For more than 60 years, millions of young people around the world have been able to enjoy a volunteer or internship opportunity abroad thanks to AIESEC. These opportunities seek to offer young people an immersion in the society and culture of the country that welcomes them that opens their mind to explore the world and see how they can impact it.

Today, there are many companies, organizations and entities that throughout our country and the world offer and give opportunities to young people to go abroad to live a different and transforming experience. However, AIESEC brings something distinctive: the experience of having carried out countless exchanges and opportunities and of having welcomed people from all over the world into their communities, through a development model that we have established based on thousands of experiences. .

In an adverse global environment for youth employment, many companies see an internship as a great opportunity to attract young talent . Thanks to this, young people can play an important role in the life of organizations and in turn in the global economy, joining work teams learning and working.

For this reason, it is very important for each company to analyze whether it can welcome an outsider into its organizations and teams and whether it has the time and resources to dedicate time to their reception, training and development in the company. At AIESEC, we understand that internships are a means to develop the leaders of tomorrow’s society,  while contributing to production. They are a way to train the lawyers, businessmen, doctors, teachers or engineers who will manage the future economy , so we look for companies that have an implication and see a greater good in the practices beyond their functions and responsibilities.

From our experience we can say that in order to fulfill this social function, young people’s practices must have some characteristics that we summarize here so that it is really a step forward, a boost of experience and knowledge in their career and not simply a job that occupied them for a few months.

• Welcome . When an intern enters a company, it is very favorable for their incorporation to develop a welcome plan in the organization. This is more important if possible in the case of receiving a foreign person, due to the culture shock that they suffer in addition to their first day of work in a place they do not know.

• Follow up . The fellow must be motivated and satisfied with what he does and with the role he plays in the organization. For this, the figure of a mentor or tutor is ideal to help solve the small misunderstandings of coexistence and be a support in the most complicated moments.

• Training . It also contributes to the result of the experience that the person is trained in those skills that can be detected weaker and that can be influenced in a short period of time, such as social skills, teamwork, commercial and sales skills …

• Inclusion . When any young person joins a company as an intern, it is very important to show him that he is also part of the organization and more specifically of the staff. Being a foreign person, this is even more important. Small gestures such as inviting him to an informal company meeting or asking for his opinion on what decision to make in a certain aspect will have a multiplier effect on the bond with the intern.

• Fired. It is advisable to take stock of their achievements and the results of their work during their stay at the intern’s exit , and to let them know that their time at the organization has not left anyone indifferent. It is also good and productive, as we have seen on past occasions, to leave the doors open for future collaborations , because perhaps your company will be interested in selling in your country for a while and this will be an excellent way to do so.

 If you want to be part of our project, contact us here or visit our Opportunities Portal to see how we can work together

By Ángel Iglesias Corbato