How To Write A Resume For An Internship Position

Make It Easily Readable

The main two ways of showcasing your work responsibilities and achievements are either through the use of bullet points or by using a narrative style. The former can potentially minimize the importance of your accomplishments, and the latter can be hard to read, so the best approach is usually a mix of the two. A brief paragraph in which you describe your responsibilities, followed by a few bullet points outlining your achievements, is often an effective approach.

Craft A Summary Statement As Unique As You Are

To write a summary statement specific to an internship youre pursuing, highlight job experience or classes you’ve taken within the same field. For example, if you’re applying to internships in journalism and have written press releases for a department on campus, include that in your summary statement.

You can also look for keywords in the job posting that act as clues to the type of candidate desired. If the posting lists detail-oriented, for instance, you can showcase a project or position that required close attention to instructions and outcomes.

Quantifiable results quickly grab the attention of the decision-maker scanning your resume. An excellent example of a summary statement with detailed explanations of achievements may go like this:

Resume objectives have largely gone the way of the dinosaur, replaced by summary statements however, if you’re seeking an internship as part of a huge career change, an objective statement helps to clarify why your job history doesn’t match your career goals.

When To Leave Out Internships

You can begin to remove internships from your resume when youve developed enough work experience in your field. After about five or so years in your industry, you can focus primarily on this work history rather than on your past internship experience.

If you held a particularly prestigious internship in your field, you might keep it on your resume for a bit longer.

For example, if you had an internship at Google or Facebook, or another important internship in your industry, keep it on your resume.

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Ability To Communicate Effectively

The cover letter is your first opportunity to let the employer see your communication style and how clearly and concisely you can get your point across to the reader.

Communication is a vital part of any job or internship as you take direction and share progress and reflections with your supervisor, and employers want to know that you already possess this skill. You can convey effective communication by clearly addressing components of the job posting and asking someone to proofread your letter to ensure that you have clearly explained your experience and preparation for the position.

How To Write A Resume For An Internship Position

This post has been originally published on May 7, 2018 and has been extensively revised and updated on April 1st, 2019.

Thousands of fresh-faced students attempt to take their first steps towards their chosen career each year by taking up an internship. With participation rates increasing almost threefold in recent years, the pressure is on to make sure that your resume is on point to land you the internship that you want.

Internships can offer a student a very valuable opportunity because they can enable you to get some professional work experience under your belt while you continue your studies.

For those looking to land themselves with a good internship, it is essential that your get your application absolutely spot on. This means that your resume or CV should be perfect as this will be your first point of contact with your potential new employer.

When you think that an average of 40 people apply for each internship with leading companies, you will need to make your resume stand out from the crowd if you are ever going to get a look-in.

Lets take a closer look at what you should focus on to make your resume stand out. You can make building your resume much easier by breaking it up into several different sections. Including these sections on your resume will mean that you are delivering everything a recruiter wants, but it will also help you to focus on getting each section right before moving onto the next one.

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Impress Hirers With Your Achievements

An effective way to compensate for your lack of experience is by highlighting your achievements in school or in other outside endeavours. These could be academic distinctions, awards won in or outside school, contests you may have joined, or projects you were involved in. Make sure to cite concrete achievements.

Example:

1st Place Winner, Malaysian Poetry Week logo design contest

Directed and edited graduation video for James Institute class of 2020

Showcase Your Relevant Skills

Writing a strong resume skills section will set you apart in your job search and increase your chances of landing an interview. However, if youre like most no-experience job-seekers, your technical skills may be limited.

In this case, use your resume to highlight the soft skills youve acquired throughout your life. Soft skills are applicable for nearly any industry, and are valued by employers.

Here are some examples of soft skills:

• Critical thinking
• Positive attitude
• Assertiveness

Additionally, listing foreign language skills on your resume is a great way to stand out from other applicants and fill out your skills section.

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How To List An Internship On A Resume With Examples

In todays competitive job market, a relevant internship can set you apart from other job applicants. This is especially true if you are a student or recent graduate with little work experience, or if you are changing careers.

Dont hide your internship experiences at the bottom of your resume. Instead, highlight your internship experiences, and detail how they have prepared you for the job you want.

