Resume Builder
Identifying what you gained from your internship and learning how to explain it to potential employers is a critical step. While you may think the benefits of an international internship are self-evident, you will probably have to articulate them for someone else.
The resources provided below should help give you some key words and an opportunity to reflect on all that you have gained in your internship. Look also to your journal and your own words as you faced challenges and found solutions.
The website What's Up With Culture also provides a short module on re-entry, outcome assessment, and communicating your skills to employers. Don't forget to look in your IE3 Global Internships Handbook, where you can also find several of these exercises!
Defining Your Internship Accomplishments
Looking back through your journal and at the entire internship experience, what are three accomplishmeths of which you are most proud? These can be tangible, such as the final result of your project for the organizations, or intangible, such as a new understanding of international events.
Draw a table like the one below. List these three accomplishments in column 1. In column 2 list the skills you developed or applied toward this outcome. In column 3 list personal qualities that you demonstrated.
For example if you completed a database of community outreach information, you may have developed skills using a certain type of software or in information gathering. The qualities you needed to complete the job may have been persistence, creativity and organization.
Once you have completed the chart, work these accomplishments, skills and qualities into your resume and cover letters when applying for jobs. Also think about how you are going to explain them to employers. Always have a short story ready about what you accomplished and how it will apply to the job for which you are applying. For more information on updating resume, go to the Job Search Resources section of the website. ACCOMPLISHMENTS SKILLS QUALITIES
Interpersonal Skills
Below is a list of interpersonal skills that are common outcomes of international experiences and highly desirable to employers. Which of these did you develop or enhance through your internship?
Note down any that apply to you, then pick several that you think will be of greatest interest to employers. Be ready with a story that demonstrates how you used them during your international internship.
Perseverance Flexibility Independence Self-reliance Motivation Sense of curiosity Ability to "fit in" to new groups Ability to work in a multicultural group Second (or more) language ability Ability to work in a multilingual environment Ability to solve problems Demonstrated initiative Tolerance for stress Adaptability without judgment Negotiation skills Enhanced listening skills Sensitivity to cultural context Able to establish rapport quickly Time management skills Ability to cope with difficulty and rejection Accept responsibility for actions Clear written and oral communication skills Can communicate across barriers Possess an understanding of culture’s complexity Respect for difference and diversity Demonstrate self-confidence/self knowledge
List adapted from "What's Up With Culture?" website