If you’re a high school student soon to graduate or a college student approaching summer break, you’ve probably been told many times that summer internships are a good idea. Well, the end of the academic year fast approaches, and now is the perfect time to start asking how to find summer internships.
This blog will explain how to find summer internships for college students and high school graduates, as well as offer tips on how to find a summer internship abroad. And, for those who really want to know how to find good summer internships, we’ll suggest some of World Endeavours’ internships abroad in summer 2024.
How to Find Summer Internships
If only it were as simple as answering, ‘How do I find a summer internship?’. Applications have deadlines, and you don’t want to miss the boat. To lend a helping hand, here’s our step-by-step guide on how to find summer internships, including all the key details to factor into your decisions when picking the best summer internship:
1. Set Your Goals
Put simply, knowing what you want will make getting it much easier. Knowing the skills, experience, and achievements you want to gain will help you find the internship that can best support your development.
It will help you stand out during the interview and give you the drive and direction to make the most of your experience and be a successful intern too. Being intentional with your goals is some of the best advice we can offer on how to find summer internships.
2. Research Possibilities
If this is your first time investigating summer internships, you probably aren’t even aware of the possibilities out there. Set some time aside to scour the internet and any school resources available to you, and make sure you don’t overlook your dream summer internship.
Ideally, you’ll have the support of your school or college’s career department, but failing all else, you can learn plenty by simply googling questions like: How to find summer internships? How do I find a summer internship abroad? How to find summer internships for college students?
At this early stage in your search, you want to create a long list of possibilities, which you’ll reduce later on. We recommend creating a new favorites file on your browser just for internship opportunities, then adding to it over the course of two to three weeks. This will help you keep track of your findings while you think about each opportunity.
3. Consider Internships Abroad And Other Alternative Paths
If you want to know how to find good summer internships, then our advice is not to limit yourself to the conventional internship pathways.
Imagine how many more options you’ll have if, instead of just asking how to find summer internships, you ask how to find summer internships abroad too. These alternative pathways offer unique learning opportunities. Intern abroad, and you’ll develop an international mindset, cross-cultural communication, and a better understanding of your industry globally
Consider interning with different kinds of organizations too. A non profit summer internship with a grassroots organization, can offer more chances for upward mobility during your internship. Interning with a rapidly growing startup can place you at the forefront of your industry and lead to long-term employment.
4. Reach Out For Advice
When faced with a tricky decision or challenge, it’s always a good idea to talk things through. The challenge of how to find summer internships is no different.
Some prefer to talk with teachers, professors, employers, or others who can provide guidance on career development. Others find it more helpful to just talk things through with friends and family. Alternatively, you could get in touch with us, and receive expert advice on how to find a good summer internship and comprehensive support to secure your place.
Another thing, social media is a powerful tool here. It lets you reach out to industry professionals and ask, ‘How do I get a summer internship with your company?’ or simply ask if they have any career advice. Fair warning, most won’t reply, but you have nothing to lose and could have exciting career opportunities to gain.
5. Shortlist Opportunities
It’s time to ask yourself which internships you want the most, and what’s equally important is which of those internships could realistically happen. Check things like internship requirements, working hours, and commute distance, and consider logistics. This will help you dismiss viable options before getting your heart set on them.
Also, if you’re interested in how to find a summer internship abroad, you’ll have to investigate visas, medical precautions, language barriers, and the cost of living in your chosen destination. Beyond this, your decision here should be guided by the goals you set at the start of your search. Keep these ambitions in mind and ask which internship will best set the scene for your growth.
How to Apply for a Summer Internship?
Now for the nerve-racking part: application! Follow the same strategies you would for any other job application when it comes to the application materials expected, such as including a cover letter for each internship you apply to, and make sure your CV is up-to-date with relevant skills and achievements. Also, remember that one or two rejections are to be expected, and don’t let them set you back.
Our advice for interviews is to keep in mind that this is your opportunity to ask your host organization questions too. While preparing talking points on your CV, think of a few questions you’d like to ask about the work environment or the kind of guidance or support offered to interns.
Top Internships Abroad for Summer 2024
When it’s all laid out, working out how to find summer internships can seem like a lot of work. Really, though, this is the start of something incredibly exciting. What many don’t tell you about summer internships is that they aren’t just about professional development. Of course, the priority of any internship is to advance you in your career, but the top internships abroad in summer 2024 are chances to explore the world, make new friends, learn amazing things, and take part in exciting projects.
If you’d like to know how to find good summer internships like this, explore our programs through our program finder or take a look through our professional focuses below, and see what’s possible with World Endeavours:
1. Education & Social Sciences Internships
Education and social sciences offer some truly exciting, versatile programs that can develop a wide range of skills. These internships also let interns engage in meaningful work and make a real impact during their internship.
Interns will work closely with local communities of their chosen destination and contribute to meaningful projects combating serious social issues and educational challenges. This could involve you in varied tasks such as curriculum development, community outreach, social research, and youth development programs.
These are some of our top internships for gap year students, as many of the communication and interpersonal skills you’ll develop on these programs are hugely transferable.
2. Policy & Government Internships
Policy and Government internships are your opportunity to learn about political landscapes and governance structures around the world. These programs involve you in hugely impactful work and equip you with expert skills and knowledge in law and international relations.
These internships place you with governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or international organizations, where you’ll assist in policy analyses, legal research, and advocacy campaigns. You can expect a varied workload of diverse projects, including everything from studying global policy trends to participating in international negotiations.
3. Environment & Sustainability Internships
How do I find a summer internship where I can work in nature and make a difference for the world? Look for environmental and sustainability internships.
These programs offer truly awesome opportunities to travel to some of the planet’s most spectacular natural settings and learn about indigenous wildlife and local ecosystems. You could contribute to rainforest conservation in Costa Rica, advance agricultural science in Thailand, or work at a wildlife rescue center in Argentina.
With environment and sustainability internships, you’ll spend your summer in stunning locations, work with remarkable wildlife, and build great skills and knowledge, all while helping to protect and conserve nature.
4. Virtual International Internships
How do I get a summer internship abroad if I can’t afford to travel this summer? There are avenues to help fund your internships, but even you can still find internships with organizations from all around the world with remote and virtual internships.
These programs can be in any field, from finance to marketing, and allow you to engage in interesting projects and initiatives from the comfort of your own home. Obviously, this will remove most of the financial costs of an internship, it c;n also help interns arrange their work around pre-existing life commitments or even another job in some cases.
Browse All Our Available Summer Programs
This blog was written by Tom Rusbridge
If you would like to know more about the contents of this blog post or would like receive information about similar experiecnes then please connect with one of lour advisors through the contact form.
