Whether you are a University student, an avid traveller, a graduate searching for their first job or someone who is simply looking for a change of scenery, an internship abroad is the perfect solution! By completing an internship abroad you will gain key industry experience, adding significant value to your CV. 

Discover all of the reasons why you should consider an internship abroad in 2020:

 

You Gain Practical & Valuable Work Experience

Internships remain one of the best ways to get ahead of the job seeker competition by gaining firsthand experience and knowledge in your sector. Not to mention, the international experience, this experience is extremely valuable and adding this experience to your CV will help to give you a strong advantage against other candidates. By moving and working abroad, you display sheer bravery and confidence to future employers. Alongside these admirable personality traits, you can gain an insight into different working cultures from your firsthand experience. In such a globalised world, these skills are in higher demand than ever before. 

 

The Perfect Combination Of Work & Travel

For those of you who love to travel, completing an internship abroad is a great way of gaining work experience, learning industry-specific skills but also experiencing new cultures and lifestyles in different countries - all at once! 

Whether you are looking to move abroad in the next couple of months or planning for the summer of 2020, there are some must-see destinations with exciting internship opportunities. Living in a different country will also encourage you to get out more and see new landmarks and attractions. You’ve all heard of the travel bug, haven’t you… 

 

Develop Key Soft Skills 

There are a variety of skills you gain from completing an internship abroad, skills that remain the most important to employers; communicational and organisational skills as well as your ability to adapt easily to different situations. 

You learn how to communicate with people from different cultures and countries. As you can imagine, this strong ability to communicate is extremely advantageous to employers. The very fact that you managed to find an internship abroad and physically move abroad, shows off your organisational skills and how determined you are. These key skills are what employers look for in candidates and these are just a small percentage of the skills that you gain from completing an internship.  

 

Life Experience & Culture Exchange

Last but definitely not least, one of the best things you can acquire from an internship abroad is an unforgettable life experience. From the places you move to, the people you meet, the lessons you learn, it’s an experience that shouldn’t be taken for granted. An internship abroad will change your life in more ways than you can imagine. It may even take you to new places and career paths that you had never considered before. 

 

Discover the top 3 destinations for an internship abroad in 2020: 

 

1. Barcelona

Barcelona is an extremely popular tourist destination but many tourists fall in love and end up staying here due to how livable the city it is. Barcelona has the best of both worlds, close enough to the beach, the mountains and the bustling city life. This is why Barcelona appeals to almost everyone! 

If you don’t speak Spanish, you may feel intimidated moving to a Spanish-speaking country. Don’t panic - due to the international population, a lot of people speak English and other European languages throughout the city. It’s the perfect opportunity to start learning Spanish, with so many internationals in one place, there are plenty of Spanish language schools, language exchange groups and more. 

 

2. Amsterdam

Amsterdam, a small eco-friendly city rich in culture and filled with Internationals. This city has a great work-life balance and a considerably higher quality of life compared to other European capitals. Amsterdam made it to number 11 on the list of most livable cities this year, due to lots of different factors including education, economy, health care, safety, housing and more.  

Luckily for all of you English speakers out there, English is one of the most spoken languages throughout Amsterdam, which makes it considerably easier to settle in, even for those of you who only know basic English. But as we always recommend, it may be worth learning dutch to make your move even easier. 

 

3. Berlin

Well, Berlin - where do we begin? A city filled with great nightlife, music, rich history, cheap beer, greenery, architecture, and growing art culture. Just like Amsterdam, Berlin is a very eco-friendly city, in fact, it is one of the greenest in Europe. With a strong economy and low employment rate, Berlin is perfect for those of you looking for somewhere to settle and progress within your career.  

Although the German language may seem difficult to learn, it remains one of the most valuable languages in the world of employment, so it’s definitely worth adding to your CV. 

As you can see, an internship abroad can really benefit you and your career. Some companies even value Internship experience over other qualifications. By choosing to complete an internship abroad, you demonstrate motivation, courage and determination. Where will you move to during 2020? These are just a small selection of exciting cities with Internship opportunities in Europe. 

This guest blog was brought to you by Europe Language Jobs. The job board for multilingual and native language speakers in Europe.