write an internship resume

How to write an internship resume (+ an example)

Your resume is an important part of securing your dream internship. See how to write an amazing internship resume with an example below.

How to write an internship resume (with an example)

Are you ready to bridge the gap between what you’ve learned in school and the real world? Do you want to learn new skills, build connections, and make your mark in your chosen industry? Internships serve as stepping stones during your professional journey and provide opportunities for personal and career growth.

Securing a great internship starts with a killer resume. Your professional resume is your ticket to the interview and your chance to impress potential employers from the get-go. That's why we've put together this helpful intern resume writing guide with six simple steps to help you create an internship resume that stands out.

From organizing your resume's structure to highlighting your most relevant skills and experiences, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we'll even provide an example resume to guide and inspire you along the way.

Whether you're a college student eager to land your first internship or a recent graduate ready to make your mark, an effective internship resume is a game-changer. Let's jump right in and start crafting a resume that opens doors to exciting internship experiences.

How to write an internship resume in 6 steps

When it comes to internships, recruiters know that you might not have years of experience under your belt. But don't worry! The key is to highlight your potential, eagerness to learn, and genuine enthusiasm for the internship. Use each resume section to show how your qualifications and skills make you a valuable asset to the organization.

Step 1: Resume heading

Kick things off with a clear and professional header at the top of your resume, including all the essential contact information (full name, phone number, and email address). Ensure your email address sounds professional — avoid any wacky or unprofessional aliases — and consider adding a link to relevant social media accounts (like your LinkedIn profile).

Step 2: Objective or summary statement (optional)

A resume objective or resume summary statement gives hiring managers a sneak peek into your career goals by highlighting specific skills that make you perfect for the internship. Tailor this section to the internship you're after. Show them how your objectives align with the organization's goals.

Step 3: Education

The education section is your chance to show off your college or university experience. Tell them your major or area of study and consider including your GPA. Don't forget to mention any cool coursework that's relevant to the internship. If you're still in the process of getting your degree, give them a heads up on when you'll be crossing that graduation finish line.

Step 4: Work experience

In the experience section, include any internships, volunteer work (a great resume builder!), or any other relevant work history. Describe the tasks you handled and any achievements you rocked in each role. Focus on those transferable skills that make you a superstar — things like teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and organization. Highlight how your previous professional experiences have set you up for success in this internship and contributed to your personal growth.

Step 5: Certifications/special projects/skills

This skills section showcases the professional certifications and specific soft skills (personal skills and abilities that can help in any job) or hard skills (technical or job-specific skills) that make you stand out from the crowd. Include any special projects or extracurricular activities that show your passion for the field, too. This is your chance to spotlight those unique skill sets and experiences that make you a true rockstar candidate.

Step 6: Awards & honors (optional)

If you've been lucky enough to receive any awards, honors, scholarships, or recognition for your academic or professional prowess, this is the perfect spot to showcase them. Highlighting your accomplishments shows your dedication and excellence and lets potential employers know you're a true go-getter.

Resume formatting tips

Let's talk about some other ways to make your internship resume shine. First off, keep it to a single page. Internships usually involve limited experience, so a concise resume works best. Be selective and focus on highlighting the most relevant information that showcases your qualifications.

When it comes to spacing, give your text some room to breathe. Leave enough white space between sections and paragraphs to make it visually appealing and easy to read. Break up the content using bullet points, headings, and subheadings to make it more organized and reader-friendly.

Stick to a legible font throughout your resume so it's easy on the eyes (aim for a font size of 10 or 11 points for the main content). You can make headings and section titles a bit larger (around 12 or 14 points) to create visual emphasis and hierarchy.

Margins matter, too! Ensure you have enough space on all sides of your resume. A margin size of 0.5 to 1 inch is standard and gives your resume a clean, professional look.

Lastly, don't forget to proofread for any grammar or spelling errors. A polished and error-free document shows your attention to detail and professionalism.

Following these tips to craft a well-organized, visually pleasing internship resume will make a memorable impression on potential employers and increase your chances of landing that dream internship.

You can also get help with formatting your resume by downloading our free internship resume template .

Internship resume example

Use this resume sample as a guide to create a resume that will dazzle hiring managers. Customize your resume based on the specific job description you are applying for.

[Your full name]

[City, state, ZIP code]

[Phone number]

[Email address]

[LinkedIn profile link]

Motivated and dedicated individual seeking an internship opportunity to gain practical experience and further develop skills in [specific field]. Committed to contributing to an organization’s success through a strong work ethic, adaptability, and a passion for learning.

Bachelor of [Degree], [Major]

[University Name], [City, State]

[Year of graduation]

Relevant coursework

  • [Course 1]: [Course description]
  • [Course 2]: [Course description]
  • [Course 3]: [Course description]
  • Technical skills: [List relevant technical skills (e.g., programming languages, software proficiency)]
  • Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills demonstrated through [specific examples, such as presentations or publications]
  • Problem-solving: Ability to analyze complex problems and develop innovative solutions
  • Teamwork: Collaborative approach to working with diverse teams to achieve common goals
  • Adaptability: Quick learner with the ability to thrive in fast-paced and changing environments
  • Organization: Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines

Relevant work experience

[Company/Organization name], [Location]

[Position title], [Dates]

  • [Responsibility 1]: [Describe your key responsibilities and achievements]
  • [Responsibility 2]: [Describe your key responsibilities and achievements]

[Company/Organization Name], [Location]

[Position Title], [Dates]

[Project Name], [University/Company], [Dates]

  • [Describe the project, your role, and the skills utilized or developed]
  • [Highlight any notable achievements or outcomes]

Leadership and extracurricular activities

  • [Describe your responsibilities and contributions]

Certifications

  • [Certification 1]: [Certifying authority], [Year]
  • [Certification 2]: [Certifying authority], [Year]

What about an internship cover letter?

When it comes to internship applications, a cover letter may not always be required (check the internship description for requirements) but it can make a world of difference. A carefully crafted cover letter has the power to make you shine amidst a sea of candidates and increase your chances of landing that coveted internship.

Read our tips for writing an internship cover letter , where we spill the secrets of how to write a killer cover letter that perfectly complements your resume and sets you up for success.

Which companies are hiring for internships on Handshake?

Land an amazing internship.

As you wrap up crafting your winning internship resume, remember that it's not just about the length or the formatting — it's also about showcasing your potential, passion, and unique qualities that make you a perfect fit for the internship. Tailor each section to align with the internship position and emphasize your relevant skills and experiences. With this resume as your tool, you're ready to make a lasting impression and land that dream internship.

Need help finding the perfect internship? Head over to Handshake , download our app, and create your profile. You’ll have access to the most opportunities of any job platform for students and new college grads, as well as tons of helpful advice and tips for launching your career.

Now go out there and get that internship!

Find the right jobs for you. Get hired.

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Susan Shor

Internship resume examples & templates

Internship resume examples & templates

Include your contact information

If you’re thinking about an internship, that already says you’re a go-getter. Whether you’re in high school or college, an internship is a great way to give you a leg up in your choice of profession. But to get an internship, you need to make an approach like a seasoned pro, and that starts with an excellent internship resume.To get an internship, you need to make an approach like a seasoned pro, and that starts with an excellent internship resume. You’ve already taken the first step by thinking about an internship, because that says you’re a go-getter eager to begin a career. 

Entry-level Internship Translation missing: en.examples.resume_example

Whether you’re in high school or college, an internship is a great way to give you a leg up in your choice of profession. It all begins with impressing the recruiter enough to get an interview. 

How? With a resume that clearly states who you are and the foundation skills you want to build on.

Resume.io is here to help with job-winning resources for success. That includes more than 500 occupation-specific writing guides and corresponding resume examples , plus field-tested templates and builder tools to help you create both resumes and cover letters.

A 2019 study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that college graduates who had completed an internship received more job offers than those who had not.

Securing an internship, just like getting a job, requires a focused search. And snagging that internship can lead you to the first job of your dreams. It all starts with the process of developing your resume, planning what to include and how best to present it. 

This resume writing guide, along with sample resume sentences specifically for internship candidates, will set your candidacy apart from the pack. You'll learn how to:

  • Create an engaging, easy-to-read resume that highlights the qualities you'll need to succeed in an internship
  • Choose the best resume format for an intern
  • Optimize each resume section with customized content reflecting your background and goals: summary, education, experience and skills
  • Follow layout, design and formatting tips for eye-catching impact, readability and technical compatibility.
  • Capitalize on the experience you already have to get you in the door with an internship at the best companies .

Internship - Internship resume guide

How to write an internship resume

Although you are still in school, you have the material to create a strong resume that will plant you firmly on your career path. Resume formats contain standard sections, but they also contain some that are optional, depending on the career you seek and your achievements and skills.

Let’s take a look at which resume sections are musts when it comes to an internship.

  • The r esume header (or your contact information)
  • The resume summary (also known as the profile or personal statement)
  • The employment history section
  • The skills section
  • The education section

Internship - Key components writing examples

  • Remember your summary will be seen first, so let your uniqueness shine through.
  • Think carefully about the order of your sections. Place priority on those that best match the skills the internship requires.
  • Choose a clean, professional design that ensures your resume won’t be ignored.
  • Try to cram every job, class and skill into your resume.
  • Ignore the specifics of the job requirements.
  • Write overly long descriptions for every entry.

Internship - Do and Don't

Now, let’s focus on optional resume information you should consider that will showcase your talents. All of this data shows the internship coordinator that you will add value to the program.

  • Languages : If you speak more than one language , that can be a big advantage. Many companies are multinational and can use employees who can communicate with others around the globe.
  • Extracurricular activities : Carefully consider whether you can point to an achievement in these activities , or link it to a skill your potential employer would appreciate in an internship candidate.
  • Hobbies : This section can add a little personality to your resume, but it can seem as though you are merely trying to fill space. If your hobby is related to your chosen field, consider adding that information in the skills section of your resume.

If you want the internship coordinator to see your resume, your first hurdle is passing the test of the applicant tracking systems (ATS). These computerized systems scan your resume for keywords employers have highlighted as most important. Because of the ease of applying for jobs and internships by simply uploading your resume, companies have found ways to narrow the applicant pool. 

Most companies of large or medium size use ATS as a first line of defense in the hiring process, even for internships. You must make it past ATS if you want an actual human recruiter to see your internship resume. ATS software uses an algorithm to give your resume a score and rank it compared to other internship applicants. 

Make sure to use keywords that you find by analyzing the job description. Use them liberally (though make sure you don’t start sounding like a robot yourself). Most keywords will be directly related to a “ hard skill ,” which is a specific quantifiable skill such as accounting, that is necessary for a job or internship. And remember to use technology to your advantage by grammar- and spell-checking your resume. There's no excuse for typos – even as an internship candidate.

According to Capterra data, more than 75% of large corporate employers use ATS. Some other sources indicate even higher percentages (of up to 90%). The industries that turn to this software most frequently are: health care, education, technical services, scientific services, retail manufacturing and professional services.

Choosing the right resume format for an intern

In cases where specialized knowledge and skills are just as important as where you have worked until now — if not more so — a functional resume may be your best bet. It offers greater flexibility to emphasize your most relevant strengths up front in a section labelled “Experience.” 

The most commonly used chronological resume format is designed as a straightforward way for job candidates to organize their experience and qualifications below employer headings and dates, in order from most recent to earliest. But for an internship job application, a different resume format may be more suitable, depending on the nature and relative importance of your employment history. 

A hybrid, or combination, resume format offers even more versatility. Job seekers can integrate chronological and functional elements in the most applicable manner, and perhaps even put their education section higher up on the page. 

Like every consideration when preparing your resume, the format you choose should depend on the type of job and industry, and how best to present yourself as an ideal match. Also take into account what we touched on earlier regarding optional resume information you may wish to include, and the order you choose to arrange resume sections.

