Getting an internship is the best way for Indian students to study abroad to finance their education and build global credibility. The process needs a proactive strategy. To begin, start with building your LinkedIn presence, mastering a 30-second elevator pitch, building an optimised resume, tapping into “hidden job markets” through cold emails and alumni networking, and using international job portals.
For many Indian students studying abroad, the most challenging part isn’t the coursework; it’s the finances. But funding your studies is easier than you imagine. Many enterprising students find amazing internship opportunities that not only fund their stay but also enrich their resumes.
If you want to find internships while studying abroad, you need the right strategy. These tips will help you clinch the right opportunity. With an internship experience on your resume, your future employers will see you as someone is skilled enough to fulfil academic responsibilities along with professional ones.
An internship is a professional learning experience given to students or fresh graduates that is actually related to their area of specialisation. The purpose of the internship is to help the intern gain real-world experience, build their resume, and make an informed choice about the career they want to pursue.
Both the employer and the intern gain from the internship experience. For the employer, it’s a cost-effective way to hire fresh talent and gain fresh perspectives. For the intern, association with an established company gives them the credibility the need to convince future employers that they are experienced in the field. Everyone wins.
In many cases, internships end with the employers offering a full-time profile to their interns.
There are two types of internships:
Paid internships where you receive a stipend or an hourly wage
Unpaid internships where you get an experience certificate
What Does an Intern Do?
It’s a common misconception that interns only fetch coffee for their superiors. In fact, they become entrenched in the company’s workings, often participating in various processes. They also have the opportunity to shadow senior employees, gaining hands-on experience in the field. They also get to familiarise themselves with the corporate culture early on.
How to Get Internship Opportunities
As mentioned earlier, every student who wants to make the most of their study abroad time should create a roadmap to secure internship opportunities. Here is how you go about:
Build Credibility
Before you start applying, build a strong portfolio that reflects your interests and ambitions. For example, if you want to get into creative writing, build a blog or maintain a Substack or a Medium account. If you are into design, use Behance to host your artwork.
Become active on LinkedIn (Your future employers may look you up) and share and post your thoughts about any developments in your field.
An elevator pitch is a 30-second introduction that provides the listener with a concise overview of your profile. Elevator pitches should be impactful, concise and complete.
Start with the basics: your name, university, major, and expected graduation date: “Hi, I’m [Name]. I’m currently completing my Master’s in Data Science at [University], specialising in Natural Language Processing.”
Create a bridge by telling what you did before: “I’ve been following [Company Name]’s work on automated customer support, which aligns perfectly with my focus. Before this, I worked as a developer in India, so I’m comfortable moving from research to production code.”
Show proof: “I recently built a RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) pipeline using Llama-3 that allows users to query complex legal PDFs with 90% accuracy. I used LangChain and Pinecone for the vector search.”
Make the request/demand: “I’d love to bring that hands-on experience to your engineering team this summer. Are you looking for interns who can help fine-tune open-source models?”
Don’t be Afraid to Make Cold Calls and Emails
Cold calls and cold emails are effective tactics for reaching the right people. Email your professors, HR departments of prestigious companies and even the right people on LinkedIn to find internship opportunities. You may never know who decides to hit reply.
Look up the company website or the college portals to find the right people to get in touch with. Send a personalised mail, expressing your interest.
For example, “I learnt that you are looking for XYZ. I am currently studying ABC, so I think I may be a perfect person for this role.”
Leverage Hidden Markets
Finding the right internship also involves knowing where and how to look. Search for job postings with the phrase “interns” or “freshers” in the search query. Diversify your search and also look up sites such as X (Formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instgram.
Set up Google alerts for “Intern” or “Internship in + your area.” You can also ask ChatGPT and other AI tools: “Are there any internships available in the ABC area?”
Talk to Your Network
Now may be a good time to get in touch with seniors who graduated 2-3 years before you. Utilise your network to identify potential leads for job opportunities in the internship space.
Every major university has an Indian Students Association; use your associations wisely by reaching out to them.
Attend local meetups and industry events. It’s easier to get a referral over a cup of coffee than over a cold email (but cold emails work too).
Leverage International Job Platforms
Update your profile to highlight your study abroad experience and international skills. Use global job portals like Prosple, Graudateland, Handshake, WayUp, AngelList Talent, Wellfound, Remote OK, FlexJobs, Xing, Welcome to the Jungle apart from Indeed, Glassdoor and LinkedIn.
You can also apply through company websites with the right keywords to beat their automated resume selection system. Always set location and visa/work authorisation filters, clearly mention your study abroad experience, and adjust your resume to a global format.
Approach Your Professors
Develop a good equation with your professors and seek their guidance when searching for a job. Most professors have strong connections and can recommend you to industry partners seeking young talent.
Visit their offices at the university during their working hours and present them your updated resume and cover letter.
Tailor Your Resume
It goes without saying that you should tailor your resume every time to suit the job requirements. If your area of interest is Data Science, make sure that the keyword appears multiple times in your resume.
Most of the time, resumes are scouted by AI-trained bots. The richer your resume is in keywords, the better the chances of it getting shortlisted.
You have to customise for every internship by changing the resume objective, skill order, project descriptions and keyword density.
Write a strong resume objective: “Motivated second-year BCom student with strong Excel and data analysis skills seeking a finance internship” instead of “Looking for an internship to gain experience.”
List all the projects, experience, and volunteering work you have done in recent times.
Polish your application with a strong cover letter and a Loom video if feasible.
Research the Company
Once you get the interview call, showcase your interest by researching the company you wish to join. Read about any new acquisitions, mergers, product launches, investments and any other mentions in the media.
While at the interview, answer each question with the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action and Result). Situation means setting the scene. Explain what the context was: “During our final year project, we faced a setback due to a lack of coordination.” T stands for Task: “My goal was to reorganise our workflow to ensure that our project was submitted on time.” A stands for Action: “I took the initiative to set up a system to track tasks.” R stands for Results: “As a result, we were able to finish the project on time with perfect coordination.”
Whenever you are asked, “Do you have any questions for us?” don’t reply in the negative. Prepare an intelligent question you can always ask later. For instance, “What is the company’s stance on AI?” or “What is the biggest challenge the team is facing right now?”
Always thank your interviewer for the opportunity, irrespective of how you think the interview went.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I do an internship while studying abroad?
Yes, many students do internships while studying abroad. It depends on the visa rules, host country laws and whether the university you are studying allows or supports internships.
How to find internship opportunities abroad?
You can find internship opportunities abroad by using job portals meant for international job markets, company career pages and LinkedIn. You can also leverage sites such as X (Formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.
Are international internships paid?
International internships can be paid or unpaid, depending on the country, industry and visa rules. Countries like Germany and Australia often offer paid internships, while some countries focus more on experience rather than salary.
What is the best time to do an internship?
The best time for internships is during summer or semester breaks, when academic pressure is a little lower. Many students also seek internship opportunities during their final or pre-final years to gain experience before graduating.
How much should an intern earn?
An intern’s salary depends on the country, industry and the level of experience. Countries like USA, Germany and Canada offer more competitive salaries than others.
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