Overseas Internships for International Students under the Epidemic: Proactive Actions to Broaden Job Search Pathways

Source: China Overseas Chinese Network

Under the epidemic, the overseas internship road of Chinese students

Under the COVID-19 pandemic, the academic and career development of Chinese students has been affected to a certain extent. What are the new features of internships in study abroad destinations that are closely related to career development and valued by Chinese students? What are the ways to get an internship? What are the tips for the interview? Through dialogue with several experienced students, this issue focuses on the overseas internship path of Chinese students under the epidemic.

School resources open a green channel

Xiao Yalan, who studied asset management at Yale University in the United States, just got a local internship opportunity, "I was contacted by the employer company, and I really want to thank the school's CDO." What is a CDO? How can you get an employer to come to your door? According to Xiao Yalan, CDO is the career development center of the School of Management, and many companies have contacts, students upload their resumes to the CDO's website, and the company can be seen at the other end. "The company felt that my internship experience matched their business needs and contacted me through the CDO." Xiao Yalan said.

Coincidentally, Kong Yuan, who studied in Singapore, has recently found a good internship opportunity through the school. Kong Yuan studied at the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Engineering and interned as an assistant estimator. "Our school has a useful website that posts targeted job postings for students from different colleges." Kong Yuan recalled the experience of finding an internship job, saying, "After I signed up for the relevant internship project on the school website, the teacher in charge of recruitment contacted me, helped me revise my resume, and made a lot of useful suggestions. ”

The reporter combed the relevant information and found that many foreign universities attach great importance to the construction of vocational centers. For students, it is a hub for a wealth of employment information and offers a wide range of internship opportunities.

Yang Zhuolun, the founder of InVisor International Education, who has many years of work experience in the study abroad industry, said in an interview with this reporter that the job search resources officially provided by foreign universities are ignored by many Chinese students. "The career centers of many foreign universities can not only help students link to a large number of positions, but also provide high-quality job search platform accounts. Not only that, its service is malleable, not limited to holding lectures, mock interviews, if students to take the initiative to communicate, may also be arranged personalized services. ”

"Using school resources is a quick way to find internship opportunities, because many employers will not openly recruit, but will directly connect with the school through alumni resources." Xiao Yalan said, "My employer is my alumni, out of trust in the school's teaching, talked to me about resume, background, and hired me. ”

Interview practice breaks through the language barrier

"Under the epidemic, in order to improve the communication efficiency of remote work, the requirements of local enterprises for the foreign language expression ability of international students have been significantly improved." Ding Qianqian, a registered career planner of the British Career Development Association, told this reporter. Not only that, but the epidemic has spawned online recruitment, video dialogue mode eliminates body language, and oral expression becomes more important.

In this regard, Kong Yuan felt very deeply. "When I first started looking for an internship, I was nervous if it was a video interview." Kong Yuan said, "In fact, after learning English for so many years, dialogue is no problem, but in the special scene of video interview, it is still difficult to express fluently and skillfully." She shared her skills, "I will first do oral training on the day of the interview to familiarize myself with the feeling of English communication in advance; in addition, as the interview experience increases, I can constantly summarize the experience, adjust myself, and answer more methodically." ”

"When you are interviewing, you compete with your Japanese classmates, and the weakness of your language cannot be ignored." Ding Ting, who graduated from Ritsumeikan University in Japan, felt the same way, "I want to enter the consulting industry internship, and the group interview not only requires proficiency in Japanese to analyze cases, but also needs to 'cooperate' with members. ”

Ding Ting recalled that at that time, when the epidemic broke out, the interview was transferred online, and her experience was that The Japanese interview required a lot of preparation. "Specifically, it's about practicing repeatedly. I have practiced with Japanese friends and signed up for various mock interviews. In the end, Ding Ting received an internship acceptance letter from the company she wanted.

According to Ding Qianqian's observation, for Chinese students studying abroad, "you must not be afraid to say." After I met many international students in the UK who got the opportunity to interview, the first question was to ask whether the interview was in English or Chinese, and it was recommended that students should not worry about speaking badly, but first open their mouths, because only in this way can your language level improve faster."