Our resume builder provides many options for each format. You can see what completed designs look like in our resume examples.

For more ideas and inspiration, check out these writing guides and resume examples from the related education category:

  • Early Childhood Educator
  • College Student 
  • High School Student 
  • Academic Librarian
  • Health Educator 
  • ESL Teacher 
  • Teacher Assistant 
  • Substitute Teacher 
  • Middle School Teacher 
  • Elementary School Teacher 
  • College Professor
  • High School Teacher  
  • Academic Tutor 
  • College Admissions 

A distinctive resume header can visually set yourself apart from other intern candidates. It enhances the reader-friendliness of your document while also readily identifying who it belongs to. It also displays your contact information prominently so recruiters can readily get in touch to arrange an interview.

Here’s what to include:

  • Full name & title. List your first and last name and avoid nicknames. Use the title of the role you are pursuing.
  • Professional email address. Use a clean format like [email protected] . Don’t use the quirky, unprofessional email address you set up to give your friends a laugh.
  • Phone number . List a number where you can be readily contacted, with a professional voicemail greeting.
  • Location . List only your city and state. Don’t list street address or zip code. It’s both outdated and unsafe. Note 'Willing to Relocate' here if applicable.
  • Portfolio . If you are a coder, web designer, artist, or any other professional with tangible work, showcase your talents with a portfolio you can link to in your internship resume.

Don’t include:

  • Date of birth : Not necessary.
  • Personal details : Marital status, social security number, etc.
  • Personal social media : Your adolescent antics will not help you present a professional image.

Tony Sanders

[email protected]

(425) 807-3212

Bellevue, WA

22 Snowdrop Circle

Bellevue, WA 98008

Make use of a summary

Your summary is the perfect opportunity to show you have the right combination of knowledge, drive and personality to succeed in the internship. Your resume may look similar to many other internship applicants, but the message in your summary is unique to you. 

This is your chance to get a little creative and give potential employers insight into who you are and why you’re the best candidate for the internship. This isn’t easy; you have two or three sentences to differentiate yourself and show your knowledge of your chosen field, but never fear, the following strategies will get you there.

Also known as a profile or personal statement , your summary allows your resume to stand out from the crowd of other internship candidates. The top of your resume is prime real estate. Here’s how to grab recruiters’ attention:

  • Research the key qualities necessary for your chosen internship and career. Craft your first sentence to illustrate how you embody those qualities.
  • Analyze the internship job description. Once you have a firm grasp of exactly what skills the employer wants, use this resume section to explain your expertise or positive qualities using action verbs.
  • Use action verbs that tell what you have done or are able to accomplish. Here are a few examples: coordinated, envisioned, launched, diagnosed.
  • Show your grit. Talk about a success you’ve had or a problem you solved. This shows you understand what it means to apply yourself to a job. Alternatively, discuss in a sentence a position you have held — even if it’s not directly related to your field. This shows employers that you are a responsible internship candidate and can handle a challenging work environment.

OK, so now you know what a resume profile is, but what does one look like for an internship candidate with little or no experience in the field? Check out the sample below for an example of how to write your own resume summary.

Hardworking and enthusiastic college student working towards a B.S. in Marketing. Seeking to use my superior knowledge of social media marketing and my advanced communication skills to effectively serve your company in an internship position. Dedicated and committed to becoming a dependable and valuable team member.

Outline your work history: you’ve got more than you realize

Experience means more than just jobs in your field. You can describe work that points out your relevant skills. Don’t forget those resume keywords! The focus of your life so far has been your education. 

As you make the leap into the workforce, this resume section will fill out. In fact, although it is hard to believe now, one day you will be trying to pare this down instead of beef it up. But even as an intern, you probably have more experience than you realize. Recruiters looking to hire you for an internship understand that you will not have vast experience. They do want to know, however, that you are responsible, serious about your work, and have interpersonal or technical skills.

Here are some sample experience categories you may want to list on your resume for an internship:

  • A previous internship, even if it’s not in the same field as the one you are seeking.
  • High school / summer jobs you have had, whether babysitting, retail, or working at a fast food restaurant, tell an employer something about yourself as a worker. Describe the skills you used, the duties you performed or a problem you solved.
  • Volunteer work , even if it was required by your high school for graduation. If you used skills relevant to your career, list them on your resume.
  • Personal projects such as: a blog that highlights your thinking or writing; a programming challenge or hackathon; an amateur theater project; or a website you developed with friends. These are perfect ways to show alternative experience on an internship resume.

One important thing to remember: DO NOT fluff up this section in an attempt to fill space on your resume. Human resources professionals and recruiters can easily spot drastic exaggerations or overplayed achievements. 

Review your contact info. If you have email addresses or messenger tags that were created back in high school and look unprofessional, create new ones, specifically for resume or professional purposes. Survey data shows that 35% of employers have a problem with unprofessional email addresses. A good bet is to get an email address with your first name (or initial) and last name.

Below is a resume employment history example for an intern.

Sales Associate, Gary's Department Store, Bellevue  Sep 2018 - May 2021

  • Maintained positive consumer relationships.
  • Provided excellent customer assistance at all times.
  • Ensured all communications were consistent with the store brand.
  • Used superior information technology skills on a daily basis.

Office Assistant, The Harkins Group, Seattle Jun 2017 - Aug 2018

  • Worked to increase office productivity by maintaining an organized environment.
  • Used advanced software programs and helped to maintain strong communication among colleagues.
  • Maintained the office schedule and prioritized tasks.
  • Effectively used my management skills to complete all front desk operations in a timely manner.

Assistant Dog Trainer, Gracelane Kennels, Norwalk Nov 2016 - May 2017

  • Helped dogs to assimilate in their new environments.
  • Maintained a proper environment, conducive to the health and happiness of each and every dog.
  • Cared for each dog, ensuring proper medications and procedures were administered.
  • Prepared new kennels for incoming dogs and thoroughly cleaned vacant kennels.

Include the relevant key skills that make you a great intern candidate

You will tailor this section to the internship you want. Each employer wants something a little different, so make sure your resume reflects that. As a student, you are just beginning to develop hard skills, so soft skills will play a large role.

Make a list of all the skills you have. Put them down even if they seem irrelevant. This will be your master list and brainstorming it will give you a baseline from which to choose the most important qualities as you adjust your resume for each internship application.

Some skills require explanation. Saying you’re a good communicator is not very informative. Instead, give an example on your resume of a time you had to communicate and the result of the communication. A 2017 study of employers found that the top skills they look for in interns are:

  • Information processing
  • Planning/prioritizing
  • Decision-making/problem-solving
  • Verbal communication

If you are struggling to develop this section, consider placing it below the education section, where you may be able to showcase your industry knowledge and skills more readily. Analyze each internship description. Choose the top five to 10 skills listed to personalize your resume, and include a blend of hard and soft skills . Use exact words from the description to help you get past the ATS.

According to Glassdoor, 250 people apply to the average job listing . Make sure to use every advantage possible to outpace the competition. This includes honing your skills, summary and every other resume section, as well as making sure the design of your resume is clean and visually appealing. 

Check out an internship resume sample for the skills section below.

  • Interpersonal Communication Skills
  • Excellent Work Ethic
  • Advanced Technology Skills
  • Teamwork Skills
  • Honesty and Integrity
  • Motivated Attitude

Detail your education

Classes in your chosen field have already given you both theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience. In this section of your intern resume, you have the opportunity to explain how your education up to this point makes you a great candidate for an internship. 

College classes in your major are the perfect preparation for internships. Look through your course descriptions and syllabi for examples of transferable lessons or skills. Then, highlight keywords and projects you have completed that are directly related to the internship you seek. Your academics are your current career, so treat them as such. Analyze the internship description for skills and highlight keywords you will strive to include on your resume.

Focus on tangible results of your education 

Here are two tips for enhancing the education content of your internship resume by describing, including a sample sentence you can adapt.

  • Say this: “Wrote research paper that involved surveying 50 students and analyzing data to test my hypothesis that too much outside work drives down student grades.”
  • Instead of: “Did a research project on how work affects student grades.”
  • Use specific language and spell out acronyms the first time you use them. For example, remember that ATS may be searching for the words “search engine optimization” and not the acronym SEO.

Here’s a basic education example you can use as a starting point for your internship resume.

University of Washington, Seattle   Aug 2017  Bachelor of Marketing - Passionately pursuing a marketing degree, while working to enhance my skill set and industry experience.   Franklin Academy, Bellevue  Sep 2013 - Jun 2017  High School Diploma - Earned my high school diploma and graduated at the top of my class.  - Worked to maintain my Honor Society membership for all four years.

Pick the right resume layout and design for an internship resume

Some internship candidates believe that employers will overlook a poorly designed and formatted resume document from applicants with little or no professional experience. This is usually not the case. In fact, a well-designed resume can actually put you miles ahead of others seeking the same position. 

When it comes to layout, design and formatting choices, you’ll want to keep your resume looking clean and simple, without sacrificing visual appeal. After putting time and effort into crafting your resume text, it's important to ensure the document is easy to read. 

Here are some tips for creating a CV layout and formatting that's artistic, yet legible and inviting to read. 

  • Try the quadrant test to make sure the text is well-balanced. Split your resume into four quadrants, by dividing it horizontally and vertically. Text should be almost evenly spread among the quadrants (more important sections can be a bit larger).
  • Separate text. Instead of putting your title, dates of employment, and employer’s name one right after the other, divide them into columns on your resume.
  • Choose fonts wisely. Use boldface, type size, and fonts to draw recruiters’ eyes to the most important information on the resume.
  • Use color sparingly. A splash of color is fine, but too much is distracting and looks unprofessional.

Resume.io's field-tested resume templates can make it easier to quickly create a job-winning CV. Choose one from our four resume design categories — modern , professional , simple , or creative . Or, personalize the internship resume example at the top of this guide.

But before you settle on a template, make sure to consider what the presentation says about you as a candidate. Is the internship for a serious company in a traditional field with a formal image? Or do you think your potential employer would appreciate a more modern, resume with youthful appeal?

According to Purdue Owl, HR personnel take at most 35 seconds for a first look at a resume. Make the most of that time. 

Key takeaways for building an internship resume

To create an impressive showcase for your talents, think carefully about the order of your resume sections and put your most impressive ones first; highlight your outstanding classwork and achievements; and tailor your skills to each internship and give examples for vague skills like “great communication.”

Save yourself time and take the margin of error out of your resume creation with the resume.io builder tool and expertly designed resume templates.

Beautiful ready-to-use resume templates

How to Write an Internship Resume [w/ Examples]

Background Image

You put in the hours studying, and you're set on a field you want to grow in.

Now, you're eager to jump-start your career with an internship that puts your skills to the test.

But as thrilling as entering the professional world is, creating a resume that reflects your abilities and enthusiasm can make it daunting.

You might find yourself staring at a blank page with no idea where you should start. How can you show the hiring manager that you’re just the right person for this internship?

No need to worry; we're here to help.

In this article, we’re going to show you how to navigate the first steps of your career journey.

We’re going to cover:

  • What a Great Internship Resume Looks Like
  • 8 Steps to Writing the Perfect Internship Resume
  • What to Include in Your Internship Resume

Let’s get started.

Internship Resume Example

internship resume example

Now that’s how you write a great resume for a business or marketing internship.

