfidence You show up an hour early to your first day and you’re ready to take o...

After months of editing your resume, relentlessly hunting for internships, and shopping for the perfect interview outfit, you finally landed a summer internship! Whether you’ve set your sights on the corner cubicle or the tent by an ancient archaeological dig, you’ll need to brush up on your intern manners in order to put your best foot forward. 1. Do smile Employers and internship supervisors want to know that they’ve hired someone who is happy to be there, so show them that you are! Kelsey Mulvey, a junior at Boston University, polished her positive attitude during internships at Lucky magazine, Time Out New York, and Anthropologie. “Interning isn’t always a walk in the park,” Kelsey said. “Even when you feel a little overwhelmed, take on every challenge with a smile and a ‘can do’ attitude — your supervisor(s) will love your optimism.” Struggling to stay smiling during those long, unpaid hours? Salwa Muhammad, the Program Director of Internships at Wellesley College, suggests learni...

With classes and exams wrapping up at most colleges and universities in the coming weeks, many students will turn their attention to various jobs and internships. While some students anticipate that their internships will be exciting, interesting, and meaningful opportunities that lead to deepening interest and directly benefit their future careers, others think it will be overwhelming, difficult and downright scary. Whatever the case, follow these golden rules. Firstly, attitudes matter a lot. Embrace your internship with a can-do attitude and be flexible. Don’t feel that certain tasks or work is beneath you. Be professional, communicate clearly, show up on time, ask questions when you don’t understand, and be proactive about volunteering for new tasks. Think of your internship as an extended job interview. Take Pride In Your Work: Make the little stuff count, like managing your time, checking your work, and being respectful of others. Correspondingly, it is vital to understand the of...

Be the Best by Learning, Always Learning... Pablo Picasso reminds us to continually sharpen the saw and never stop learning. In the design world there is nothing worse than an interior designer or decorator who purports to be an “expert” - charging hefty fees, only to deliver the same design concept that they have used repeatedly for previous clients. They are not-so-lovingly referred to as “decorinas” by their more professional and progressive counterparts. What separates decorinas from outstanding professionals? The solid foundation of design principles AND the discipline to continually learn and update. Both are necessary. To graduate from school is simply not enough to qualify greatness or expertise. In fact, some of the most useful knowledge can be received from design internships during design school. If you are in design school, get as much work experience as you can during those years. Try commercial, try residential- internships are easier to get than jobs. Jobs will be easie...

A student of mine was applying for a job in the ultra-competitive film industry. He made it through the initial phases and was thrilled to finally sit down with the decision-maker, his potential supervisor. This interviewer looked at his resume and asked whom he worked for at his internship last summer. Upon hearing the name, she responded, “I know him well,” and proceeded to pick up the phone, call the person and ask for an on-the-spot reference. It was a nerve-wracking moment for my student, but he needn’t have worried because he had laid the groundwork for just this type of situation when he completed his internship. Many students spend months working on getting internships. They spend days deciding what to wear to make the right first impression, but the reality is that your last impression counts for as much as your first one. When you finish your internship, you are just beginning to build your network. Every year my organization helps hundreds of students make the most of their ...

The big boom in Information technology sector in Asia has been in the news for a long time now .Everyone know how fast the technology is growing and people opting for jobs in this sector is increasing. Asia’s hub for Information technology is “Singapore”. The transformation of this city from being a visual treat to IT hub has been significant. Let’s get a personal look into the past and future of Asia’s IT hub. Singapore is known to be multicultural .Many people from different cultures have settled down in this city and made it diverse. None is lost in the city or without any acquaintance .People know the global language so it’s easy for people to communicate .Information technology companies require a multicultural nation to grow and get skilled professionals .Professionals are ready to relocate to such multicultural places as they know they can find people and food related to their country there and they can maintain a particular lifestyle. Any industry in a country would need favora...

