How To Include Internships
When you include an internship on your resume, include the same information as any other job:
- Include the internship title. If possible, dont just say Intern ask your supervisor if you have a more detailed title, such as Marketing Intern or Sales Associate Intern.
- Also include the company name, location, and the dates of the internship. You can list the dates by month and year, or by the season .
- Underneath this information, include 2-4 bullet points that list your responsibilities and achievements during the internship.
Focus on responsibilities that relate to the job you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a writing job, mention how you wrote and published five articles during your internship. You dont need to include your less relevant tasks, such as answering phones or photocopying.
If you are having trouble deciding what responsibilities and achievements to include, start by making a long list of everything you did at each internship. Then look at the job listing for the position youre applying for. Circle anything from your list that matches the skills or abilities required for the job. Highlight these particular experiences.
Also ask your intern supervisor for advice on how to include your internship on your resume. He or she can help you highlight the most important skills and experiences for the industry, and can tell you what key terms from your industry to include.
Why List Internships On Your Resume
In short, you should include internships on your resume because theyre part of your work experience. And especially if you dont have a slew of full-time roles to lean on, an internship is an opportunity to show a future employer that you have worked in a professional environment, says Muse career coach Eilis Wasserman. It signals that youve gained soft and hard skills as well as exposure to the working world.
People seek out internships in part to help them find jobs later, she says, whether at the same organization or another one. So why wouldnt you want to showcase that on the first document an employer will see?
Recruiters and hiring managers know that entry-level candidates dont have a lot of experience, says Dana Leavy-Detrick, the director of Brooklyn Resume Studio. Theyre looking for potential. And internships can be a great barometer for professional potential, since they resemble the kind of work and environment of a full-time job more than your coursework or hobbies.
Although including your internships is most important for students, recent graduates, and other entry-level employees, it can also be crucial as part of a story youre telling later onfor example, if youre changing careers or pivoting back to an earlier interest.
Education On Internship Resumeexample
The internship wants skills in: programming hardware knowledge mobile computing
B.S. in Computer Science, John Carroll University20142018
- Pursued a passion for programming and software development classes.
- Member, Student Chapter, Association for Computing Machinery
- Received Robert B. Carver Senior Award for computer science excellence.
- My podcast on mobile computing was downloaded 1,800 times.
That college internship resume sample nails it. The achievements show youre just short of prodigy status.
Expert Hint: Is your college internship resume experience still learning its ABCs? List education accomplishments like clubs, groups, and projects as if theyre jobs.
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List Your Responsibilities Throughout The Internship
You can now list the responsibilities you held during the internship. Similar to the responsibilities you’ve listed in your job experience, your internship experience should be relevant to the position you’re applying for. If you’re applying for a specific job, review the posted job description and duties. If your internship helped you gain any of the skills they need for this position, you can list them in your internship responsibilities.
List these responsibilities using two to five bullet points that are clear, simple and include action words.
Why Are Internships Important
The importance of internships is undeniable. They provide an opportunity to fill experience gaps, gain new professional skills. It is an investment in your professional future. Many types are available for students: summer internships in business, economics, writing, editing or any other field.
Many students are reluctant to pursue internship programs and work for free. But interns will get a much better reward than money – precious experience. Employers will consider a resume with internship experience, so, in order to create a strong first impression, it will be recommended completing one student internship programs.
It is your chance to enhance your resume with no work experience. Put your internships, your academic background along with your newly acquired skills. Include brief role description, list all task, duties, demonstrate your contribution to that company, your results, skills, and knowledge you have acquired – it will make your resume more appealing to any recruiter. Show that you can bring more than just your diploma – you will bring value to your work. It will persuade recruiters that you have professional promise and can be a good match for a position.
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Include The Company Name
Add the internship company name and location to your resume to make sure the hiring manager can search the company and review its credibility. This is especially important if you have worked with a well-known company that has received praise for their work or another aspect of their business. Listing highly credible companies that you interned for helps you to appear more desirable as a potential employee.
Fill In Your Information
When you start adding jobs and activities to your resume, youll want to put them in reverse chronological ordermost recent to least recent. If some happened at the same time, put the most relevant one first.
Wasserman adds that if you are beyond your first year in college, I would recommend not including any high school information unless very relevant to the internship position and boosts your reputation as a hard worker. Your high school grades? Not as relevant. Your senior summer job as a retail salesperson? Might be.