Here’s what it does right:

  • Uses a reverse-chronological format. This is the best format to emphasize your most recent experience and achievements, and it’s a favorite for hiring managers around the world.
  • Adds relevant contact details. This internship resume example makes sure to include the most necessary contact information, including the candidate's full name, professional email, phone number, Skype username, and a link to their LinkedIn.
  • Includes a resume headline. The brief paragraph positioned at the top of the resume can show the hiring manager how the candidate’s education, skills, and motivation make them the right person for the job from the get-go.
  • Expands on the education section. Since the candidate is just starting their career journey, their resume focuses more on their education and the relevant courses that show they know about the field they’re aiming for - in this case, business.
  • Highlights relevant skills. This internship resume lists several sets of crucial business and marketing skills while keeping the hard skills and soft skills separate.
  • Organizes content with bullet points. To keep their resume concise and easy to read, the candidate uses bullet points to list their achievements, courses, and qualifications.
  • Leverages optional sections. This internship resume uses sections like volunteer experience, personal projects, and additional languages that show the hiring manager the candidate’s skills and achievements beyond their education.
  • Keeps the resume on one page. The candidate makes sure to keep their resume under one page long and only list relevant information that shows the hiring manager why they’re perfect for the internship.

9 Steps for the Perfect Animator Resume

You saw for yourself what an internship-worthy resume looks like. Now, it’s time to write your own!

We’ve broken the process down into easy-to-follow steps, starting with:

#1. Choose the Best Format

Before you can begin writing your resume, you need to choose a format to work with.

There are three main resume formats you can choose from:

  • Reverse-chronological (also called chronological)
  • Functional (also called skill-based)
  • Combination (a mix of the chronological and functional formats)

For 99% of candidates, we recommend sticking with the reverse-chronological resume format for your internship resume.

The reverse-chronological format is by far the most popular of all three, so it’s what hiring managers expect you to use.

Not to mention, this format highlights your most recent achievements first, so it’s the perfect choice to show the hiring manager what you’ve been up to lately.

Here’s an example of the reverse-chronological resume format:

reverse-chronological resume format for internship

#2. Tweak the Layout

Once you’ve decided on a format for your resume, it’s time to focus on your resume layout .

After all, before the hiring manager reads your resume, they’re going to look at it. And if what they see is a messy, cluttered document, or a half-empty page, they might decide it’s not worth reading at all.

So, let’s look at some resume layout tips you should follow to make sure the hiring manager likes what they see:

  • Adjust the margins. Ideally, the margins should be one inch on all sides of the page. This way, your resume will look well-organized, not cluttered or empty.
  • Set the line spacing. We recommend you stick to the standard line spacing, which is 1.0 between text and 1.15 between double lines and after subheadings.
  • Choose a professional font. You want your resume font to be easy to read but not overused. Avoid fonts like Times New Roman and Comic Sans, and instead, use something like Lora, Roboto, Ubuntu, etc.
  • Stick to one page. Hiring managers go through hundreds of resumes every day, so you want to make sure yours grabs their attention from the start. Keep it to one page of only relevant information.
  • Save it to the correct file format. Unless the employer specifically requests otherwise, you should save your resume as a PDF file. As a PDF, your resume’s layout is going to stay the same across any device or operating system the hiring manager might use to open it.

Or Use a Professional Resume Template Instead

Creating a perfect internship resume from scratch takes time.

You have to work on the layout, adjust the margins, and make sure the font is set to the right size, all while minding that nothing spills over to page two.

Why not skip all the hassle?

Just use any of our free, tried-and-tested resume templates .

Each resume template is created in close collaboration with designers and leading HR pros, so your resume can be professional, easy to read, ATS-friendly, and stylish.

Take a look at how one of our templates looks compared to a standard text editor resume:

novoresume versus normal resume

#3. Add Your Contact Information

Once you’ve got your resume’s layout in order, it’s time to start filling in its contents.

This is where your contact information comes in.

All you need to do in this section is make sure everything is factually correct and professional. You don’t want to miss any interview opportunities because of a typo in your email or phone number.

Here’s what this section should include:

  • Full Name (e.g., John Doe)
  • Professional Title. You can match this to the exact role you're after (e.g., Marketing Intern or Business Communications Intern) or with what you’re currently doing (e.g., Business Student).
  • Phone Number. Include the country code if you're applying for an opportunity outside your home country. (e.g., the area code in the USA is +1 but for France, it’s +33.)
  • Email Address. Use an email that's based on your name, and avoid any nicknames or quirky jokes. (e.g., [email protected], not [email protected])
  • Links. You can include a link to your LinkedIn profile or an online portfolio where you can show any relevant projects or coursework.
  • Location. The city and state/country where you’re based are enough information. If you’re open to working remotely or if you're prepared to move for the internship, mention that here. (e.g., You can add “Based in Sweden but willing to relocate to Krakow for the position.” at the end of your resume headline.)

Business Student

+1 228-833-4411

[email protected]

linkedin.com/in/john.doe

Paris, France

Le Best Intern

[email protected]

#4. Write a Headline

On average, hiring managers spend less than six seconds skimming a resume before deciding if it’s worth reading. 

This is where your resume headline comes in.

This is a paragraph that acts as a summary of your resume’s highlights. So, the more engaging this paragraph is, the better your chances of getting the hiring manager’s attention from the start.

There are two ways you can go about this:

  • Resume Summary. A resume summary is a three to four-sentence paragraph that briefly highlights your experience and achievements. This is a great choice if you already have some relevant experience in the field you’re aiming for.
  • Resume Objective. If you’re new to the workforce, a resume objective is a great choice. This provides an overview of your career goals and aspirations, as well as any relevant skills or qualifications.

So, what do these paragraphs look like in action?

Let’s start with the resume summary.

Enthusiastic marketing intern with hands-on experience in content creation and social media management, looking to leverage skills at Digital Agency X. Successfully increased social media engagement by 30% at Company Y by implementing targeted content strategies. Proficient in Hootsuite and Google Analytics.

That’s pretty good! It tells the hiring manager what the candidate’s done, what they’re good at, and why they should keep reading.

Now, let’s look at the resume objective:

Detail-oriented economics student seeking an internship position at Financial Firm Y. Ready to apply academic knowledge to real-world financial analysis and eager to gain practical experience. Strong foundation in statistical analysis and econometric modeling from coursework and university projects. Proficient in Stata and Excel.

As you can see, even without any work experience , done right, your resume objective can make you stand out from the crowd.

#5. Focus on Your Work Experience

By far the most important section of your resume is your work experience .

However, if you’re applying for an internship, you probably don’t have a lot of work experience.

Here’s the good news - hiring managers don’t expect you to. Internships are usually aimed at students and entry-level workers who are just getting started in a field, so you don’t have to dazzle anyone with tons of relevant work experience.

That being said, if you do have some work experience, you need to know how to format the section properly.

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

  • Use reverse chronological order. Start with your most recent experience and go backward.
  • Use the right job title. If your last job had a quirky title like 'Digital Wizard', just use a straightforward job title like 'Digital Marketing Assistant' instead.
  • Include company details. Add the name and location of your previous employers. If they’re a small business, you can also add a line describing what the company did.
  • Specify the period. Use a month/year format throughout your resume to keep things consistent. There’s usually no need to specify exact dates.
  • Describe your responsibilities and achievements. Use bullet points instead of paragraphs to list any relevant responsibilities and achievements. We recommend using up to six bullet points for your most recent role and fewer as you work your way back.

Those are the basics behind formatting the work experience on your internship resume.

But, if you want to stand out from the crowd, you want to go beyond the basics and make this section pop.

Here are a few more tips to take your work experience to the next level:

  • Tailor to the internship you're applying for. Only include your most recent or relevant experiences. For example, don’t mention a part-time job as a pizza delivery person if you’re applying for an internship as a writer.
  • Focus on achievements. Daily responsibilities don’t tell the employer anything new, but achievements can show your potential value. For example, saying you “Helped in social media campaigns” is fine, but when you “Increased social media engagement by 20% through targeted campaigns” the hiring manager can see the results.
  • Quantify your achievements. Whenever possible, use numbers to show the impact you made. (e.g., “Helped increase newsletter subscribers by 300 over three months” )
  • Use strong action verbs. Avoid passive phrases like “was responsible for” or “helped with” and replace them with action verbs like 'organized,' 'developed,' 'implemented,' or 'enhanced' to show initiative.

So, let’s see what these tips apply in real life:

Business Intern

Consulting Firm Y

06/2023 - 12/2023

  • Completed market research and data analysis projects under tight deadlines.
  • Supported the implementation of a new CRM tool that improved the efficiency of the team's data management.
  • Helped onboard and train new interns, making sure they were familiar with office procedures and project tools.
  • Participated in monthly client meetings and provided support in preparing presentation materials.
  • Contributed to a major consulting project by collecting and analyzing customer feedback, which helped enhance the final report's insights.
  • Recognized with a departmental commendation for teamwork and dedication during the quarterly review.

#6. Keep Your Education Section Relevant

Usually, we recommend keeping the education section on your resume short and sweet.

However, if you’re applying for an internship, there are a few exceptions to the rule, including:

  • If you don’t have any work experience.
  • If your education is directly related to the field you want to intern in.
  • If you’re applying for an internship while you’re currently a student .
  • If you’re in the midst of a career change and your education is more relevant than your work experience.

In each of these cases, we recommend that you expand on your education a bit more. This means you can list any relevant courses, awards, and honors – and even your GPA if it’s good.

Here’s how to list the education details on your resume:

  • Degree Name. E.g. Creative Writing and Journalism
  • University Name. E.g. Du Monfort University
  • Location (optional). E.g. Leicester, UK
  • Years Attended. E.g. 2020 - 2024

Here’s an example of how it could look on your resume:

BS in Business Administration, Minor in Marketing

University of Miami

Miami, Florida, USA

09/2019 - 05/2023

  • Courses: Strategic Management, Consumer Behavior, Digital Marketing Strategies, Financial Accounting
  • Awards and Honors: Dean’s List (Fall 2020, Spring 2021), Business Leadership Award 2022

#7. Include In-Demand Soft and Hard Skills

Another important section on your internship resume is the skills section.

In fact, over 40% of hiring managers look at the skills listed on your resume first.

Your skills tell the hiring manager about what you can do, which tools you’re proficient with, and how much training you might need.

So, this section is a great way to show why you are a standout candidate for the internship you want.

The way to do that, though, is not by listing every skill under the sun. Instead, you want to focus on the ones that are most relevant for the internship you're applying for.

For example, if you're applying for a marketing internship, you probably don’t need to talk about your advanced Excel skills. Instead, focus on your experience with social media management tools, content creation software like Adobe Photoshop, or even data analysis tools that are relevant to marketing.

Here are a few tips on how to get this section just right:

  • Highlight what the company is looking for. Carefully read the job description and look for any of the specific skills it mentions. If you have any of those skills, make sure to include them on your resume.
  • Keep up with industry trends. Being an intern often means you get to learn new things, and that includes being at the cutting edge of new techniques and tools in your field. Stay updated on what the most sought-after skills in your field are, and include any that you've learned.
  • Separate your soft and hard skills. Organize your skills into categories. For example, list soft skills like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving separately from hard skills like software proficiency or technical know-how. This can help hiring managers quickly find the exact skills they’re looking for.

There are tons of skills out there you might need to list on your resume, depending on your field. If you need help with where to start, check out our article with over 400 skills to put on your resume .

#8. Use Optional Resume Sections

Once you’ve gone through all these section, you might find that your resume still looks empty .

It happens, especially if you don’t have a lot of work experience. Thankfully, there are a lot of other sections you can leverage to fill up your resume.

Some sections you can use include:

  • Certifications. Keeping up with the latest industry trends and enhancing your skills shows your commitment to your career development . Here, you can include any relevant certifications or training you've completed outside of your formal education.
  • Projects. List any significant university assignments or independent projects you were part of. Hiring managers love candidates who do cool stuff in their free time since it shows that you're enthusiastic and proactive about your field.
  • Languages. Lots of businesses operate on a global scale and have diverse teams. Being proficient in multiple languages can make you a standout candidate for roles that might need collaboration across different countries or cultures.
  • Hobbies and interests. Take a moment to research the culture of the company you're applying to. Some employers appreciate a personal touch on resumes, like hobbies and interests , because they can reveal more about who you are and how well you’d fit in as part of the team.

