Looking for a Marketing Internship? Here’s why you should consider going abroad
Many Marketing students have to do an internship at some point. Perhaps even more than once! But when the time comes to find an internship, it might still be hard to decide where you want to go. Especially when there’s also the option to go abroad. Maybe you already considered that, but if you’re still doubting, read further to find out five reasons why going abroad for your Marketing internship is a great idea.
1. Communication skills
As a Marketing student, you probably have a good idea of what is needed to become a great Marketing professional. One of the first things you might think of is having excellent communication skills.
Doing a Marketing internship abroad means plenty of opportunities to practice these skills! You’ll meet many new people – at your accommodation, at your internship, around the city – that may all require different ways of communication. Adapting to these different environments is very important as a Marketing professional, and you’ll be sure to get enough practice.
Apart from the different environments, moving abroad for your internship likely also means using new tools and channels to communicate. Using these means being able to adapt to different platforms; a great learning opportunity!
2. Creativity
Perhaps the key to being an awesome Marketing professional is being able to think creatively and “outside of the box” (our apologies for the slightly overused term). Research even says so: going abroad makes you more creative! That’s not surprising, considering the number of changes you’ll experience when going abroad. You’ll learn to adapt to a new environment, change your routines, work on the internship, and meet plenty of new people.
Not just your environment will be different and will change your mindset; your internship will have just as big of an impact. When you are working for an organization and produce content for them, you’ll need to think from their mindset and culture if you want it to feel authentic. Being able to change the way you think and write in another environment is possibly one of the biggest creativity boosters you can find!
Read about Tom’s experience doing a 5-month Marketing internship in Cape Town!
3. Project management
Another important skill as a Marketing professional would, of course, be to schedule your work efficiently and be able to use different team management systems. Since you are working in an international environment when going abroad, this means working with many different cultures as well. Not only does this added global awareness look great on your CV (huge bonus!), it also means you will learn to bridge between these different cultures. For example, while some cultures are very laid-back when dealing with time, others may prefer being very punctual and holding a strict schedule. Being able to compromise between these differences is a great practice!
4. Flexibility
Working in Marketing is no joke. It is often very busy, and you’ll have to be very flexible to keep up with that! And, is there any better way to test your flexibility than by moving abroad for your internship? If you can move to another country for a certain amount of time and work in an entirely new environment, that sounds like a pretty good sign of flexibility to us. It also tells your future employer that you are open to change and new ideas; a great quality to possess!
Check out all of our Marketing and Communications internships!
5. A passion for learning
Always wanting to learn more is key for any good Marketing professional. You’ll need to stay on top of trends, learn new skills, work with the newest programs, etc. Being so passionate about learning that you want to move to another country for it is a great trait, and will not go unnoticed on your CV either. You will gain a lot of life experience when moving abroad, as it is quite a big step; even for more experienced travelers.
All-in-all, it is surely worth considering doing your Marketing internship abroad. Combining this with making an impact for an NGO would be a very valuable option. We have plenty of amazing internships to choose from, go have a look!
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