Staying local is the new norm for many of us during these uncertain times, but don’t let COVID-19 travel restrictions rain on your global career-advancing parade. Thanks to the increasing accessibility of WiFi in many locations around the world, online internships are a rising trend.
But are virtual internships good? Well, you can’t really argue with breakfast in bed on the regular.
They also happen to be the perfect virtual solution for students and graduates wanting to keep their career path on track amidst all the travel barriers popping up. It can’t be denied—being a student in 2020 requires a bit of outside-the-box thinking, with a sprinkling of savviness to thrive in this new environment.
Regardless of your geographic region, remote internships will ensure you gain career-relevant skills and internationally-recognized credentials while cultivating a cross-cultural experience without the travel costs or rigid 9-5 schedule!
But...are virtual internships good? Are they worth it? Absolutely. Allow us to explain.
What is a remote internship?
Before we explain why remote internships are a good choice for you, let us explain exactly what they are. Unlike a traditional internship in which you typically work at the company’s office, a remote internship involves no travel, and the work is completed online from wherever you’re located. It’s a great chance to gain invaluable experience from the comfort of your own home.
You can either find a company to intern with yourself or use a provider to arrange your internship. If you choose to go with a reputable provider, they will support you along the way so you can just focus on the learning experience.
Depending on the provider you choose to arrange your internship with, it can be fully customizable, providing you with the freedom to start your internship at any time and having the flexibility of choosing your own working hours.
Early bird? Night owl? Doesn’t matter! There’s a remote internship perfect for you.
If you’re looking for a way to make your resume stand out, have cool internship stories, intern around your own schedule, complete a rewarding project, master your IT skills, or connect to like-minded individuals and mentors across the globe with additional layers of support, then remote internships are for you!
You never know! Maybe that remote internship in Spain will turn into a permanent employment opportunity, and this time next year you’ll be sipping on sangria in Madrid and taking up Flamenco dancing.
KEEP READING → What is a Remote Internship?
9 reasons to intern online
1. It’s cheaper!
Your resume will stand out in a crowd with your international internship experience, however there will be no hefty burden on your bank account. No flights, travel insurance, or accommodation costs are involved in interning in the virtual dimension.
Plus, remote internships won’t involve commute or new clothing expenses (yes, PJs are acceptable while working remotely—just beware of those video conference calls!).
2. Make your own schedule
While this year has brought us some interesting challenges, luckily, enhancing your future employability in your spare time from home is not one of these.
For most students and graduates, life is full with commitments such as work, extracurricular activities, classes, and assignments. Instead of making your schedule fit around your internship, you can tailor your internship to suit your availability.
Traditional 9-5 work is non-existent in the remote world and you can choose your own hours, providing the freedom to cultivate a work/life balance and alleviating travel costs and time restraints.
International placements across different time zones enable you to align your availability with their hours of operation. For example, if you’re free to work on your remote internship during your evenings, then consider an international placement with a time zone that matches when you can be online.
3. Work across the globe
If your internship is based abroad, there will still be opportunities for cultural exchange, even as a remote intern.
Some remote internship providers offer a range of international placements which bring the world to you. Whether you're based in a big bustling metropolis or a small rural town, you have the ability to work for a company thousands of miles away in a completely different time zone and culture.
Employers are looking for a point of difference when skimming through hundreds of resumes and asking people how they spent their time during quarantine. Binge watching Netflix perhaps, or focusing on your personal and professional development, to get ahead in a competitive marketplace?
Having experience working for a business based abroad is certainly an asset that will build your resume and demonstrate your initiative and adaptability. It shows cross-cultural competence, computer literacy, communication skills, independence, and global awareness—which are all highly prized by employers within our interconnected society.
4. Gain familiarity with digital tools
Back in the day when outlook and conference calls were the norm, working remotely was difficult. However, now there are a myriad of apps and platforms available for businesses to use to make remote work easier and more productive.
When completing online internships, you will begin to understand which communication platforms that businesses are using to stay connected while not working in an office. Zoom, Slack, Proofhub, Dropbox, Togl, Coschedule, Google Apps, and World Time Buddy are just a few that are utilized by companies on a daily basis.
By gaining competence in the systems your company is using during your time working for them, you will quickly be able to adapt to the same or similar platforms in your future work environment.
5. Intern part time or full time
Choosing your internship field is just the tip of the choice iceberg, as some internship providers offer both long term and short term programs. Durations typically range from 100-250 hours and provide a unique opportunity for you to choose a part-time or full time schedule across a few weeks to a few months. So you can practice in-demand skills within a specific sector of your choice on your terms!