Some optional sections, such as volunteer experience or extracurricular activities , can be formatted the same way as your work experience section. Use these sections to show off your skills and experience!

Let’s look at an example of optional resume sections in action:

EXTRACURRICULAR EXPERIENCE

Student Council Member, University Web Committee

University of California, San Diego

09/2020 - 06/2023

  • Directed the redesign of the university’s student portal, enhancing user interface and experience, which increased daily student engagement by 40%.
  • Organized and led usability testing sessions to gather student feedback, utilizing the insights to optimize navigation and content accessibility on the university website.
  • Served as the student council's representative to the university's IT department, making sure student needs and feedback were central to ongoing web development projects.

CERTIFICATIONS

  • Adobe XD: User Experience Design Udemy, 2022
  • Practical UI Design Fundamentals Coursera, 2023

#9. Include a Cover Letter

Just because your internship resume is ready doesn’t mean you’re done.

Now, we know - odds are, you aren’t a writer , and writing a cover letter is the last thing you want to do.

But cover letters are still crucial for a successful application.

When you write a cover letter, you’re showing the hiring manager that you’re genuinely interested in the job and that you’re ready to go the extra mile to prove it. You’re not just sending out your resume left and right - you put in real effort.

So, including a cover letter with your internship resume can seriously increase your odds of getting an interview and landing the internship you want.

And we’re here with the right cover letter tips you need to nail it!

First, let’s take a look at what a great internship cover letter looks like:

internship cover letter example

Now, let’s look at the structure of a cover letter:

cover letter structure for internship

  • Include your details in the header. At the very top of your cover letter, list your full name, contact information, and the job title you are applying for, just like in your resume.
  • Personalize the greeting. Research the company to find out the name of the hiring manager or the department you’re applying to. This personal touch shows you’ve made an effort and helps your application stand out.
  • Start off strong. Your opening paragraph should be concise and capture the hiring manager’s attention. Highlight a few of your key achievements or qualifications to make a memorable introduction.
  • Expand in the body. The main section of your cover letter should delve into the details. Discuss aspects of your experience and skills that are relevant to the job, including anything you couldn’t cover in your resume. Take the time to explain why you’re a good fit for the role and the company based on the skills and experience you talk about.
  • Conclude it appropriately. End your cover letter with a call to action, and express your excitement to discuss how you can contribute to the company’s goals. Remember to close with a polite closing line, like ‘Best regards’ or ‘Sincerely’.

Key Takeaways

You’ve made it to the end of our article!

If you applied everything we talked about here, we’re sure you’re going to land that internship in no time.

Now, before you go, let’s recap what we mentioned so far:

  • You need the right formatting and layout for your internship resume. We recommend stick to a reverse-chronological resume format, and applying the standard practices to make sure your layout stays tidy and professional.
  • Your resume only has a few seconds to grab the hiring manager’s attention, so you should write a brief paragraph in your resume header. Depending on how experienced you are, this can be either a resume summary or a resume objective.
  • When it’s time to describe your work experience, focus on your achievements more than your day-to-day responsibilities. This can show the hiring manager how much you can do for their company once you’re hired, and it’s a lot more impressive than everyday tasks.
  • If you’re applying for an internship, odds are you don’t have a lot of work experience, and that’s okay. You can focus on other aspects, like your education, your personal projects, or any relevant volunteer experience.
  • Take the time to research what skills are in demand for the field you’re applying to. Then, list them in separate sections for soft and hard skills.
  • Make sure to write a cover letter to match your resume. Try using one of our cover letter templates to create a matching application in minutes.

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Internship Resume Examples and Templates for 2024

Internship Resume Examples and Templates for 2024

Jacob Meade

Internship Resume Templates and Examples (Downloadable)

Most popular internship resumes.

  • College Student
  • Accountant Intern
  • Software Engineer Intern
  • Resume Text Examples

How To Write an Internship Resume

  • Entry-Level
  • Senior-Level

Entry-Level

College Student Resume Example

level-0+1

Accountant Intern Resume Example

level-1+1

Software Engineer Intern Resume Example

level-2+1

HR Intern Resume Example

level-3+1

Internship Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples

John Bergsen  Detroit, MI 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | www.linkedin.com/example

Dedicated accounting student with a 4.0 GPA to date. Completed 32 credit hours, including classes in auditing, cost accounting, and managerial accounting. Recent work experience in small business bookkeeping. Well-versed in accounting software such as QuickBooks and ProSeries. Naturally curious and eager to learn new finance systems and procedures.

  • Accounting principles
  • Advanced Microsoft Excel
  • Client relations
  • Data gathering and entry
  • Financial statements analysis
  • General ledger
  • Workflow documentation
  • Writing and editing

Work Experience

Bookkeeper, Small Accounting Corp, Detroit, MI | May 2022 to September 2022

  • Made journal entries corresponding with revenue and expenses
  • Tracked accounts payable and receivable to support billing for general company expenses
  • Supported monthly close by closing out accounts, reconciling entries, and running financial statements
  • Prepared client and supplier invoices
  • Worked with treasury to manage cash flows and bank account balances

Administrative Intern, Tax Prep LLC, Detroit, MI | May 2021 to September 2021

  • Gained and applied strong service skills such as answering phones, greeting clients, and preparing for client meetings
  • Replied to new client emails with information on the firm’s services and price schedules
  • Received, scanned, and cataloged clients’ tax records
  • Supported tax preparation by entering client data and organizing written communications

Candidate: Bachelor of Science (BS) – Accounting, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor | expected May 2023 | 4.0 GPA to date

Relevant coursework includes:

  • Accounting and economic principles
  • Audit and assurance
  • Business law
  • Corporate finance
  • Cost and managerial accounting

Skyler Thompson  Minneapolis, MN 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | www.linkedin.com/example

Writing and editing professional with strong recent academic and work experience. Currently completing Bachelor’s Degree in English and Creative Writing from the University of Minnesota. Bilingual: Fluent in English and Spanish.

  • Customer service and relations
  • Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint)
  • Office administration
  • Research and fact-checking
  • Team collaboration
  • Writing, editing and proofreading

Candidate: Bachelor of Arts (BA) – English, Creative Writing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis | expected May 2023

  • Children’s fiction
  • Fiction workshopping
  • Poetry and drama
  • Prose and nonfiction
  • Short story writing

Honors and activities

Winner, University of Minnesota Campus Award for Long-Form Fiction | 2022

Runner-up, University of Minnesota Campus Award for Excellence in Poetry | 2021

Staff Writer, UMinn News [biweekly college newspaper] | 2021 to present

  • Provide copy for various sections, including arts, athletics, and opinion
  • Work with photo editors to determine placement with accompanying text

Receptionist, Regional Floral Magazine, Minneapolis, MN | December 2020 to August 2022

  • Managed magazine’s main email account, responding to feedback and providing subscription information as needed
  • Answered and forwarded calls to the appropriate department
  • Maintained and updated subscription rolls
  • Organized meetings and verified sources for reporters

Pizza Delivery Driver, Little Caesars, Minneapolis, MN | June 2019 to May 2020

  • Member of a high-performing 10-person team
  • Praised by manager for working with other drivers and team members to ensure the utmost efficiency and accuracy
  • Gained and demonstrated strong organizational skills combining food deliveries based on customer location

Fluency in Spanish | Proficiency in Italian

Mina Sayed  New York, NY 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | www.linkedin.com/example

Motivated student currently completing Bachelor’s degree with honors in Hospitality Management. Strong recent hospitality experience serving customers and training new hires at a large popular hotel. Adapt readily to new work challenges and industry conditions. Bilingual: Fluent in English and French.

  • Data entry and updating
  • Hospitality operations
  • Inventory monitoring
  • Reporting and documentation

Front Desk Clerk, Worldwide Hotels, New York, NY | January 2019 to May 2022

  • Provided prompt, courteous service while helping guests check in and out of the hotel
  • Answered calls and provided information on hotel pricing, services, amenities, and room availability
  • Entered guest bookings into the tracking system based on email and phone registrations
  • Made guests’ reservations at local tours, restaurants, museums, and movie theaters
  • Offered directions and called taxis for on-site visitors as needed

Highlights:

  • Ranked No. 3 on a 10-person team for efficient, error-free guest reservations
  • Took on leadership role, helping train and mentor new hires

Candidate: Bachelor of Science (BS) – Hospitality Management, XYZ University, New York, NY | expected May 2023

  • Dean’s list all semesters, with a 3.9 major GPA and 3.8 combined GPA to date
  • Captain, Volleyball Team

Fluency in French

Internship experience can be crucial to getting your first job after graduation. The most effective way to land the perfect internship is to write a resume that includes your related work experience, schooling, and any other relevant life experiences you may have had so far.

Regardless of your career direction, you can write an effective resume for internships by showing your ability to quickly gain and use new knowledge in a real-world setting. The tips and examples below will help you capture this skill on your resume so it gets you interviews for a great internship opportunity.

1. Summarize your internship qualifications in a dynamic profile

Your resume profile should catch hiring managers’ interest by giving the top reasons they can expect you to apply your college studies successfully. Use this section to show you have the knowledge base and work ethic to excel as an intern.

If you have a high major GPA or other academic honors, consider mentioning those in your profile. Also, note any relevant work or internship experience you already have, which can help you stand out from other applicants. The best interns are often curious, resourceful, collaborative, and adaptable. Think about which traits describe you, then add a profile line on how you’d use them in a work environment.

Profile Example

2. add a compelling section featuring your internship experience.

With the experience section, you can show you’re a good intern candidate by giving examples of your success in building and using new work knowledge. If you have prior internship or related work experience, flesh out those descriptions so they’re the main focus of this section. Under each job, brainstorm and describe how you quickly learned new concepts and generated value in an unfamiliar environment.

For any jobs that don’t pertain to your target internship, keep the description short and focused on whatever transferable skills you gained. Say you’re applying to intern at a financial services firm, but your work experience so far is mostly summer jobs at coffee shops and restaurants. In this case, you could show the value of these experiences by describing the general customer relations skills you gained as a result.

Work Experience Example

3. include your internship-related education and certifications.

When you’re in school and pursuing an internship, your current degree program may be one of your top qualifications. So feel free to add any details about it that speak to your ideal internship. Consider listing any relevant courses or topics you’ve studied so far – this is often a great way to show hiring managers the knowledge base you’d apply in their internship program.

Below are templates and examples to help you format your education and certification details. Note that optional template areas appear in [brackets].

Candidate: Degree Title [— Major, Minor], [Academic Department,] School Name,City, ST or online | expected graduation date

  • [Dean’s list or other honors] | [#.# GPA] | [class rank]
  • [Dissertation: “Name of Dissertation Paper”]
  • [Relevant coursework includes: Topic, Topic, Topic]
  • [Club or Sports Team]

Certification

  • Certification Name or Title, [Awarding Organization] | [date]
  • Service Excellence Certificate, VCU Advanced Solutions | 2023

4. List your internship-related skills and proficiencies

Include a “Key Skills” section to show managers the various ways you could add value as an intern at their organization. These might range from general soft skills like teamwork to hard technical skills like Microsoft Excel. Make sure each one overlaps with your target role. By having a good mix of relevant skills in this section, you can emphasize your ability to build and harness new practical knowledge. Below are some common skills and keywords to consider for your internship resume:

Key Skills and Proficiencies
Client relations Complex problem-solving
Customer service and relations Data entry and updating
Data gathering and analysis Efficiency improvement
Event planning Inbox sorting and organizing
Inventory monitoring Legal and corporate compliance
Microsoft Office Suite New system implementation
Office administration Process streamlining
Program management Project management
Rapid problem-solving Reporting and documentation
Research and fact-checking Task prioritization
Team collaboration Workflow documentation
Writing, editing, and proofreading  

How To Pick the Best Internship Resume Template

For internships, a clear and straightforward resume template is usually best. Opt for a visual design that lets the hiring manager quickly review your best career details. Select a traditional resume font , and avoid any template with an overly colorful or elaborate design. Also, consider whether the template is compatible with applicant tracking systems (ATS) employers use to screen resumes.

