Internships are an excellent tool for advancing your skills in a field of interest. These positions help young adults find a career path, test their aptitude for certain kinds of work, and further develop their resume or CV. Internships are almost always unpaid as the intern is gaining skills and experience. It is critical to find the right match so that the relationship is beneficial to both intern and company. Full time students have the easiest time finding internships because of their age, lack of real life skills, amount of free time, and education.
To secure an internship aboard, it may be necessary to find a company that sets-up the internship. Internships are commonly set-up through a university for its students. That said, you can also try to establish direct contact with companies of your interest.
Internships in Latvia
Internships are offered by companies of all sizes and in virtually all industries. Once you have decided on the spheres of work that interest you, you can proceed in three ways. First, you can use an online search engine for finding a suitable internship (see more in the next section). Second, you can use the Internet to find relevant businesses and contact them directly, inquiring whether they accept international interns. Third, you can use the services of a company in your country that sets up internships abroad, or use the student services of your university.
Search for Internships
Online
The best online search engine for finding an internship in Latvia is Prakse.lv that lists over 3000 companies in numerous industries. Around 300 of the companies also offer virtual internships. In order to contact a company regarding an internship, you will need to demonstrate some background knowledge about the company by answering a few simple questions.
It is also possible to apply directly with organizations. Research your area of interest and find if there are any organizations with online applications.
Newspaper
Several papers have a helpful classified's section. These include the four large dailies:
Networking
Often landing the internship of your dreams is not possible without some networking. Before arriving in Latvia you can try to establish some contacts online, e.g., through LinkedIn groups such as EasyExpat, job LATVIA, or biz Latvia, or internet forums such as the Easy Expat Latvia forums.
Visa
If hired through an agency, the agency usually guides the intern through the process. EU citizens can spend up to 90 days in Latvia without a visa, whereas citizens of other countries need to apply for a visa.
For more information on visa, consult the section on "Passport and Visas".
Update 26/08/2015
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