Discover the Benefits of International Interns & Trainees
Many companies in the U.S. don’t realize how much value international interns and trainees can bring to their businesses. Yet in a world of instantaneous communication and global interactions, an international perspective can make your business significantly more competitive. With all that international interns can bring to a business—including diverse educational backgrounds, specialized expertise, and multilingual skills—it’s surprising that relatively few American businesses take advantage of the opportunity to hire them.
At InterExchange, we’ve heard lots of reasons why businesses think they can’t hire international interns and trainees through our J-1 Visa program. But we’ve rarely heard any good reasons. Here are a few things we hear from employers who haven’t tried InterExchange Career Training USA. And here’s what we tell them.
Myth #1: "Interns don’t add much to the team.”
It’s a common misconception that interns and trainees can only do menial tasks like filing, making copies, or getting coffee. If that’s what you want your interns to do, this probably isn’t the right program for you. (In fact, State Department regulations stipulate that no more than 20% of the intern’s or trainee’s job can consist of administrative tasks.) International interns are highly educated in their fields, and most trainees have both degrees and professional experience. Their different educational and professional backgrounds make them uniquely qualified to participate in a variety of projects—from global advertising campaigns to hotel marketing strategies. The participants in our program not only want to learn from you but also to contribute to your success.
Myth #2: “We can just stick with American interns.”
American interns can be a great asset to your company, but international interns and trainees offer a few unique advantages. Since their participation is not tied to an academic calendar, they can begin working for you at any time during the year, not just at the beginning of a semester. Also, they can remain with your company for a longer period than most American interns. International interns can stay for up to 12 months, while trainees can remain with you for up to 18 months. This extended employment period alleviates the need to continually retrain interns every few months, and allows the participants to contribute more fully to long-term projects.
Myth #3: “It’s complicated to bring them to the U.S.”
When you work with InterExchange, we keep the process hassle-free. We thoroughly screen all participants to make sure that they will qualify for a J-1 Visa before we submit them for your consideration. You will only review applicants who are J-1 Visa-qualified, and after you make your hiring decision, InterExchange assists your intern or trainee with all of his or her visa paperwork and documentation.
Myth #4: “There’s going to be a language barrier.”
You don’t need to worry about a language barrier with interns and trainees from InterExchange Career Training USA. We conduct a comprehensive screening process to ensure a high standard of English in all of our participants, including comprehension of English terminology specific to their professional field. If anything, their multilingual skills are an advantage to your business.
Myth #5: “We’ll be taking jobs away from Americans.”
U.S. employers are rightfully concerned about keeping Americans employed—especially during difficult economic times. International interns and trainees pose no threat to American workers. They come to the USA on a temporary, non-immigrant visa solely for the purposes of training and cultural exchange. Participants in our program expect—and want—to pursue their careers in their home countries after they complete their program.
Find out what InterExchange Career Training USA can do for your business.
Tap into the valuable resource of international interns and trainees. InterExchange experts are available anytime to discuss how our program can help advance your business.
Call 1-888-621-1202 or email us for more information or Register Now for free.
What Our Employers Say
"Our goal is to teach managerial skills, and eventually allow the interns to direct a team of people. After her first 3-4 months in the office, our first intern was put in charge of the other interns. Now I’m moving her to assistant supervisor. She’s very good and gets along with everyone. In fact, we made her “employee of the month”, and gave her a bonus.”
--P.E., Focus World International, New Jersey
“Our company already had roots in Africa and the U.K., so this was a good opportunity to train interns from those countries here in the United States, and then set them up with our office in their home country. They use this experience to help them move forward in the company. From a training perspective, here we are able to maximize our training resources. We’re getting much more cost efficiency here in the U.S.”
–G.M., Makosi, Inc., New York, NY