Frequently Asked Questions: Internship Resume Examples and Advice

What are common action verbs for internship resumes -.

For internship candidates, the best resume verbs will show how you’ve quickly built and applied new knowledge – for example, “developed,” “gained,” or “implemented.” But there are various others you might use to describe your school and work experiences so far. The following list can help you find the right mix of action verbs for your internship resume:

Action Verbs
Acquired Adapted
Analyzed Answered
Applied Attended
Coordinated Created
Developed Evaluated
Examined Executed
Explored Followed
Gained Generated
Identified Implemented
Improved Incorporated
Integrated Learned
Maintained Managed
Planned Problem-solved
Procured Produced
Project-managed Provided
Streamlined Strengthened
Supported Uncovered
Won  

How do you align your resume with a job posting? -

A quick and effective way to align your resume with each posting is through the Key Skills section. For any internship you’re drawn to, follow these steps:

1. Identify the most important skills required. These often appear toward the top of the job post and/or are cited repeatedly. Consider using an online tool like wordclouds.com to visualize which terms in the text are most frequent.

2. Among these required skills, highlight any you possess. For example, if one of the posting’s top skills is “teamwork,” consider how collaborative your experiences have or haven’t been, then highlight it if you feel it’s a strength you’ve gained.

3. Compare the skills you’ve highlighted to your resume’s Key Skills section and add any that are missing. Continuing the above example, say you’ve identified teamwork as one of your strengths. Is this reflected in your existing Key Skills section? If not, add a term like “Team collaboration” or “Cross-functional coordination.”

4. Finally, consider deleting any terms in your resume’s Key Skills section that don’t correspond with the skills cited in the internship posting.

This simple exercise gives each hiring manager a clear view of your relevant skill set, making your resume more relevant to the internship.

What is the best internship resume format? -

In nearly all cases, use a Combination (or Hybrid) resume because it’s easiest for hiring managers to learn about your pertinent skills and experience. It’s also easiest for you to modify based on your job goals.

With the Combination format, you highlight your most relevant skills and experience in your experience or work history section and an intro section. (This combination of work history and intro content is where the format gets its name.) Your resume intro should usually include a profile summary and Key Skills section, but you may also add a career highlights or awards section.

Craft your perfect resume in minutes

Get 2x more interviews with Resume Builder. Access Pro Plan features for a limited time!

To increase your chances of an interview, write and submit a strong cover letter. The key to an effective letter is customizing it based on each internship opening. Read our internship cover letter guide to learn how. For other related examples, see our high school and recent graduate cover letter guides.

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Jacob Meade

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, ACRW)

Jacob Meade is a resume writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience. His writing method centers on understanding and then expressing each person’s unique work history and strengths toward their career goal. Jacob has enjoyed working with jobseekers of all ages and career levels, finding that a clear and focused resume can help people from any walk of life. He is an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) with the Resume Writing Academy, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches.

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  • The Best Questions to Ask in a Job Interview Learn More
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Forage

How to Write a Resume for an Internship (With Template)

Zoe Kaplan

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student sitting at desk typing resume for internship

Forage puts students first. Our blog articles are written independently by our editorial team. They have not been paid for or sponsored by our partners. See our full  editorial guidelines .

Writing a stellar resume for an internship is one of the best ways to stand out during the application process. Yet what do you put in your experience section if you’ve never worked in a professional setting? What skills do you include? What do employers expect to see from a student who’s applying for an internship ? This guide will help you craft a stand-out resume for an internship, even if you have no experience. We’ll cover:

What Are Employers Looking for on an Internship Resume?

How to write a resume for an internship with no experience.

  • Resume for an Internship Template

On a typical resume , employers look at your work experience to see what impact you’ve had at your past companies. But resumes for an internship are different — employers know that you’re a student and don’t expect you to have the same breadth of experience. So, what do they want to see?

Show You Can Deliver Results

“Transparently, recruitment is expensive, and companies want to hire people who are going to come in and be focused on driving results, not just sitting there taking up a seat and being a yes person,” Jeremy Grunfeld, director of student success at Forage, says. “Companies want genuine thinkers that will hit ambitious goals set for them.”

To show you’re a results-oriented person, ensure that your resume shows the results you’ve driven, whether that’s an academic project, volunteer experience, extracurricular, or independent project. 

>>MORE: No Internship? Here Are 9 Ways to Get Work Experience This Summer

“You can blow recruiters away and prove your results focus by ensuring that each of your bullet points (particularly in your work experience section) covers the following: what you did, how you did it, and what impact it had (including a metric),” Grunfeld says.

Show You Can Learn New Skills

Recruiters also want to know that you’re competent at learning new skills, Grunfeld says. “Remember, you’re still a student. You’re not expected to know everything — you’re expected to want to learn.”

So, how can you show you’re good at learning new skills and have a growth mindset ? First, prioritize your academic work and independent learning on your resume. Include an education section, your GPA, awards and scholarships, independent projects, and outside coursework, such as Forage job simulations .

Write to the Job Description

Finally, employers are looking for resumes showing that applicants have the skills and experience they want. Before starting your resume for an internship, carefully read the internship description to identify what the employer is looking for from candidates.

Typically, the company will include this information in the internship description’s “requirements” or “responsibilities” section. Sometimes, an employer will list out specific skills, like programming languages or years of experience. Otherwise, a company might say it’s looking for a “team player” or “numbers whiz,” and you’ll have to do a little interpreting to get at what it’s looking for (hint: a good collaborator and someone with math skills). 

Now that you know the three main things employers are looking for on a resume for an internship — results, the ability to learn new skills, and qualifications — how should you start writing your resume?

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Avg. Time: 5-6 hours

Skills you’ll build: Resume writing; identifying job titles, transferable skills, and industry keywords; professional brand

Start With Your Contact Information

The top of your resume is the place to list your most important contact information, including:

  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • City and state (no need for full address)

You can also include a link to your website, online portfolio , or any other site demonstrating your work (if you have one — it’s not required!).

Include Your Education

Next, you’ll include where you go to school, your major, your expected graduation date, and your GPA on your resume .

“The most frequent thing that students fail to include on their resume is their GPA,” Grunfeld says. “It’s vitally important. As a rule of thumb, if a resume doesn’t contain a GPA, the recruiter will assume the GPA has been excluded because it isn’t strong. Recruiters will assume the GPA is less than 3.0. If your GPA is higher than 3.0 and isn’t on your resume, you’re doing yourself a massive disservice.”

You can include relevant course names for your major and the internship you’re applying to. For example, if you’re applying for a software engineering internship, include your advanced programming courses. If you’ve made the Dean’s List, won any academic award, or studied abroad, you can include that in this section, too. 

Take Stock of Your Experience

Next, consider all relevant experiences you can include on your resume. As long as you don’t title this section “Professional Experience,” this doesn’t need to be formal work experience. 

Consider including:

  • Research: Academic work you’ve done for a professor, either for payment or academic credit
  • Extracurriculars: Including sports teams, clubs, arts organizations, and academic societies
  • Part-time work: Even if it seems unrelated to what you’re applying for, you may have transferable skills (for example, customer service skills from working at an ice cream shop)
  • Volunteering: Including community service or work you’ve done to benefit an organization without pay

On your resume, include these experiences with your position, the name of the organization or employer, and the month(s) when you completed the experience. 

Quantify That Experience

Once you’ve written down all of these relevant experiences, you can narrow it down to 2-3 experiences that are relevant to the internship you’re applying for. Next, consider your role in each of them and the results you led to. Ask yourself:

  • What responsibilities did I have? What tasks did I have to do?
  • What did I do to fulfill those responsibilities or complete those tasks?
  • What skills did I use? 
  • Who did I work with? 
  • What happened after I fulfilled those responsibilities or completed those tasks? What were the results of my action?  
  • What did I learn from this experience? 

Asking these questions can help you quantify your experiences, giving you results-driven summaries to add to your “experience” job descriptions.

For example, you might write something like:

  • Managed three students’ overlapping schedules to organize and complete a group project one week ahead of schedule
  • Created targeted outreach email campaigns to raise over $1,000 in one month for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
  • Designed four new posters for a student theater organization to increase audience attendance by 20%
  • Reduced bug frequency by 30% by programming a testing system to identify bugs before software production 

Organize Your Skills

Now that you’ve gone through your experiences, it’s time to figure out what skills you have. 

Hard Skills

Hard skills are the quantifiable skills you’ve learned, including technical, analytical , and computer skills.

First, think about what you’ve learned in your classes. What skills have your teachers taught you or graded you on? For example, did you learn programming skills in a software engineering course? Writing skills in an English class? Data analysis in an analytics course? Conversational Spanish in an introductory class? 

You can list hard skills in a “skills” section of your resume , then provide examples of how you applied them in your experience descriptions.

Soft Skills

Soft skills are skills that describe how we work and interact with others in the workplace, like conflict resolution , adaptability , and verbal communication .

According to ZipRecruiter co-founder Ian Siegel, 93% of employers say soft skills are critical when they decide who to hire. Therefore, it’s crucial to include these skills on your resume. Unlike hard skills, you don’t necessarily put these in your “skills” section, but rather these should be infused into your experience descriptions. 

Putting Skills Into Your Experience Descriptions

The best way to demonstrate how you applied your skills is to put them in your experience section. 

You don’t always need to explicitly name the skill to show how you used it, but it should be clear what impact those skills had on the experience. So, for example, instead of saying, “I used leadership skills in a writing workshop,” you could say, “I led the workshop on X to train 30 new writing mentors in the process.” The second statement still shows leadership skills and demonstrates the impact of your skills.

If we take the examples from above:

  • Managed three students’ overlapping schedules to organize and complete a group project one week ahead of schedule → demonstrates time management skills
  • Created targeted outreach email campaigns to raise over $1,000 in one month for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society → demonstrates email writing skills
  • Designed four new posters using Canva for student theater organization to increase audience attendance by 20% → demonstrates graphic design skills
  • Reduced bug frequency by 30% by programming a testing system to identify bugs before software production → demonstrates programming skills  

Include Projects and Courses

Resumes for an internship often include projects and courses to give the employer a better idea of how you’ve gained skills outside of the classroom and other non-work experiences. 

For example, you may have a blog, graphic design side hustle, or an independent coding project. Maybe you’ve completed a Forage job simulation and learned valuable workplace skills.

In this section, you’ll list the name of the project or course, then put bullets of the skills you gained or what you did underneath.

  • Skip the photo: It takes up valuable space on your resume.
  • Submit the correct file type: “Always submit in PDF,” Grunfeld advises. “When you submit a ‘document,’ your formatting usually gets screwed and recruiters generally aren’t forgiving. They close the resume, hit reject, and move on to the next applicant. Brutal.”
  • Check your spelling and grammar: Don’t be afraid to use tools like Grammarly or ask a friend to proofread.  
  • Use a simple font: Pick a font that’s clear and easy to read, especially on a computer. (Learn the best font for a resume .) 
  • Keep it to a page: There’s no need to go over a page, especially for a resume for an internship when you have fewer years of experience.
  • Match the aesthetic to the employer: When applying to a traditional company, like for an investment banking internship, keep your resume simple; if you’re applying to a more creative marketing company, you can add more style and color.
  • Use ChatGPT as a resume guide , not a final draft: The chatbot can give you a good basic resume template, but you’ll need to customize and review it before submitting it.
  • Share your interests: While it’s not required, some interns include a few of their interests at the bottom of their resume under a “skills and interests” section. Including interests can show a bit of your personality and help make a connection with the hiring manager . 

