How to Get Work Experience While Studying Abroad

5 November 2025

International experience is a sought-after skill in the legal profession because you will be interacting with clients from many different backgrounds. Living and studying abroad demonstrates that you can successfully adapt to new situations and are open to learning about different cultures and perspectives.

In my experience, studying Global Law has only been advantageous. Yes, my friends have graduated a year before me but this extra year studying in a foreign jurisdiction has proven invaluable and has opened many more career opportunities for me. In this article, I intend to show you how I got my job as a law clerk whilst studying on exchange at The University of Auckland, New Zealand.

My experience

It didn’t take me long to fall in love with Aotearoa, New Zealand. Their respect for nature, the open heartedness of the Kiwis (New Zealand people), and the unique Māori cultural values which are interwoven into New Zealand society.

My favourite Māori proverb goes as follows: “Na te whakarongo me te titiro ka puta mai te korero” which can be translated as “Through looking and listening we gain wisdom”. This is spot on. We may think we understand different cultures, but it is not until we take the time to observe and hear people’s stories that we can truly empathise with their experiences. Now why am I rambling on about proverbs and empathy? Well, as someone who is interested in family law and protecting children, I learned one big lesson. I discovered that my understanding was shaped by a Western perspective of what a family is. It had never crossed my mind that my own cultural bias could in fact be contributing to the trauma many families experience. This encouraged me to learn more about how family law works in New Zealand.

Your goals

Ultimately, this is your year abroad and you can choose how to spend it. There is no right or wrong way to make the most of your time abroad. However, the one regret I have is not reflecting on my goals at the outset. Think to yourself ‘What do I want from this year abroad?’. Are you here to have a good time? Are you here to study and learn new things? Or can you see yourself working in another country in the future? You can do all these things with the right amount of forward planning. I am not saying to plan everything within an inch of its life - instead I will show you some simple ways to get ahead in your journey.

First things first

It may seem obvious, but you will be surprised at the amount of people who leave the admin to the last minute. Do the necessary things first, like finding accommodation, applying for your visa and liaising with Queen Mary and your host destination. It’s all boring stuff but important too.

Once you are organised and on top of all the admin tasks required of you, you can then move on to looking for work experience.

Step 1: Visa Conditions

Familiarise yourself with your visa conditions. You will most likely be on a student visa but if you have obtained an alternative visa, that is okay too. Somewhere in the list of conditions, there will be a clause on how many hours you may legally work. In New Zealand, on a student visa, I was able to work for up to 20 hours a week part-time alongside my studies. This can vary from country to country.

Step 2: Tax Code

Like with any country, you will have to pay taxes on your earnings. This means that you will need to apply for a national insurance number with your proof of address. In some countries, the name for such a number may be slightly different, for example in New Zealand it is called an IRD number. This merely requires a Google search in whichever country you are. Once you have this, you can start applying for jobs.

Step 3: Research

What are the main job listing websites in your country? There may be several, so narrow this down to 2 to 4 so that you do not get overwhelmed and stuck in the research stage of finding employment.

Most of these websites should have filters and you can put in ‘part-time legal work’. Of course, you will need to meet most of the requirements but sometimes there is some wriggle room if you email the firm directly. Look for office junior work or clerk roles which are available in your area. You may be lucky and get a job straight away but keep in mind that this is a foreign jurisdiction and you will need to demonstrate some knowledge of their systems. This is why I waited a semester before applying for jobs in the legal sector.

Once you have completed some modules in the field you are applying for you can use this to show that you have the culture-specific knowledge as well as international experience (your English experience).

I would say take things slowly and don’t disappoint yourself by taking things too quickly. You need to be able to show commitment and that you not only have English legal knowledge but have also immersed yourself in their jurisdiction too. Hence, I would say only start looking for work experience in your second semester.

Step 4: Rejection is redirection

The truth is that the job market is competitive wherever you are and therefore you are likely to either be rejected or not responded to at all. However, this does not need to be the end of your journey. I spent all semester break applying and being rejected which was disheartening but I realised I was applying for jobs beyond my reach (not even New Zealand law students were easily able to obtain these roles). Then, I had the idea to create a list of all the firms which might interest me. I decided to focus on smaller firms which may be more open to the idea of hiring an international student.

I looked at recent cases that these firms had worked on and focused on the areas of law which particularly interested me. I came across a recent Court of Appeal decision which was pivotal in matters relating to the Hague Convention in New Zealand. I read it multiple times and was fascinated by the outcome as well as the arguments made by counsel for both parties. It took a bit of digging but on the front page of all judgments you will tend to find the initials of the advocates on the case. Admittedly it did feel like detective work, but I then put the initials of the advocates into the country’s law society website, where you can find all registered lawyers in the given country by their name. Subsequently, I double checked that the names matched with the area of law they practice in and then jotted down their contact details.

Step 5: Reaching out

This step felt like the most awkward one and that was to reach out to the lawyers. I preferred to do this as an email because over the phone felt like cold calling which I do not like to do. Emailing gives people time to respond and think about your request rather than surprising someone.

My best advice is to keep it short and to the point. Remember to be polite and humble since you are the one requesting something from them. Be concise and rather than telling them absolutely everything about you, keep it to the case or work that inspired you to reach out to them; “show and not tell” as my mentor said to me.

You are asking for work experience or shadowing experience rather than applying for a job and therefore, you need to be flexible and show them why you would benefit as well as what you can offer in return.

Key things to include in the email:

• One-line short introduction about who you are and where you are in your studies.
• The case or work that drew your attention to the firm and why.
• How does this link up with your career aspirations?
• What experience do you have that would make you cope with the office environment and adapting to a foreign jurisdiction and new systems? (Remember they may not have experience in offering internship or work experience opportunities let alone for international students, so you need to show that there is a balance in what you will receive and what the firm will receive from you.)
• Emphasise why this is important for you and your plans after you finish.
• Acknowledge their time and round off your email.

Conclusion

At the end of the day this is your request for work experience. What worked for me may not work for you, but I hope it can be a guide to encourage you to do similar. But remember even if getting a job or international work experience is difficult or you do not succeed (a lot of it is about timing as well), it is not a failure on your part. The most important thing is that you have fun and make the most of your studies abroad.

By Lisa Maria Elliott, Final Year Law Student