Lets break down what to write in each section:
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You Will Discover Yourself
Once you are out of your comfort zone, only then you will discover what you are really capable of. After the completion of your internship program, you will learn more about yourself. You will reveal your strengths, weaknesses, you will better understand yourself. Also, it is possible that you will not meet your job expectation. The desire to switch your career path and to try something else may occur. So, it will also help you to detect your real career preferences.
How To Write An Internship Resume Objective
An internship is a good way to receive on-the-job training while you are in college or soon after graduation. To find an internship that will be a good match for your skills and education, you will need to create a resume to apply. An internship resume objective is an important section to include so that prospective employers can see a summary of your competencies and career goals. In this article, we discuss how to write an internship resume objective and offer some examples to help you write your own.
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How Recent Is The Internship
If youre a student or a recent graduate, youll most likely want to lean on your recent internship experiences on your resume, and youll probably keep them on there for at least a few years as you embark on your career.
The same applies if youre not fresh out of school but recently took on an internship or fellowship position to bolster certain skills or as a first step to help you make a career pivot.
A general rule of thumb is as you progress, your experience further back is going to become less relevant. Things youre doing today hold more weight, Leavy-Detrick says.
When To Include Internship Experience On Your Resume
Now, listing an internship on your resume is often a great idea. However, there are times when its not recommended.
List an internship on your resume if:
- Youre a student, a fresh graduate, or a professional whos starting a new career path that is unrelated to your previous full-time employment experiences.
- The internship took place at the same company youre applying for. Having previous experience and knowledge of the functioning of the organization boosts your application and puts you ahead of the competition.
- The internship took place at a company thats in the same or closely related field.
Dont list the internship on your resume if:
- The internship isnt related to the position youre applying for. Your new employer doesnt need to know that youve worked in a museum if youre now applying for a job at an IT start-up.
- The internship took place a long time ago and youve managed to gain a lot of full-time experience since then.
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What Is An Internship Resume Objective
An internship resume objective is a short statement of one or two sentences that explains why you want a position and what qualifies you to apply for it. The objective for an internship differs from a traditional resume objective by highlighting your skills and education instead of just describing what you hope to achieve during OJT. It can help your resume stand out from other candidates even if you do not have a long list of work experience.
Related:Definitive Guide to Internships
Here’s What To Put In Your Internship Resume
- Degrees or certificates from colleges, community colleges, technical schools or formal training programs. Be sure to note the date you expect to get your degree, for example, B.A. expected June 1998.
- Academic proficiencies and/or courses of study: areas of academic study you have explored in depth. Don’t list program titles, look to your “equivalencies” on your evaluations for some hints.
- Jobs, part- or full-time. Unless you have an extensive and varied work history, list most everything that has contributed a transferable skill.
- Volunteer or community service activities.
- Campus community participation. Note involvement with campus student organizations, participation on hiring DTFs, etc.
- Academic accomplishments. What are some of the ways you have demonstrated your proficiency in an area of study through understanding of principles of a subject? This could be producing a video, participating in a group designing a new system, writing a research paper or many other ways.
- Relevant personal accomplishments. Knowledge of another language, artistic accomplishments. What are the tools you can use? Many professions have their own tools and will be interested if you know how to use them. Here are some tools: statistical analysis, video production, computer programming, the use of certain lab equipment, field identification of plants and/or animals, mapping, graphic arts.
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When To Put An Internship On Your Resume
Internships offer valuable work experience and are a great opportunity for recent graduates or people with little work experience to pick up some important professional skills.
You should put an internship on your resume if:
- Youre a current student or recent graduate
- You have minimal work experience
- You have internship experience that is highly relevant to the job you want
However, listing internships on your resume isnt always the right move. If youre years into your career and are struggling to list all your relevant experience on a one page resume, you should omit internships. This gives you more space to highlight accomplishments from your full-time positions.
The Related Skills And Achievements Section
Where do you put your internships and volunteer experience in the course of your resume to make it as effective and professional as possible? The best place to put it-if you do not already a section for this-is in your Related Skills and Achievements section. You can include subsections if you have more achievements, training, and internships to offer than one-or if you do not have much info to include about your internship, you can just include it with a bullet point under this section.