>>MORE: Find out what career is the best fit for your personality with a personality career quiz .

Resume for Internship: Template

View and download a free resume template that will help you stand out to the hiring manager.

Writing a Resume for an Internship: The Bottom Line

A resume for an internship differs from a typical one because you don’t have the same work experience as professionals, but employers aren’t looking for that experience. Instead, they’re looking for someone qualified for the role who’s results-driven and learns quickly. On your resume, quantify what you’ve worked on — even if it’s not a professional experience — and demonstrate the skills you’ve learned and how you’ve applied them. 

Finally, Grunfeld recommends only putting things on your resume that you’re genuinely proud of. 

“The content must highlight your best assets,” he says. “It isn’t a comprehensive record of everything you’ve ever done. If you don’t want to talk about it in an interview, don’t put it on the resume. ​​Your resume is a marketing document — it is marketing you.”

Looking for an internship? Learn everything you need to know to find and land one:

  • How to Find Internships That’ll Jumpstart Your Career
  • How to Ask for an Internship (Email Examples)
  • How to Write a Cover Letter for an Internship
  • 25 Common Internship Interview Questions
  • Ultimate Guide to Internship Application Deadlines and Open Dates

Image credit: Canva

Zoe Kaplan

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The Proper Way To Include an Internship on a Resume

Whether you’re a college student looking for resume examples or wondering if it’s time to take internships off your resume, this guide has you covered.

2 years ago   •   7 min read

When you’re starting out in the workforce, or even changing to a new career, internships are the perfect way to bridge the gap between education and professional experience. But do they count as proper work experience? Where on your resume do they actually belong? And how do you know when it’s time to take them off your resume entirely?

In this guide, we’ll answer all your questions and provide you with real resume examples you can follow.

How to list an internship on a resume

Let’s start with a quick step by step guide walking you through exactly how to put an internship on a resume:

  • Choose where to include your internships — either in your work experience section or in a dedicated internships section (more on how to choose between these options below).
  • List the employer, their location, and the dates you worked.
  • Put your job title. Aim for a more descriptive title than “Intern” so hiring managers can see what your role entailed.
  • Include 2-4 bullet points listing your main accomplishments.
  • List 5-10 hard skills that you picked up during your internship, education, or other work experience.
  • Upload your resume to Score My Resume for a free instant resume review.

Where to put internships on a resume

Internship resume example

Wondering what your resume should look like once you’re finished? Here’s a sample entry level resume template that features space for internships:

Sample entry level resume including internships and other student activities

You can download this template — and 50+ others — from our entry level resume examples page.

Essential tips for including internships on your resume

How to make internships look good on a resume.

  • Use a specific job title — for example, “Marketing Intern” rather than simply “Intern.”
  • If you weren’t given a specific job title, ask your supervisor if there’s one you can use on your resume .
  • If it’s appropriate for your line of work, you can list seasons rather than months or dates, e.g. “Summer 2021.” If you do this, make sure you’re using the same format consistently for all experiences on your resume.
  • Don’t list everything you did as part of your internship. Stick to the most relevant accomplishments for the type of work you’ll be doing in your new job.

When to take internships off a resume

You should keep internships on your resume if:

  • You’re a student or recent graduate
  • You lack paid work experience
  • You’re changing careers
  • They’re directly relevant to the jobs you’re applying for
  • You interned somewhere particularly prestigious (like Google or Microsoft)

It’s time to take internships off your resume if:

  • They’re older than 5+ years
  • You’ve held 2-3 professional jobs since then
  • They’re pushing your resume over one page in length

Where to put internships on a resume

Generally, internships belong in your work experience section — after all, they are work experience. That said, you can also choose to separate them out into their own section if you prefer.

In your work experience section

When: This is the most common way of listing an internship on a resume, so it's a good choice in any situation. In particular, you should do this if you’re a college student with internships but no work experience applying for entry level positions.

How: Format the internship in the same way as you would any professional experience. Include the name of the company, the location, dates of employment, and your job title. Underneath, choose 2-4 accomplishments that are relevant to the job you’re applying for.

WORK EXPERIENCE COMPANY NAME, New York, NY Project Management Intern, Jun 2021 — Sep 2021 - Include 2-4 bullet points in the format [action verb] + [what you did] + [what the result was]

Example of how to list an internship in the work experience section of a resume

In an internship section

When: If you’ve held a large number of internships, it can be worth separating them out into their own section. You should only choose this option if you don’t have any relevant paid work experience — as you gain more professional experience, you should focus mainly on that and spend less time on other parts of your resume.

How: In this case, you should still list any relevant accomplishments. You can include less detail if you’re adding a lot of internships, but still aim for 1-2 accomplishments for each internship.

INTERNSHIPS COMPANY NAME, [Location] HR Intern, [Dates of Employment] - Accomplishment #1 - Accomplishment #2

If you’re not sure how effective your internships are on your resume, upload it to the tool below — it’ll give you a detailed review of your internships, experience and accomplishments and suggest which ones to improve.

Internship advice for every situation

Do you have questions about your specific type of internship? Here's how to go about listing internships on your resume if you:

  • Interned full-time
  • Had a part-time or seasonal (e.g. summer) internship
  • Left your internship early
  • Have an upcoming internship you haven't started yet
  • Didn't accomplish much during your internship
  • Interned as part of a career change

Full-time vs part-time vs summer internships

The good news is: It doesn't matter what type of internship you had. You can list a part-time or summer internship in the same way as a full-time internship. Keep in mind that:

  • You should be accurate with your dates (if it was a summer internship, then something like "Summer 2022" is fine).
  • You can list "part time" next to your job title if it was a part-time internship, but you don't need to. If the internship overlaps with the dates of your education, most employers will understand the situation.

Listing an internship on your resume if you didn't finish it

Whether to list an internship you left early depends on:

  • How early you left. Cutting an internship short by a week or two shouldn't immediately invalidate the whole thing. Leaving an internship halfway through, on the other hand, is likely to raise more questions than it answers.
  • Why you left. If you had something unexpected come up (illness, family emergency, etc.) that meant you couldn't quite finish up, that's easy to explain. If you were asked to leave your internship or you quit without notice, it's more likely to reflect badly on you.
  • What you accomplished while you were there. This is closely related to the above points — finishing eleven months of a year-long internship should be plenty of time to list one or two compelling accomplishments, but if you were only there for a few weeks, you're unlikely to have achieved much in that time.

Can you list a future internship on your resume?

No, you shouldn’t include upcoming internships on a resume. Why not? Because your resume should focus on accomplishments, and you can’t list accomplishments from something you haven’t actually done yet.

What if you didn't do anything practical during your internship?

Internships are most valuable when they closely resemble real-life work experience — that is, when you had at least some actual responsibilities and accomplishments. An internship that was more passive (because you were mostly shadowing another employee or just weren't given a chance to do much) isn't going to hold the same weight.

Related : How To Put Shadowing on Resume

Including internships on a resume if you’re changing careers

Internships aren’t just for college students — they’re also useful for career changers . Starting off with an internship is a great way to get your foot in the door of a new industry, make connections, and gain relevant professional accomplishments.

Assuming your internships were recent, include them at the top of your work experience section, above any previous unrelated work experience. You should always list your jobs in reverse chronological order, so if your internships are a little older, pull them out to a separate section or include them as part of a featured education section at the top of your resume.

Internship resume examples

If you’re struggling to think of concrete accomplishments from an internship to list on your resume, here are some examples from internships in some of the most common industries.

Computer science internship resume example

MACROHARD, New York, NY Software Development Intern, Jun 2017 – Sep 2017

  • Developed web scraping program in Python to help the firm download public data, including over 10,000 company descriptions and stock quotes, enriching internal data and increasing research efficiency by over 50%
  • Implemented crash reporter and used findings to fix three biggest causes of crashes; reduced customer support calls by 30%
  • Designed and implemented 50+ E2E tests using Selenium & Protractor, simulating each user group's actions

Engineering internship resume example

CITY ENGINEERING, New York, NY Electrical Engineer Intern, Jun 2021 – Sep 2021

  • Performed analysis on product performance, provided recommendations that improved product performance by 10%.
  • Assisted two engineers in developing engineering solutions, which reduced company costs by 15%.
  • Ran weekly tests and validity checks on data, equipment, and software, reducing error rates by 12%.

Business and project management internship resume example

RESUME WORDED (8 employee venture-backed recruitment startup), New York, NY Business Analyst Intern, Jun 2021 – Sep 2021

  • Developed an Excel macro and standardized reporting templates, resulting in efficient data collection and a 35% reduction in turnaround time
  • Created knowledge base of 80 internal resources, improving employee onboarding and reducing time spent per project on administrative tasks by 40%
  • Managed international stakeholders in India, United Kingdom and Hong Kong by hosting daily standups and coordinating weekly status reports

Marketing internship resume example

EXCITING COMPANY, New York, NY Marketing Intern, Jun 2016 – Sep 2016

  • Led the transition to a paperless practice by implementing an electronic booking system and a faster, safer and more accurate business system; reduced cost of labor by 30% and office overhead by 10%
  • Analyzed data from 25000 monthly active users and used outputs to guide marketing and product strategies; increased average app engagement time by 2x, 30% decrease in drop off rate, and 3x shares on social media

Finance and accounting internship resume example

MULTICORP BANK, New York, NY Finance Intern, Jun 2020 – Sep 2020

  • Verified the reliability of the earnings predictions and having an average of 75% success rate.
  • Reviewed and entered payable invoices, adjusted entries, entered inter-company transactions and assisted with administrative tasks with 100% accuracy.
  • Prepared 4 budgetary presentation materials for the management team, successfully leading to department approval.

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how to write intern in resume

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how to write intern in resume

How to write a resume for an internship [with examples]

How to write a resume for an internship [with examples]

Ben Temple

If you're wondering how to write a resume for an internship with no experience, you've come to the right place.

An internship is a great way to gain valuable work experience. Even if an internship pays poorly (or not at all!), it can help you gain the contacts, knowledge, and references you need to land your dream job.

Good internships are highly competitive, so you need an excellent internship resume to stand out from the crowd.

This guide will discuss:

  • How to write a resume for an internship
  • Which resume sections you need on an internship resume
  • How to use a resume template to format your resume
  • Helpful tips for writing a great internship resume
  • What is an internship resume?

An internship resume is a resume that focuses on education and skills and is highly customized for an internship context. It is an important part of applying for an internship.

Because most people do internships early in their career, they often don’t have work experience to list in their resume. You might be a student or recent graduate, and this internship might be your first step into the workforce. As you write your internship resume, it’s important to showcase your most important skills and academic accomplishments.

To do this, you might include sections for education, volunteering experience, extracurricular activities, skills, and academic awards. Anything that makes you look like an impressive candidate will look good on an internship resume.