Make An Additional Section Highlighting Your Major Student Accomplishments

After youve listed your main academic details, its time to fill out your internship resume with a bit more substance. Depending on what youve already studied in school, create an additional section thats 1.) relevant to the internship you want, and 2.) highlights your greatest accomplishments as a student.

Some potential titles for this section, depending on your major and background, include:

• Projects
• Achievements
• Research Papers

Including one of these categories gives you a chance to expand on the top highlights of your educational experience.

What can I include in this section?

Students can elaborate on just about anything in these sections. But its best to stick to topics that are relevant to the internship and will help an employer best understand how youll perform at their company.

In general, high school students tend to focus on their club participation, while college students often describe major class projects.

You can also include your hobbies and interests on your resume, volunteer work, as well as sorority / fraternity experience if these examples help emphasize positive personality traits you can apply in a work setting.

How do I format this section?

Think of this section as a work experience section. The name of the club or project should be used as the header, and you should explain your relevant achievements and duties in bullet points under the header. Also include dates if the project was done under a time constraint.

Major Achievements Section

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What Information And Sections Do You Include In Your Resume

So, what are the most important components that should always be included when making your resume? Theres no one-answer-fits-all, but here are some suggested sections:

• Heading: First things first: at a minimum, the information at the top of your resume should include your name, email address , and phone number. While a physical address is less important for online applications, tradition means that many hiring managers expect it. At least include your city and state.Also, your email address should have an appropriate username. Instead of some goofy or otherwise unprofessional username, simply use your last name and a number . Unfortunately, hisroyalhotness@email.com is not acceptable. As for your phones voicemail message, dont add music or joke around too much. Instead, state your name and that youll return calls as soon as possible. Thats it!

Heres an example for a marketing executive:

This example highlights the individuals expertise in leadership, marketing, and sales. For advanced positions, C-Level especially, such miniature biographies appear more polished than a bulleted list of skills and accomplishments.

Note: Throughout your resume, avoid using pronouns

CORE COMPETENCIES

Hiring managers love to see accomplishments like these from job applicantsand they love to see hard numbers. If you cant think of any quantifiable accomplishments off the top of your head, try harder! Heres another marketing example:

Note:

What Is The Best Format For A Resume For An Internship

The resume format that you should use depends on the specific field and position youre after. However, there are some rules that apply to most internship CVs.

Remember that your resume is already evidence of your writing and communication skills. Thats why you should make it as readable as possible, using strategies such as:

• Short sentences and paragraphs
• Bolding
• Clear sections

You want to save the reader time and allow them to scan the document quickly and immediately access the most important information.

The design should also be as sleek and clear as possible so that it doesnt tire the readers eyes. However, those who are applying for an internship in fields like photography and design can take the opportunity to let their skills shine with a more creative approach.

Companies are aware that most interns dont have much experience. Thats why an internship resume should be concise and to the point. As a rule of thumb, keep the document under 2 pages long.

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Sample Of Resume For An Internship Application

Writing resumes can be a very tricky affair because your resume is basically an introduction to your employer. So you can be rest assured that first impression matters. Prior to receiving your resume, the recruiter or employer has no knowledge of who you are or your previous achievements as grand as they might be, so always aim not to impress but to express.

The recruiter will probably be more interested in getting to know who you are as a person than the things youve achieved and theres a very high probability that it is not a lot given that youre applying for an internship anyway.

A recent study conducted shows that the average recruiter takes a look at a resume for no longer than six seconds and will only look for any longer period of time if the six-second glance was worth it.

So kindly look inwards and try to come up with a way to establish a relationship between you and the recruiter in less than six seconds. Youre most probably wondering how on earth its possible to do that sort of thing. Well, it is and youll learn just how to do it right here.

The first thing to do while writing that resume is to look at your previous experiences and check if youve done anything related in any way at all to the work youre currently trying to apply for.

For Example

Resume Basics for an Internship Position

It is very common while writing a resume for internships to see many students stressing or having a meltdown because of their GPA.

Write A Compelling Career Objective

Once you have identified your biggest strength, make sure you lead your resume with it. The Career Objective section is at the top of your resume. It is your best chance to communicate your best trait as an intern. It is usually 2-3 sentences long and it should summarise your skills and experience.

