Over the past few months, ISA Internships has had the exciting opportunity to offer up Global Remote Internships for students to gain professional experience, develop intercultural competency, and build career readiness from home.
Our team began to wonder: how do our Global Remote Interns stack up to the average intern?
Through Skill Survey, we measured students in all eight NACE identified Career Readiness core competencies: Professionalism & Work Ethic, Oral & Written Communications, Digital Technology, Teamwork & Collaboration, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving, Career Management, Leadership, and Global & Intercultural Fluency. In these evaluations, our interns were scored by their internship supervisors out of 7 in each of the Career Readiness competency areas, asking whether students demonstrated certain skills attributed to each skillset “never” (1) to “always” (7). Results from our interns averaged between 6.23 and 6.67 in frequency, with an average overall competency score of 6.41.
In every area, our interns performed above average among 12,380 other students assessed nationally. On average, an ISA Global Remote intern scored 11.71 percentile points higher than their peers. Our interns particularly stood out in their oral and written communication, teamwork and collaboration, and intercultural fluency skills—falling into the 71st, 76.8th, and 76th percentiles respectively. We found these results particularly fascinating, as many indicate that these three skills are engaged with most in a virtual international internship.
So how are we generating this success? Through our intentionally delivered Professional Development Toolbox resources, we’re able to give each of our interns individualized career support, professional development resources, and personal coaching throughout the duration of their Global Remote Internship. These come in the form of advising sessions, check-in calls, virtual professional development workshops, individual supervision, virtual orientation, workbooks, a variety of additional resources, personalized career advice, and our Career Readiness Course.
ISA’s Career Readiness course was developed by ISA Internships with the eight NACE career readiness competencies in mind, delivering resources like videos, webinars, worksheets, reflections, and more, all aimed at developing one specific competency. To receive a certificate of completion, students must complete a total of ten assignments (one from each skill area). Every assignment is reviewed by the student’s ISA Career Advisor, who provides personalized feedback on the work.
Because of these resources, we can provide students the structure and tools they need to maximize their virtual internship experience and gain valuable skills for their future careers. We are dedicated to using this data to continue to improve our programs for future students and to ensure that each student receives the best support and resources for internship success.
If you’re curious about ISA Global Remote Internships and everything we do to support our students in career readiness, visit us at studiesabroad.com/experience to learn more about our programs! And don’t just take our word for it – hear from ISA Global Remote Internships alum Alexander and his experience during his Summer 2020 program.