  • Internship resume sections

An impactful internship resume should have the sections:

  • Contact information : The first section that contains your name and contact details
  • Summary : A short introductory paragraph that summarizes your qualifications as an internship candidate
  • Education : A list of your degrees and academic achievements
  • Skills : A list of the skills and competencies you possess
  • Work experience : A list of your work history and related accomplishments

For many internship applicants, those sections will be enough. If you have more accomplishments you would like to showcase, however, you can also include sections such as:

  • Volunteering experience
  • Awards and honours
  • Research experience
  • Publications
  • How to write a resume for an internship: a step-by-step guide

Hiring managers know that most internship candidates don’t have much work experience, but they’ll still be looking for a great resume. To get past the initial resume screen, make sure your resume is well-formatted and easy to read. To write a great internship resume:

#1. Pick the right resume format

Most job-seekers use a reverse-chronological resume format. In this format, the Work History section is written in reverse-chronological order, beginning with the most recent position and working backwards.

As you may not have many previous positions to list, you may want to use the combination resume format instead. With this format, you still list your previous jobs in order, but make your skills or academic achievements the focus of the resume, rather than your work experience. This way, you can be sure to emphasize the right qualifications.

Consider your experience and your skills when you pick which format will work for you.

#2. Choose an excellent internship resume template

The right resume template will give you an important head start on a great-looking resume.

The specific template you choose will depend on the company and industry of your internship. If you are applying at a law firm, for example, you may want to use a traditional template, such as VisualCV’s ATS . If you are interning in a more creative field, like art or design, you may want to try a more modern template, like VisualCV’s Rainier .

In any case, it’s important that your template is clearly organized and easy to read.

If you decide to design your own resume instead of using a template, be sure to follow these rules of thumb:

  • Choose a font between 10pt and 12pt
  • Keep line spacing between 1.0 and 1.15
  • Choose a neutral, professional font
  • Make section headings between 14pt and 16pt
  • Use bullet points when writing job descriptions

Intern resume example: ATS template

#3. Provide your contact information

Begin your resume with your contact information. This information has to be easy to find, so anyone reading your resume knows exactly how to contact you. For your internship resume, your contact information must include:

  • Phone number
  • Email address

If you have a professional social media account, an online student profile, or an online portfolio, you may want to include a link in your contact information as well

Social media like LinkedIn, GitHub, or even Twitter and Instagram can all be included, as long as all of your online behaviour is appropriate and professional.

Intern resume contact information example

#4. Write a brief summary

On a resume, a summary is a short paragraph or bulleted list summarizing your key qualifications for a position. It is your elevator pitch to an employer, and it may list core skills, academic achievements, or previous positions that make you a great candidate. The Summary section should appear near the top of your resume.

Before writing your summary for an internship resume, you should read the job posting carefully. Pick out key requirements from the job description, such as technical skills, education, and experience, and see how you can include them into your summary. For example, if the job posting calls for experience with JavaScript, and you have worked with JavaScript in your college classes, you can include this in your summary.

A good objective be no more than a few sentences or bullets, use action verbs to describe skills and achievements, and demonstrate why you are a great candidate for the internship. This should encourage the hiring manager to read the rest of your resume.

Driven and motivated graduate seeking internship at BellWether media. Keen to utilize my knowledge of marketing tools and develop my passion for digital marketing. GPA of 3.7 with a strong understanding of consumer psychology. My aim is to prove my value and gain industry experience.

#5. Showcase your education

If you are seeking an internship, you may be a recent graduate or current student. This likely means that most of your skills and experience were gained in your education. If this is the case, your education section is very important to your internship resume.

In your Education section, list your degrees in reverse-chronological order, beginning with the most recent and working backwards. Each item in the Education section should include:

  • Major and minor
  • Institution
  • Dates attended

If you want to emphasize your academic experience, you can also include a description of each degree. If relevant, you may want to list:

  • Dean’s list
  • Research areas
  • Impressive projects
  • Academic awards or honours
  • Exchange programs

When you don’t have much experience in the workforce, details like this van help show that you still have the skills to succeed at your internship.

If you have a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, or any other post-secondary certifications, you don’t need to include your high school. Only include your high school education if it is the only education you have.

MSc in Marketing University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH. 2019 - 2021

Relevant coursework:

  • Consumer psychology
  • Business management
  • Quantitative methods

BSc in Marketing University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA. 2016 - 2019

  • Communications
  • Digital marketing
  • Consumer behaviour
  • Public relations

#6. List your skills

While in many ways the purpose of an internship is to develop your skills, you still have to list your skills on your resume. Make sure you have a clearly labelled Skills section in your internship resume.

Most job-seekers list their skills in a simple bulleted list. This is a readable and efficient way to display your skills.

If you want to give your skills more emphasis, you can also make each individual skill a heading and offer an explanation or example for each one. With VisualCV’s templates, you can even add strength ratings to each skill to show where your strengths are. This is a great way to draw attention to your Skills section in a stylish way.

  • Data analytics
  • Marketing automation
  • Punctuality
  • Copywriting
  • SEMRush, Moz, Screaming Frog SEO
  • Slack, Trello, Microsoft Office
  • Spanish (intermediate)

#7. Work experience

Write your work experience section in reverse-chronological order, beginning with your latest role and working backwards. For each job, make sure to include:

  • Company name
  • Dates of employment
  • A bulleted list of your achievements and responsibilities in the role

Your work experience may include full-time roles you have held. If you are a student or recent graduate, you can also list part-time jobs, summer jobs, other internships, or even volunteering experience.

The important thing is to be sure that you can demonstrate that you are a good worker and a dedicated employee.

Work Experience

Work experience placement ABC Marketing June - Sept 2021

  • Completed three months work experience for a digital marketing firm
  • Automated social media posts for four clients
  • Collaborated with content department to help launch new SaaS service
  • Compilled market research by analyzing data from market surveys
  • Used HubSpot, Maple, and Google Analytics

Cashier/server Gino’s Pizza Oct 2019 - June 2021

  • Worked at a popular pizza restaurant at weekends during my studies
  • Handled cash and payments, balancing the till at the end of the night
  • Provided friendly and attentive service for restaurants patrons
  • Monitored and maintained clean working surfaces at all times
  • Responsible and punctual member of staff
  • Employee of the month January 2021

#8. Add other relevant qualifications

If you have other qualifications you’d like to highlight, be sure to include them in your resume. Other sections might include volunteering experience, extracurricular activities, projects, awards and honours, and more.

Consider what other qualifications you have, and if they suit the internship you’re applying for, add them to your resume.

Freelance Marketing projects 2018 - 2021

  • Helped several local brick-and-mortar businesses migrate online during COVID-19
  • Managed social media accounts for a small clothing brand
  • Contributed SEO-focused copy and blog posts for companies in the CBD space
  • Wrote landing pages for insurance and accountancy services
  • Tips for writing an internship resume

Once your resume sections are in place, you can begin making sure the section content is perfect. As you write and edit your resume, keep these tips in mind:

Clarity is key

Your resume must be clear and easy to read. Ensure that every section has a clear heading, that the resume is structured well, and that the fonts are easy to read both in print and on a screen.

An internship resume doesn’t need to be longer than a page. As you likely don’t have much experience, you should be able to fit everything you need on one page. If absolutely necessary, you can use a second page, but never more.

Customize your resume

It’s essential to customize your resume for each position you apply to. A generic, catch-all resume is not likely to grab a hiring manager's attention. Make sure your resume is tailored to the specific internship you are applying for.

To customize your internship resume, read the job posting carefully and take note of the key words and phrases it uses when describing the job requirements. These are the phrases that you should include in your resume (as long as it’s true). This might include skills, education, tools, software, experience, and more.

Beat the applicant tracking system (ATS)

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a type of software that reads resumes and selects the best ones to pass on to a hiring manager. Many companies use ATSs to streamline the hiring process.

To make sure your resume beats the ATS, make sure you use the exact keywords from the job description to describe your experience. These are the phrases the ATS will be looking for. Further, make sure to use a straightforward template without many tables or images. This will be easier for the ATS to parse.

  • Internship resume example

Highly motivated, organized, resourceful, detail oriented and a committed individual with a strong academic background and diverse work experience. Outstanding design and problem-solving skills with the ability to meet rigorous performance standards and demanding schedules. A hands-on team member and a critical thinker who can quickly learn new systems, develop useful expertise, and produce significant contributions. Strong knowledge of computers (PC and Mac), proficiency in Auto-CAD, Auto-desk Viz, Vector-works, Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch-up with VRay plug-ins, Microsoft Project, Deltek Vision, DASH, Microsoft Office, and have a working knowledge of Rhino and Revit Architecture.

  • Google Sketch up
  • Auto-desk Auto-CAD
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • MS Office Suite

Work experience

Intern architect.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

  • Build design detail on AutoCAD and Archicad 18(BIM).
  • Create plans (with respect to DM Regulations) using AutoCAD.
  • Incorporate details given by Senior Architects and Engineers.
  • Prepare detailed construction drawings.
  • Feasibility studies.
  • Research code (OBC) and materials.
  • Coordinate work and drawings with structural engineers.
  • Attend site meetings and construction site walk-throughs.

PowerTrain Industries

  • Assisted Senior Architects on Design Detailing using Auto-CAD.
  • Assisted in checking shop drawings, producing marketing materials, creating deficiency lists, and site instructions.
  • Created building views using Google Sketch-up.
  • Architectural drawings, drafting & detailing, involvement in project discussions.
  • Client discussion regarding designing modifications.
  • Designed presentations.

Student Intern

INC Architecture & Design

  • Produced CAD drawings of residential buildings from Architect’s sketches and marked up drawings.
  • Completed sets of plans, sections, and elevations.
  • Prepared presentation boards.
  • Participated in negotiations with the client.

Bachelor in Architecture

Academy Of Art University

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Intern Resumes & Writing Guide

If you are looking for a foot-in-the-door into your first full-time job, becoming an Intern is one of your best options. Furthermore, the more internships you have under your belt, the more attractive you will look to potential employers.

The only obstacle standing in your way, however, is a large amount of competition. Luckily for you, we know what hiring managers want to see and how a professional Intern’s resume should look.

Start by reading through our Intern resume samples. An Internship resume should focus on your transferable skills, education, and other abilities rather than your work experience. This may seem daunting, but we are here to help.

Your goal is to ensure that your resume stands out from other applicants by being both informative and entertaining to read, all without overwhelming the recruiter or hiring manager with irrelevant information.

What you can read in this article

Intern Resume Examples

Intern Resume Example

(Free sample downloads are at the bottom of this page)

Internship Resume Writing Guide

Resume sections:.

  • Contact information
  • Profile Summary
  • Work History 
  • Achievements
  • Education 
  • Skill Section
  • Certification & Licensing
  • Extras: Languages/Awards/Publications/Volunteering/hobbies

What to Highlight in an Internship Resume

You are likely writing this resume while you are in the process of completing an undergraduate bachelor’s degree and are tempted to include your theoretical knowledge. There are, however, several essential details that hiring managers need to see in an applicant’s resume to ascertain if you are the right fit for their team or not.

Firstly , you need to list the internships you have already completed. Internships are classified as follows:

  • Paid Internships
  • Credit Internships
  • Externships
  • Nonprofit Internships
  • Service-Learning Internships
  • Summer Internships

When you have categorized your internships, you are required to indicate the industry that these internships took place. Interns can work in any number of industries and positions; you need to be specific. The type of industry areas you worked in need to be included in your summary at the beginning of your resume and within each position description.

Secondly , employers want to see that you are a hardworking, responsible individual that grabs every opportunity with open arms. You can show them this by including your casual work experience. Examples include being a math tutor, helping at your local school, and working at a local farmers' market. The more information you can include, the better. This shows that you used your time effectively while at high school and college, besides just partying!

Lastly , you need to include the following information:

  • The areas you are happy to work in and if you are happy to travel or relocate temporarily.
  • List any special skills and qualities you have that will benefit the field you want to work in. For example, if you want to go into marketing, mention that you have a YouTube channel, or if you are interested in accounting, mention that you are familiar with Accpac.
  • Include any written references from past employees. These add serious credibility to your resume.
  • Your GPA score.
  • Your computer literacy is important and can look very impressive. Mention if you are competent using Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, Oracle, Excel, and Visual Studio.

