RESUME & COVER LETTER BUILDING

Once you have completed your internship abroad, you should make sure to add it to your resume and Linkedin profile. Employers truly appreciate international experience, as it shows that you know how to work outside your comfort zone, overcome challenges, and communicate across cultures. 

It can be challenging to summarize all you have learned during the experience, which is why we have created this guide.

Resumes are the perfect opportunity to showcase your education, skills, and experience. Your resume serves as a snapshot of who you are and is often the first impression you get to make with an employer. Keep it clean, concise, and tailored for the types of jobs or internships you are looking for. The resources below provide excellent tips and tricks to help you create your first resume, or improve your existing one. We also encourage you to reach out to your university’s career services office for additional guidance and support. 

External Links: 

• Building your First Resume

• Tips for Writing an Exceptional Resume

• The difference between a Resume and a Curriculum Vitae (CV) 

• 45 Best Resume Tips and Tricks 

• 10 Online Tools To Create Impressive Resumes 

• Supporting Documents for a Job Application

• Most Common Job Application Mistakes: 20 Biggest Job Application Mistakes to Avoid

According to the QS Global Employer Survey Report, 6 out of 10 employers around the world put higher value on candidates with international experience and more than 80% said they actively searched for graduates who had been abroad. 

But, not all abroad experiences are the same. Some employers could see your experience in Barcelona as academic tourism, which is why it's so important to communicate the value of your internship abroad in order to change their minds. It's not enough to say that you studied or interned abroad, but rather what skills you learned, how it taught you to adapt to new environments, and how it makes you more valuable as an employee.

This exercise will help you not only with your resume, but also with future cover letters and interviews. Communicating the new skills you acquired in your internship is the key to a successful resume, cover letter, and job interview.

STEP 2: Summarize in writing the position’s (1) expectations/duties, (2) knowledge/skills required, and (3) characteristics/qualities that the ideal candidate would have.

STEP 4:  Showcase the city of Barcelona, and what professional skills you learned from interning specifically in Barcelona vs. elsewhere. For example, you could say that Barcelona is a very international and multi-cultural city, so you learned to effectively communicate across cultures and even across languages. You could also say that Barcelona is the start-up hub of southern Europe, so your internship gave you hands on experience working in a successful start up.

Cover letters are a way to communicate your skills, interests, and goals to a potential employer. This can be a great place to give some context to the experiences you have on your resume, why you think you’d be a good fit for the position, and why you'd be excited to work at a specific company. As with resumes, cover letters should be tailored to the position you’re applying for. They also serve as a great example of your written communication skills, so be sure to proofread your work before sending! For more tips on cover letters, check out the resources below. 

External Links:

• How to Write a Cover Letter

• The Comprehensive Guide to Writing a Knockout Cover Letter Every Time

• Cover Letter Examples for Job Applications

• Real Cover Letters from People Who Got Hired

• Seven Steps To Writing Cover Letters Quickly And Effectively

Portfolios are not just for artists. No matter your major, a portfolio is a great way to showcase the work you’ve done to future employers. This can include things such as research findings, group projects, reports, designs, prototypes, published articles, or marketing campaigns. The tips below will help you compile your portfolio and help you share your accomplishments with future employers. 

External Links: 

• What is a Work Portfolio and Do I Need One? 

• How to Build a Portfolio

Useful Link to Build Your Portfolio:

• Issuu.com

• FLIPHTMPL5.com

• Adobe Express

• Canva

LinkedIn is an incredibly useful tool to connect with other professionals and learn about new opportunities. Whether you are networking or job searching, having a complete LinkedIn profile will help you make a positive impression on employers and colleagues in your field. For more tips on getting started with Linkedin, check out the resources below. 

External Links:

• Rock Your LinkedIn Profile in 5 Easy Steps

• The 31 Best LinkedIn Profile Tips for Job Seekers

References 

It can be helpful to identify a few key people in your network that you are close with or have a lot to learn from. These people could be professors, bosses, supervisors, or other professionals in your field. In the case of being "past" contacts (in other words, they are no longer your current professor or supervisor), you should aim to keep in contact with these people on a semi-regular basis. If you plan to list them as a reference, make sure you ask them first and get their preferred contact information and inform them of your plans!  If you get the job, be sure to follow up with them and say thank you! 

Mentors 

If you are looking for a mentor in the field and it is someone new or someone you don't know that well, feel free to ask them if they would be willing to sit down or video chat with you for an informal informational interview. You want to get their perspective on the field. You can ask about their path into the field, what professional goals they have, or what they wish they knew when they were first starting out. For this to be successful, you want to make all of your mentor interactions as simple as possible. Professionals are busy people, so be conscious of their time by keeping your interactions brief and simple. If you ask them for favors or introductions, make sure to acknowledge your gratitude for their effort. Of course, you should always follow up with a thank you! 

Ideas for Staying Connected 

• Be proactive!

• Connect on LinkedIn 

• Stay up to date as your connections reach milestones, switch jobs, post updates, and don't be afraid to engage with them to congratulate or ask them questions about their updates. For example, maybe they posted about attending an industry conference - you can ask about their favorite takeaway!  

• Find an interesting article to send to a meaningful connection in your network. This shows you are thinking of them and interested in their work and are capable of taking scholarly initiative.