6. Master time management
Time management is a skill that every professional needs to acquire.
Remote internships are unique in one primary way: There is no one there physically to ensure you are staying on task and looking over your shoulder each day. This gives scope for you to learn how to become a self-starter and take initiative, which is highly sought after by employers.
Perfecting your time management skills will be key here to ensure you keep to deadlines for the specific projects assigned to you. Keep in mind that the perceived challenges of interning online (such as the need to communicate well, self-manage, and work to deadlines) are all incredibly important skills for a resilient career.
If you can practice these competencies and demonstrate your professional maturity via online internships, then your candidacy for future job roles will only be improved.
7. Receive ongoing support
Some internship providers facilitate a guided reflection course, so while you’re getting invaluable experience though your internship, you’re also reflecting on it. You’ll gain an understanding of what practical skills you’re using, why they’re important, and how they may translate to a future work role.
The hard work of finding an internship placement within your chosen career field is done for you when using an internship provider. They provide an important element of accountability and oversight, to help develop an internship plan that is customized to your schedule along with providing an online orientation, induction, reflective learning framework, and ongoing support before, during, and after your internship.
8. Support small business
Unlike most in-person internships where the companies offering them are big corporations that have a physical office, being a remote intern provides scope to work for smaller ventures that would not be able to offer a traditional internship due to lack of resources and office space.
Interning for a startup is exciting, and you’ll most likely have a lot more responsibility and get insight into what it takes to get a company up and running.
In addition, some international internships provide the opportunity to not only gain valuable experience working with a local organization overseas, but you would also get to contribute to a community in need!
There are lots of meaningful placements available, such as working for a Microfinance NGO, contributing to scientific research for a non-profit marine conservation institute, or assisting local social workers at a community center.
9. Placements are project-driven
Project-based internships will leave you with a sense of accomplishment and demonstrated ability.
For many of us, the idea of an internship involves taking coffee and lunch orders for executives, lots of filing and being cooped up in the photocopy room all day. Interning remotely will definitely eliminate the chance of that happening.
With remote internships, you can expect the work to be more project-based, which you can chip away at over your internship period. This will look mighty fine on your resume, and will be much easier to articulate and draw upon for real life examples in response to questions in future job interviews.
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Where to find internships online
To help you get started, check out these organizations for high-quality, customizable online internships:
1. Intern Abroad HQ
If you’re looking for a trusted provider of online internships, Intern Abroad HQ offers the most affordable range of global internships with both remote and abroad placements. All interns gain free access to a custom-built experiential learning course to enhance their online internship experience and future employability. Placements are available across diverse career fields with local organizations based out of Europe, Africa and Asia. Intern Abroad HQ’s remote internship programs run year-round and can be tailored to meet your course credit, academic major or career path requirements.
2. iXperience
iXperience launched in 2013 as a study abroad coding bootcamp and now offers opportunities abroad as well as remotely. iX Remote is a 6-week summer program with online courses and internships in data science, digital marketing, investment finance, management consulting, product management, and visual design. Internship program fees start from US $3,195 for the 6-week remote program.
3. Global Experiences
Through GE Virtuoso, Global Experiences offers 8-week and 12-week virtual internship options in fields relevant to business, marketing, design, IT, finance, and accounting. Fees start from $1,500 for the 8-week program or $1,800 for the 12-week program. If you would like to earn academic credit with your internship, there is also the option to enroll in an add-on course to gain a transcript from their school of record, Fairfield University.
Ready to be a virtual intern?
Build your resume effectively—and remotely!
Are virtual internships good? They sound great to us! Completing a remote internship is not all pajama parties and delicious at-home work snacks—if you’re thinking about choosing this path for your internship, you will need to be prepared given there is no constant supervision.
A high level of independence, proactivity, and self-management is required to make the most of your experience, and dazzle your internship supervisor. The hard work will pay off in the end though, as these are all essential skill sets for succeeding and demonstrating your adaptability within a competitive workforce.
Browse ALL Online Internships on GoAbroad.com
This article was written with help from Intern Abroad HQ. Intern Abroad HQ is a division of International Volunteer HQ, the world’s largest volunteer travel organization. Collectively, they have supported more than 113,000 program participants since 2007. As the only international volunteer and internship provider to be B Corp certified, they have been externally audited and meet the highest social and environmental standards.
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