Benefits of a Remote Internship and Tips to Finding One

Upon returning to my home in Canada, after a year spent teaching English in Japan, I was actively seeking an internship in diplomatic affairs. I wanted to promote the cultural ties between Canada and Japan at home and abroad. Having studied the cultures and languages of East Asia, and then gained international work experience, diplomatic affairs seemed like the perfect fit. While I’ve had interviews at Consulates and Embassies in Canada, it never really worked out. I was in a tough position, but it made me realise how difficult the job market is, and sometimes you will need to re-adjust your aim. 

Kathy Ramboni

Kathy holds a Bachelor’s degree in East-Asian Studies and Political Science from McGill University. She is particularly interested in Canada-Asia relations, Politics of Asia, and Economic Sustainability. Previously, she was a Program Assistant with Citynet Secretariat, working on matters of sustainable development in Asia. Prior to that role, she worked at a private English teaching company in Japan. Now, she’s part of the Canadian International Council - Young Professional Network’s Research/Policy committee, and is also taking Japanese classes in her spare time. She plans to further her education in Public Policy in Asia in the near future.

Unfortunately, while still searching for an opportunity, we were hit with a pandemic. Internships and job openings drastically decreased overnight. Fast forward to summer 2020, the job market, in Canada, slowly started to pick up again. Through applying in loads of different places like international organisations and NGOs and learning from online courses during lockdown, I found a paid internship at an international NGO called Citynet Secretariat. While their headquarters is in Korea, I was able to do my internship remotely. 

In this piece, I’ll explain how a virtual internship has helped me in my career development in foreign affairs and how it could help you too.

1. Applying your academic studies to real-world projects

Gaining practical skills from the comfort of your home is still possible, which is good news since traveling in a pandemic is near impossible, and will change forever afterwards. It is expected that working from home will likely become more common for years to come. While interning remotely at Citynet Secretariat, I reviewed and edited sustainable development policies and best practices from local governments in the Asia-Pacific region. I also conducted an in-depth analysis of each case to classify the latter to the appropriate Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which will help the Urban SDG Knowledge Platform  better support city-to-city cooperation. For those who might be interested, in Europe, the Visegrád Four also similarly advances cooperation in security, economic, and cultural matters. Through my mandate, I did not only sharpen my analytical and communication skills, but I also put into practice the knowledge I’ve acquired through my academic modules on Asia and in Comparative Politics. Despite being conducted online, I could still work on projects related to my main topics of interest which I loved!

When searching for a remote internship, my advice is to ask yourself what are the specific skills you wish to gain; can those skills be addressed online? I did a lot of editing and analyzing of documents while at Citynet because those tasks could easily be translated online. However, if you want to earn local understandings of criminal justice in Cambodia, for instance, because you’ve completed studies in international development and that’s where your interest lies, that might be a little trickier. There are just some competencies that are easier to acquire through fieldwork. This doesn’t mean there isn't an opportunity for you to gain skills virtually that could help though, such as a remote legal internship with the Cambodian legal system.

In short, virtual internships can help you develop specific theoretical skills, rather than hands-on experience. Through more analytical roles, you could get a chance to apply concepts and theories you learned inside the classroom to real-world projects. Remember, however, that vocational training will be more difficult to tackle online. 

2. Being able to work remotely across time zones and cultures

I live in Montreal, Canada, which meant that I had to learn how to work through a 13-hour time difference with my coworkers in Seoul. By chance, the host organisation allowed me to work based on the Eastern Canadian schedule. I didn’t have to work at night while my coworkers were in the office in the afternoon (Korea time), but my supervisor entrusted me with completing my assigned work in time. Also, working from a different time zone meant that I had to be able to work under minimal supervision - it is likely if you were to go forward with a virtual internship this would be the case for you too. Don’t fret, though! With a well-established routine, you shouldn’t encounter any serious issues. To keep myself on track, I wrote my daily tasks in my agenda, and regularly wrote a mini-report on my progress to my supervisor. 

On another note, since most of my coworkers were Korean, I was introduced to another work culture. The communication style in Korea is quite different from Canada; it’s more indirect and quite hierarchical. For example, the order of names included in an email must reflect each person’s position within the work pyramid. A project officer’s name shouldn’t come before a Director of programs. Otherwise, it is considered as a sign of disrespect on the part of the sender. This experience taught me that even remotely I still had to learn how to adapt to a foreign work culture, which is good as it’s an essential skill to have for anyone wishing to work either abroad or with foreign stakeholders. Also, being able to communicate to people in the local language will earn you much praise. 

To avoid any cultural faux-pas at work, I suggest researching about the country’s social etiquette before the start of your internship and to brush up on your language skills. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to your closest coworkers! It might feel silly at first, but as explained above, knowing your organisation’s email etiquette can go a long way in maintaining good professional relationships. 

3. Building meaningful professional relationships

My supervisor and I always scheduled weekly Zoom meetings. Through our video calls, he lent me support by guiding me through the work and answering my questions, while he also kept me posted on Citynet’s scheduled online activities during my internship. 

While it’s true that judging the office’s vibe through virtual interaction is tricky, you can still build a solid professional network virtually by showing interest in your coworkers’ career paths, for instance. Towards the end of our Zoom calls, I liked asking my supervisor about his core interests, how he managed to get a permanent position at Citynet, and if he had any career tips for young professionals in foreign affairs. He even mentioned work opportunities in East Asia, since I’m interested to work there again. Now I’m grateful that I can say my former supervisor at Citynet was sort of like a mentor to me, and I can rely on him as a strong reference for future applications. 

In the end, showing interest in why and what your coworkers are doing in your department, during a more casual zoom call, can be a good way to foster more significant professional relationships. In my experience, senior coworkers appreciate it when you show interest in their respective expertise so it’s always worth asking them about their career paths!

4. Finding the right opportunities 

To help with your search, you could look at your local youth social services to find if they have work placements available in foreign affairs. That’s how I found a paid internship with Citynet Secretariat. “Les Offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec” (LOJIQ), a governmental organisation in Quebec, supports students and young professionals in gaining international work experience by offering paid internships at international organisations and delegations, among others. I found it helpful to have LOJIQ’s support throughout my internship because they did their best to maximise my remote experience by offering work advice and counseling if needed. 

Another tip to boost your chances of finding the right opportunity is to follow relevant organisations and associations on social media. Not only is it a great way for you to stay updated about their projects but you’ll also be the first to know about their job openings and internships. You could also attend your favourite organisations’ webinars and workshops to network with people already in the field. You never know if a project officer is about to hire interns for the summer! It’s also fun to meet other people who share your research interests.

For anyone interested in paid internships in human rights, I know that the International Bureau for Children’s Rights and Equitas often advertise openings on LinkedIn. In sustainable development and international cooperation, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and the International Secretariat for Water also hire paid interns to work with them.

Concluding thoughts

Doing an online internship has given me the opportunity to sharpen my analytical and editorial skills, while also learning how to work remotely through time zones and cultures. My experience even helped me grow my professional network globally, which is always handy for future work abroad opportunities. Above all, given the future’s uncertainty, it’s best to be as flexible as possible. Now I’m confident that with these competencies, regardless of whether I’m working remotely or in-person, I won’t have any problems adapting to a work style in particular. I hope that this helps you in your search for remote internships/positions and wish you the best of luck!

Edited by Lauren Matthews

Published 27th April 2021