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How To Write A Resume For Internship With Examples
Writing a resume for internships is high-key stressful. We mean, lets face it. There is a lot at stake with that one little piece of paper. The right internship can serve as the launchpad of your career, allowing you to learn industry-relevant skills while expanding your professional network.
And then theres the stress of figuring out how to fill out a resume for an internship when you dont have much, if any, experience. Like, does knowing basic Excel functions count as a skill? Is your babysitting gig considered work experience? What about all the TikTok dance challenges you have been absolutely crushing lately? Those are pretty impressive, right?
We know that writing a resume for internships can be super challenging. Thats why weve put together a simple guide where we break down the internship resume writing process.
Ready to score the internship of your dreams? Read on to learn how to put together an impressive resume for internships that highlights your skills and achievements.
Related: How to Get an Internship
How To Put Internship On A Resume
To put internship on a resume, list it like a job. Find achievements in it that match the job posting. List those as your bullet points, like the resumes-for-internships examples above.
Expert Hint: Employers believe you can do what youve already done. The closer your resume bullets to the internships responsibilities, the better.
Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter builder and make your application documents pop out.
Want to try a different look? Theres 18 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
For a great internship resume:
- Use the college internship resume template up top. It puts all your greatest hits where employers can see them.
- Catch their eye with an intern resume objective. In it, list 23 achievements thatll keep them reading.
- Stuff every bullet point with accomplishments. A resume for internships is a trophy case. Everything in it must fit the position.
- Dont forget the internship cover letter. A resume for internships is nice, but a great cover letter will ensure they read it. This guide on how to write a cover letter as a recent graduate is also a good place to start.
Got questions on how to write a great internship resume? Not sure how to put internship on a resume? Want to write a winning college student resume for internships? Leave a comment. Were happy to reply.
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Find Internships To Apply To
Do you have your internship resume in order and now youre ready to apply for internship opportunities? Join Scholars today to get exclusive access to new internship openings at some of your favorite companies. By creating a profile, hiring managers can reach out with relevant opportunities that fit your skillset.
Youll also find insider tips on our blog and podcast, so youll have all the information you need to land the gig. Its another way to discover internships that can help you start building a rewarding career. Good luck!
Include Any Achievements Or Accomplishments
Within your responsibilities, you can include anything you accomplished or achieved while serving in your internship. Hiring managers may enjoy learning about your past internship to gain an idea of what you may accomplish during a full-time position with their company. When listing these accomplishments and achievements, you can use numbers or percentages to describe what you accomplished at your previous internship.
If you are unsure of what you achieved at your internship, you can meet with your past supervisor. They can help you realize what you helped the company accomplish while serving as an intern. Your previous intern supervisor may also know how to best phrase and format your past accomplishments to fit the requirements hiring managers may search for.
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Prioritize The Education Section Of Your Resume
If youre still in school or have recently graduated, put your education history at the top of the resume in the early stages of your career, your education history will tell the hiring manager the most about you. Below are details that you should include, along with key traits associated with each one.
- A GPA shows that you are studious, diligent, or driven. If you have a GPA lower than 3.5, it should be omitted many employers will reject applications that state low GPAs.
- If you completed a variety of relevant marketing courses, it proves that youre versatile, adaptable, or have advanced knowledge.
- Awards and honors will display that you are accomplished, proficient, or superior in a particular area.
- Clubs and organizations tell employers that you are committed, team-minded, or passionate.
Although its not required, if you have volunteered in the past, this is a great time to mention it on your resume. Volunteer experience lets your potential employer know that you are devoted, wholehearted or professional.
Use It As Professional Experience
Though it may be put under the skills and achievement section, you should still present it with as much weight and depth as professional experience-especially, if you are lacking in real world career experience. How do you do this? Include the responsibilities and achievements that you have had within that internship, and what you learned that you can apply to this position.
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List The Job Title Company Name And Responsibilities During The Externship
As you list your externship on your resume, write the job title you held. If you are unsure of your job title, you can contact your previous supervisor or simply list the job title of the employee you shadowed and add the word, “externship” after the title. For example, if you shadowed a data analyst, the job title can be “Data Analyst Externship.”
After you’ve listed your job title, add the company name you completed your externship at, followed by the date you completed the opportunity.