As a business owner, you’re probably looking for ways to get more done in less time, and perhaps even save money. One way to do that is to hire an intern. I was an intern one summer, and I found the experience valuable. That’s the key for businesses. Recent scrutiny on internships means that you do need to be careful if you decide to get an intern to help you out. How an Intern Can Help Your Business An intern can be very helpful, allowing you to sort of outsource some of your work. You can have an intern do some of the things you don’t have time for, freeing you up for more important, big picture items. You can also usually have an intern work for less. Some interns are even willing to be unpaid. However, you will have a better chance of attracting someone with talent if you are willing to offer a stipend. It doesn’t have to be huge, and it can still save you money over hiring someone and paying benefits. Provide Value for Your Intern It’s important to understand that the intern isn’...

Internships are about the experience, not the pay. The thought of doing an unpaid internship sounds terrible, but internships are practically mandatory nowadays. Lots of students acquire internships for professional work experience or as a resume builder. However, whether it’s paid or not is a big deal. There are a lot of factors that come along with receiving an internship, paid or not. Such as a student’s major, school, availability, resume, etc. The better internships are the ones where you get paid for the work you do. Internships are still a huge stepping stone into the competitive work force, paid or not. It’s hard to get an internship in the first place, worrying about if it’s paid or not should be your last concern. You may be working for nothing, but it’s the next step you should be thinking about. Students who have applied or interviewed for internships would rather have an unpaid internship involving their career background instead of a part time summer job. Internships can ...

For Holden Jones of Jacksonville, a senior in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s cinema and photography program, it was a matter of perseverance. Jones will participate this summer in an eight-week internship in California learning about commercials – from conceptualization and pre-production to production and post-production. He is one of 50 students selected from 1,500 nationwide for an Emmy Foundation Internship, and chosen from among 21 applications for the commercials category. He will work at three different places while in Los Angeles from July 5 to Aug. 26: Radical Media, TBWA and Chiat Day. Jones, the son of Marcy and Terry Jones of Jacksonville, is a 2012 Chancellor’s Academic Scholar. He is a double major in cinema production and television production. He was an executive producer for the award-winning “alt.news 26:46” when the student-produced television magazine program captured its 31st Professional Regional Emmy and is now in London studying. He will return to the...

Internships are the gateway to a world full of exciting possibilities and opportunities. They are usually a student’s first foray into the real world and go a long way in forming impressions that determine crucial career choices. While big companies, marketable brand names and attractive stipends are the first targets when it comes to scoring star internships, lately a lot more variety has been introduced into this game. Most Internship does not pay stipends. Students are okay with that because they get to associate themselves with prestigious organizations and make valuable connections. Such commodities money cannot buy. Also such commodities Startups cannot offer. Startups have been changing and challenging the status quo ever since they came into the fray. They are tacitly small, independently funded and fast developing organizations that are founded on certain ideals and focus on inspiring ideas by the way of doing business. Misunderstand not, they are very money oriented. However,...

In today’s economy more and more you hear about unpaid internships: jobs that offer experience and hands on learning, but no monetary reward. Now the idea of the unpaid internship may sound ridiculous, I mean who wants a job where a person goes in and works for hours for free? How does that benefit anyone? But that is not the case; unpaid internships are in reality the way of the future. It is through unpaid internships that modern day economy will grow and return to a flourishing state. Recently hundreds to thousands of people were laid off. Companies had to make major budget cuts, which eliminated positions, cut down the work force needed and destroyed the idea of the paid intern. If companies could not pay their employees and had to layoff dedicated full time laborers there was simply no way that they could continue to pay their interns. The reason why unpaid internships are so prominent now is because many positions and jobs that were once paid have become unpaid internships. Many...