Take positive action to broaden your job search

"At the beginning, the resume thrown out sank into the sea." Han Haoyang, a digital media manager at Birkbeck College, University of London, talked about his job search process, at first he searched for jobs on the Internet, but the number was limited, especially the competition for good jobs was fierce, and there were few replies after delivery. When he was worried, Han Haoyang asked a student for advice and learned that there was a good job search agency in the local area that could help international students find internship opportunities. Therefore, he took the initiative to contact and inquire, "After communicating with professional teachers, I realized that there were many problems with the stacking of information on my resume. Eventually, the agency provided a lot of quality job information and helped me find my current internship. ”

Han Haoyang's experience confirms from the side that in the process of looking for internship opportunities, Chinese students turn passive into active and search for internship opportunities through various channels.

In this regard, Yang Zhuolun holds the same view. He believes that international students can use professional social platforms such as LinkedIn, alumni address books, and actively participate in online activities, which can help everyone get internship opportunities, the inward promotion of seniors and the guidance of industry insiders in the first place.

According to Yang Zhuolun's observation, during the epidemic, it is more difficult to expand local networks, because it is difficult to deepen online interpersonal communication, and the opportunities for internal promotion are reduced, while submitting resumes directly on recruitment websites is fiercely competitive. Proactive, proactive and early preparation are the necessary qualities and skills for Chinese students to win their job search.

Ding Ting's successful experience is to "prepare early". "On the one hand, finding internship opportunities cannot be delayed, and early preparation can win at the starting line. Internship job search in Japan requires preparation to start one year in advance. When I was in graduate school, I realized I had to act. Ding Ting said.

Ding Qianqian, who has a large number of experience with international students, suggested that students set up a job search plan, such as making it clear how many hours a week to spend looking for internships. "Whether it is in the midst of the epidemic or the changes encountered in the future, international students need to have the ability to act quickly in the unknown variables." Ding Qianqian said.

Internship opportunities vary from country to country (link)

Ding Ting, a graduate of Ritsumeikan University in Japan, recommends trying more, for example, the types of internships in Japan are usually divided into long-term and short-term. There is no limit to the specific time of long-term internship, short-term internship time is one day or even half a day, the purpose is to let job seekers feel the company atmosphere in advance and understand the company culture. Students can use this to enter different industries, experience more, and choose more.

According to Hong Haipei, who graduated from the Technical University of Chemnitz in Germany, the channels for finding internship opportunities in Germany include school websites, career social platforms, company websites, and acquaintance recommendations. He once found an internship at a local watch company, because the company needed a classmate who knew both German and Chinese to do translation work, which matched Hong Haipei's academic background and successfully passed the interview.

Indeed, international students and local students compete, understand their strengths and weaknesses, avoid weak job search areas, and focus on positions with higher success rates. Few companies are international for the sake of internationalization, but some positions tend to recruit Chinese students, such as companies with business in China, which can be focused on.

Study in the UK and the US Which websites can look for internship opportunities (Further reading)

According to the WeChat public account of Bamboo Alliance, international students in the UK can obtain internship information through the following websites:

1. Student Circus The website is a job search site for UK students who are currently vying for a Tier 4 visa, and the platform lists internship opportunities offered by UK companies.

2. Ratemyplacement The website provides students with internship information in different industries, and it is also an online forum where students can write down their internship feedback for others to refer to.

If you are studying in the United States, you can find internship opportunities by following the following job search sites:

1. LinkedIn The site provides u.S. businesses and employment-oriented online services that allow job seekers to post resumes and employers to post jobs. LinkedIn is a work-oriented social platform, first create an account, complete the profile, select "Internship" in the job type at the top of the page, you can immediately see which contacts work in different companies.

2. Indeed The website is committed to improving the online job search experience and striving to provide comprehensive and accurate recruitment information for job seekers.

3. Idealist The website was originally a platform for connecting different communities and non-profit organizations, and later added information such as volunteer recruitment, job vacancies, internships, and activities. (Reporter Zhou Shuyun)