For an internship resume, your Career Objective should reflect your enthusiasm to learn and contribute. Most companies hire interns to infuse new energy into their teams and to add someone who can take on different assignments. Your Career Objective should be able to capture that eagerness and readiness.

Example:

Passionate content creator highly motivated to expand knowledge and experience. Energetic multitasker skilled in graphic design and video production, with considerable experience in writing and photography.

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When To Include Internships On Your Resume

You should include an internship on your resume when the internship is relevant to the job you are applying for. This is especially the case when you are a student or recent graduate with limited work experience. Internships provide you with critical experience in an industry, so be sure to include them to show your skills and abilities.

You should also include internships when you are making a career change. While you might have many years of work experience, these jobs might not relate to your new career. Highlight any internships that have prepared you for a job in your new industry.

How Far Back Should Your Resume Work Experience Go

Your resume work experience should contain every piece of information that is relevant to you securing the role. This will dictate the amount of work experience in a CV that you might include.

If you have a 30-year career, you might choose simply to list the employers for the first 10-15 years and use your precious resume space to describe the most recent resume experiences. However, if your career is 15 years or less, you should definitely include resume work experience about everything.

In terms of the amount of work experience on your resume, try to give more information on the more recent roles. Make use of bullet points and solid text after your have listed the employer and date details – as you can see in our many resume samples.

Should I put seminars on my CV? Typically, a one or two-day seminar would not be included on work experience in a CV. If the training or educational event has a certain prestige or lasts more than a week, then you might consider including it in the education section, but as anyone can attend a seminar, it will not give a huge indication as to your individual level of suitability for the role. You will certainly have more important information to share.

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Proofread Your Resume And Finish Strong

Once youve written your resume and cover letter, youre in pretty good shape to send out that first application. However, youre not quite done yet.

The most important step before sending out any resume is to read it over and make sure that there are no issues that could get your application discarded.

To help make that process easier, heres a checklist you can go through to make sure your resume is looking spotless:

The Resume Genius Resume Checklist

Is your contact information accurate?

Does your resume NOT include details like headshots or sensitive personal information?

Does your resume fit on one page ?

Is your information easy to read ?

Is the design of your resume appropriate for the position youre applying for?

Did you include all relevant sections on your resume?

Did you include quantified achievements in your work experience section?

Does your resume address the requirements stated in the job ad?

Is your resume free of typos and grammatical errors?

Is all of your information clearly formatted and professional?

Feel free to use our on-page checklist, or and begin reviewing your resume.

Include An Education Section

An education section will be especially valuable if you have limited work experience or if you are transferring to a new industry. You can include information such as:

• Relevant coursework
• Grade point average
• Participation in clubs or organizations
• Leadership positions held
• Awards, achievements or certifications

When writing your education section, you should include the name of the institution, dates of attendance and your degree or area of study. If you are applying to mid or higher-level positions, you might remove all but the name of your school and dates of attendance to make room for more relevant professional experience on your resume.

If you have certifications or licenses that are relevant to the job description, you can include them in this section as well. To save space, you can leave off any credentials that are not directly related to the requirements of this job.

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Place Your Job Descriptions Near The Beginning Of Your Resume

For many hiring managers, your descriptions of your previous work experiences are their primary source of information about you. For this reason, place this section near the top of the first page, where anyone looking at your resume can find it easily. Add your work history before the skills or education sections to make sure that people can see exactly why you’re qualified for a position by considering your past accomplishments.

A Career Summary Provides A Hiring Manager With Their First Impression Of You Make It Count

Your resume can go a long way in scoring you an internship.

A strong, concise internship resume objective used to be required to help you stand out from a long list of internship candidates, but resume objectives have become obsolete over the years. The career summary is more common nowadaysand when you’re applying to internships, a good career summary is important to let hiring managers know exactly why you’re the one they should pick.

Employers receive large amounts of resumes for internships from college students and recent grads. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that your resume stands out and makes a statement. Writing your resume is tough enough, and historically, the resume objective was the first thing hiring managers read. A career summary is now doing the job, essentially providing the reader with their first impression of you. You may not have a bunch of experience to fill a career summary, but you can still highlight what makes you awesome.

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