You’ve landed an MBA internship. Congratulations! Now the real work begins, as you embark on what is essentially a three-month-long job interview. It’s not just about producing great work; you also have to decide whether the company is a fit and (if that’s the case) find ways to express your interest in working there full time. Here are 11 tips from directors attached to four top business schools in the US to help you navigate your way through an MBA internship. 1. Make sure you know what’s expected of you during the summer internship “Understanding how success is defined as an intern is the first step to meeting that standard,” states Sheryle Dirks, associate dean of career management at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Continuing to network after you land your MBA internship is one way to get answers about how success is defined. Conversations with former interns or classmates who have undertaken a similar role in the past can provide insight into what’s important to speci...

College is an interesting time in a young person’s life. You’re pretty much an adult, at least legally you are. Of course, as an adult you’re expected to use your four years of undergraduate study to learn the necessary skills that will make you employable upon graduation. If and when you find employment, it will likely be in an entry-level position with an annual starting salary somewhere between $30,000 and $50,000 . This is often referred to as your first “real” job. When you’re currently in college however, it is rare to have one of these jobs. If you’re employed, it’s usually flipping burgers or sweeping floors part time while studying full time to earn your degree. There is one type of work however that is often considered not to be a job at all. That type of work is the unpaid internship. I have been an unpaid intern in two offices during my time at Towson University. In both cases, I found the experiences I had to be invaluable to my professional development and future career...

An international internship can be a great way to gain valuable work experience as well as a way to experience life in another country. Internships may be located through your university or by searching online, but it may be overwhelming to try to choose the best one. When selecting an international internship, determine what you want to study or learn, as well as the type of country you want to live in. In study abroad experiences, most students end up focusing on language classes, as well as other general education classes at the university to which they travel. An international internship focused on more on work experience, however, provides a great deal more opportunity. Consider what you hope to learn from your internship; for instance, many journalism students enjoy international internships because they hope to be travel writers or foreign correspondents one day. They can take their experience from the internship and use it when they enter the workforce. An international inter...

College graduates need an international perspective to be competitive in today's job market. Many will have to negotiate foreign cultures whether they work in the United States or abroad. As part of this continuing change, international college internships should now be viewed as steppingstones to career success. Even though relatively few American students go on internships abroad, the number increased 133 percent from the 2003-4 to the 2008-9 academic years, according to the latest figures from the Institute of International Education, which looked at students who received credit for such programs. Several trends have fueled the growth in international internships over the past decade. For one thing, more students and graduates are pursuing opportunities in Asia, given the weak economy in the United States. In addition, international internships are increasingly becoming integrated with college service-learning programs. Student interns now work abroad in hospitals, orphanages, c...

You're a recent college graduate with a killer cover letter, a stellar grade point average and glowing recommendations. But if one important item is missing from your résumé, good luck trying to get a position at The McTigue Financial Group in Chicago. You need an internship. This network office of Northwestern Mutual turns to its highly competitive internship program for new talent. Erika Milonas, director of campus recruitment, reviews more than 1,000 résumés in a given year and interviews 400-plus candidates to recruit 40 for McTigue's year-round internship program. The good news for those fortunate enough to earn a spot: One in four become a full-time financial representative after graduation. Internships and the economy The hope of gaining an advantage for future employment has increased both the number and quality of internship applications. "Internships have become key in today's economy," says Melissa Benca, director of career services at Marymount Manh...

Getting a degree is an accomplishment, but getting the right degree to get a job right away is the winning formula. Although the job market for today’s grads has improved, career counselors say college major choices are critical. So are summer internships and part-time jobs during college. “You want to build up a résumé that shows real-world experience as well as degrees,” says Dawn Fay, New York district president for the Robert Half staffing firm. Internship is part of that real-world experience, she adds, and is becoming more popular with those hiring. This year’s intern offer and acceptance rate is above pre-recession levels, says the National Association of Colleges and Employers. “This is important,” NACE says in a release, “because from an employer perspective, higher offer rates generally are indicators of a more robust college hiring market.” A Federal Reserve Bank of New York report shows high employment rates for college graduates majoring in accounting, special education an...