My advice on doing an internship abroad

I was recently talking to a student at my school who was about to go on his internship abroad. It was funny because I recognised his concerns so much. He was still to nervously excited about the whole thing and I couldn’t help but relate. I remember how scary it all seemed to me and how much I wished I already knew what it was going to be like. In any case, I figured that now that it’s all behind me I could share some tips that would have helped me out:

1. Do not overthink it

There’s several reasons why this is a mistake but most importantly; it’s not going to help you. It doesn’t help you one bit to think and think and think about what’s going to happen and how you are going to do it. The truth is, you will just do it and that’s it. There’s not much more to it. The details will come when the time is there.

Additionally, I know that overthinking it gives you expectations and that can be a dangerous thing. I’m not saying to expect the worst, because that’s what I did and it just made the whole run up a bit tedious, but I do recommend not to get your hopes up too high because honestly; it’s just a part of your life. You will just be living in a different country and that is pretty epic, but simultaneously there will still be ups and downs, so it’s important to stay realistic.

2. You will do fine

I know that this is what everyone tells you: They do not expect you to know everything. But it is 100% true. I was terrified of not being able to do all the tasks I would get and that is so insane because in reality 1) you know more than you probably think, 2) they do not expect you to know things automatically and 3) you can always ask for help. You are there to learn so it is okay if you are struggling with something. And still, most tasks I would get would terrify me exactly until the point where I would just start working on them. The reality isn’t so scary.

3. Choose what suits you

Maybe the most vital decision I took when preparing to go abroad was which internship to do. Back then I had the choice between this big company in London with all these incredible opportunities to learn or a small office in a small town with unknow opportunities. I’m so glad that I chose the latter because it suits my personality perfectly and that is definitely okay. You don’t always have to do what seems right to other people. More important is that you choose what is right for you and what’s going to make you happy.

There’s probably loads more that I could say about this subject but I think these are the main things concerning the internship. Hope it helps!