How to get International Relations Experience Part Time

[HCLcoasters]

I'm looking to apply to a few diplomacy and policy programs next fall but my resume is sorely lacking international experience. I'm not really worried about other parts of my application so I'm certain I need to be improving in this area before I focus on anything else.

The problem is I have a full-time job in local government which means I don't really have the opportunity to just leave and grab a full-time IR internship. Is there any other way to gain the experience I need? Are there good volunteer opportunities or part-time positions I should be looking for? I'm in NYC btw. 

[tRoSeSTO]

I'm hardly an expert on this field. In fact, I'm currently lacking the same experience you desire. However, maybe some of the ideas I came up with while brainstorming may be useful. 

Of course, when most people (including me) think of IR experience, they jump to the big guns: United Nations, WTO, etc. But there may be plenty of smaller organizations that have greater scheduling flexibility. As a NYC resident, if anyone has access to them, it's you. 

Local NGOs, advocacy groups, and organizations that cater in the needs of foreigners and expatriates residing in/visiting the States are some options. For example: my area of interest is China, so I volunteered in my city's local Chinese-language newspaper. This led me to get involved with lots of people related to the local Chinese business community, which got me involved in other organizations that focus on Chinese-Americans. Maybe this would be "international-lite", but it's something to do with your free time!

Another consideration: see if you can pick up some amateur freelance work from sites like Fiverr. Maybe there's someone out there will to pay a bit of money for someone to write short IR articles for their blog/publication/etc. 

Hope some of mine are useful, or at least can get you thinking in the right direction. Let me know if you think of other ideas!

[tairos]

Reserves/national guard.  Be warned: will likely be more trouble than it's worth.

[irapplicant1776]

I wouldn't really call an internship or volunteering somewhere in NYC international experience. There are many opportunities to get experience abroad, including teaching English, or serving in the Peace Corps, or both. You just have to be willing to leave your job and "take the plunge," so to speak. Living abroad for an extended period will give you language skills that you can't acquire living in the U.S., more career/grad school funding opportunities, and of course experiences and memories that you'll never forget.

[ExponentialDecay]

On 11/25/2017 at 1:03 PM, irapplicant1776 said:

I wouldn't really call an internship or volunteering somewhere in NYC international experience. There are many opportunities to get experience abroad, including teaching English, or serving in the Peace Corps, or both. You just have to be willing to leave your job and "take the plunge," so to speak. Living abroad for an extended period will give you language skills that you can't acquire living in the U.S., more career/grad school funding opportunities, and of course experiences and memories that you'll never forget.

If your work is international or concerns foreigners in the US, it counts.