1. Contact information

  • First Name and Last Name
  • Physical Address
  • LinkedIn (optional)

2. Career Objectives & Summary

Many organizations receive thousands of applications from students looking for Intern positions.. As you are applying for an internship, you won’t make use of the normal Career Summary suited to candidates with permanent working experience. However, your resume needs to be of the highest standard to stand out from the rest and give you the best chance of securing an interview

One of the best ways to do this from the get-go, is with a well-written career objective paragraph. You need to keep your career objective concise and to the point. The aim is to provide a short introduction of who you are and what you have to offer. Your career objective should be placed at the top of your resume, right after your contact information.

The first part of your objective needs to highlight the person you are and your interests.

Next, list the degree you are in the process of completing, and lastly, finish off with why you want to land an Internship with this company. You will quickly learn that the job description is like your cheat sheet.

It contains all the information you need to create a captivating resume . Read through the job description and outline the specific qualities and skills the employer is looking for.

Integrate these into your career objective and throughput your resume (if you have them). Remember to include any outstanding qualities you possess, such as effective time management or excellent people skills.

Intern Summary 1

“ Recent Bachelor of Digital Marketing graduate seeking an internship that will provide the opportunity to add value to (insert company name) by applying theoretical knowledge into practice. Eager to learn the ins and outs of the advertisement field. Previous vocational experience with social media channel set up and blogging has been gained during university as part of the Campus Newspaper team. “

Intern Summary 2

“ A Dynamic Political Science Major would appreciate the opportunity to learn and develop as an intern at the international business's federal office. Fluent in Dutch, Spanish, German and Italian with a working knowledge of French . “

Intern Summary 3

“ Current Dean’s List student (3.8 GPA) motivated to learn the ropes in a community-oriented healthcare clinic. Fast learner and a hard worker with a keen interest in community healthcare, specifically focused on children from low-income communities. “

Intern Summary 4

“ Motivated and creative Graphic Design student seeking to apply design skills, writing skills, and social media experience into an experience-building internship at PeDac Graphic Design Studios. “

Intern Summary 5

“ Seeking an internship position that will allow for the exploration of career choices in the IT environment.. An enthusiastic, hardworking graduate student with majors in computer and data science. Worked in the computer center, tutored undergraduates, and completed advanced data analytics projects relevant to this internship position. “

3. Employment History

If you are applying for a job as an intern, you likely have very limited experience. Do not stress though, hiring managers understand this but still expect to see some form of experience.

The more experience even if part-time, vocational or informal you can include, the better your chances of landing an internship. This is also one of the only times you can include your previous jobs unrelated to your internship field. Simply adding jobs to your resume will show that you are hardworking and responsible. These jobs can include any volunteer work or nonprofit work you have done.

The main difference between an undergraduate’s resume and a postgraduate’s resume is the amount of internship experience. As you complete an internship, add it to your resume so that by the time you are ready to find your first job, your resume is filled with relevant experience. We recommend that you use reverse chronological order when listing your internship and employment history.

Intern Resume Examples:

Internship at coke.

February 2014 – December 2018

Acted as one of two within the extruder research group developing waterborne dispersions for two and three-component polymer systems to be used in future food-grade metal coatings.

  • Developed an extensive report comprising of two years’ worth of experimental data to be used as a project management tool.
  • Cleaned, maintained, and assembled the extruder and its auxiliary parts and implemented the frequent calibration of liquid feed pumps and solid feed hoppers.
  • Aided in a frequent pipe and compression fitting replacement, consulted on liquid heating system re-design and heat pump installation for improved experiment reproducibility.

Internship at Pepsi

February 2013 – January 2017

Worked side by side with the administration of the LGBT Center to ensure that the daily functions of the center run smoothly.

  • Created daily reports when activities take place at the center and when groups visit.
  • Created the first-ever Philanthropic Packet that can be distributed online and in person to raise funds for different events for the LGBT Center throughout the year.
  • Assisted the planning of weekly and monthly functions of the LGBT Center.
  • Sent out emails about several events and news coverages that involved the LGBT center to individuals.

Job Descriptions Examples

During your previous internships, some tasks and responsibilities were given to you. These could be daily duties or spur-of-the-moment requests. Either way, your future employer wants to see these duties and responsibilities to gauge how competent you are. There are hundreds of different internships out there, so we have only provided a few below so that you can get the basic idea.

A Marketing Intern may:

  • Collect qualitative and quantitative data to prepare for market studies and analytics.
  • Analyze competitors.
  • Complete several admin duties such as phone handling, social media marketing, email filtering, moderation services, content writing, updating the CRM, and copywriting.
  • Preparing draft presentation materials for the pormotions and  marketing team using PowerPoint slides.
  • > See out Marketing Intern Resumes & Guide

A Graphic Design Intern may:

  • Assist in the organization of project details and client files.
  • Design Facebook adverts with click-through rates and sign-ups statistics.
  • Assist with designing marketing collateral, such as presentations, email newsletters, and social media campaigns.
  • Develop website icons and graphics.
  • Edit and proofread documents before they are published online or printed.
  • Coordinatining and presentining print requirements and specifications with various vendors and third parties.
  • Monitor project deadlines.

A Politics Intern may:

  • Aid the clerical staff by overhauling their filing system from paper-based to digital.
  • Manage the office's supply inventory and oversee the ordering of sundries such as stationery, IT Equipment, groceries, and office machinery.
  • Coordinating social media accounts for the Campaigns office on Facebook and Instagram and send out planned messages approved by staff.
  • Organize Twitter outreach campaigns to improve fundraising efforts.
  • Ensure that brochures, pamphlets, signage boards, and other promotional materials are printed and collected.

A Business Management Intern may:

  • Assist with general office work in HR and operational departments.
  • Help write up policies and procedures.
  • Read through production reports and compare them to the financial reports.
  • Assist with the safety documentation update on the company system.
  • Check sales reports to ensure that they are accurate.
  • Writing and proofreading company information emails to staff.
  • Ensure that every new employee is registered on the staff database and issue access cards to those that require them.
  • Printomg and binding documentation for weekly management meetings.
  • Develop and improve user procedures and documentation for management systems.

A General Office Intern may:

  • Answering phone inquiries, take messages and direct calls.
  • Schedule travel arrangements of directors.
  • Receiving and posting packages and registered letters from couriers.
  • Take minutes and distributing notes after meetings.
  • Ensure that database and filing systems are maintained.
  • Oversee general errands and provide basic company information.
  • Print, photocopy, and bind documents for company presentations.
  • Assist in the preparation of data and information materials; create and maintain PowerPoint presentations.
  • Preparing and organizinging conference rooms.
  • Ordeing food, beverages and liquor for teambuilding sessions and company events.

A Healthcare Intern may:

  • Interact with patients to collect medical history relating to previous hospital visits, family medical history, and insurance information for the leading physician.
  • Assist physicians with logistical tasks such as restocking supplies, pulling up radiology images, and preparing patient files.
  • Organize emergency patients in order of severity.
  • Follow up on outstanding patient accounts.
  • Accompany medical personnel during hospital rounds.
  • Show families into the family waiting room while patients are in surgery.

4. Accomplishments

Many people believe that they can simply copy and paste their accomplishments section from one resume to the next for each job they apply for. This is something we strongly recommended that you do not fall victim to. This will merely prove to the potential employer that you have not taken the time and effort to read through the job description and result in your resume being overlooked.

Once you have read through the job description, your goal should be to figure out how you can stand out from other applicants. Think about your most impressive accomplishments and achievements that make you proud. Examples:

  • Flat, Simple Duty: Updated the client database.
  • Accomplishment Statement: Updated the database of 6000 clients using MS Access. Categorize d the data following client demographics.

Quantifying Your Resume

Above we showed you an example of how important it is to quantify your accomplishments. It does not end at your accomplishments; you need to quantify every statement you make throughout your resume. If you find it tricky to add numbers (quantify) your information, simply ask yourself if your statements can answer the following questions: “How often?” or “How long?”. See the examples below:

  • How many internship gigs have you done?
  • What was the duration of your internships?
  • “Part of a group of interns at the communications office for the Miami Counties Healthcare Association. Influential in facilitating the weekly Q&A session between management, employees and members of the association and handled all  correspondence before and following these events.”
  • “Developed three new websites for the California State University's marketing, engineering, and medical faculties within a period of three months. “
  • “ Coordinated weekly schedules for a childcare center with more than 60 employees and close to 400 children. “
  • “ Researched and evaluated the implementation of 35 housing policies and interpreted zoning code regulations for all jurisdictions in the nine regions. “

5. Education Section

You likely have some work experience but very little experience in the field you wish to work in. Relax, this is not totally the end of the world; employers understand this and pay more attention to your education section.

We recommend that you put your education section above your experience section. This will allow the reader to view the more impressive information first.

When listing your academic qualifications, mention projects and coursework you did relate to the field you wish to work in.

Furthermore, remember to include information that the job description is looking for.

Most students applying for an internship have not yet finished their studies. Below we have shown you how to list your qualifications, despite not having completed them yet:

2015-2017 – Bachelor of Business Management & Administration, Texas State University, TX

2014 – Ridgefield High School, High School Diploma Ridgefield, NJ

2014 – Certificate in Microsoft Office, Udemy Online

When writing a resume for an Internship position, your technical skills and soft skills are equally as important to employers. Your technical skills refer to the physical duties you can do. Your soft skills refer to your personality traits and the interpersonal skills you have to offer.

The job description will outline certain technical and soft skills that the company requires of its Interns. Integrate these key skills throughout your resume to tailor it to what the reader is looking for.

Technical Aptitude :

  • Today, Interns need to be digitally savvy. Ensure that you include all the IT programs you can work with. Furthermore, mention any calendar apps, project management tools, and collaboration apps, such as Slack and Asana, you are competent with.
  • When including your skills, keep the type of internship that you are applying for in mind. For example, if you write columns in the school newspaper, mention your ability to write well and your competency with different writing platforms.

Soft Skill Examples

Social OrientationTeam PlayerReliable
HardworkingCommunicationIndependent
Stress ToleranceMultitaskingEnthusiastic
DiplomaticAccountableDeadline Driven
EnergeticCollaborativeCooperative

7. Qualifications & Certifications associated with Interns

BachelorMasters
Doctorate DegreesCertificates
DiplomasAssociate

Action Verbs for your Internship Resume

CoordinatingSchedulingAssisting
CheckingProblem SolvingImproving
OrganizingPreparingLearning
CommunicatingListeningPrioritizing

Optional Extras for Internship Resumes:

In a last attempt to stand out, include an optional extras section where you can include additional information about yourself. Include areas such as:

  • Volunteer Work – These experiences may seem irrelevant, but outreach into the poorer communities is an attractive work to employers.
  • Certifications – This will make your education section even more attractive and help make you stand out from the competition.
  • Languages – The ability to communicate well in another language gives you a huge advantage over other applicants.
  • Hobbies, Activities, & Interests – Including relevant activities and interests allows the reader to see your leadership qualities and further gauge the type of person you are.

Professional information of Interns

Sectors:  Various Career Type:  Functional, Clerical, Administrative Person type:   Worker, Helper, Assistant Education levels:  Bachelor’s Degree and upwards Salary indication : Average of $39 219 per annum ( Glassdoor ) Labor market : Totally dependent on industries Organizations : Various, Unlimited

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CVs & Résumés

  • Jul 26, 2022

Guide to Writing an Internship Résumé (with Example)

Getting ready to apply for an internship? Use these steps to create an impressive résumé that will get you ready!

Nikki Vivian

Nikki Vivian

Careers Coach and Writer

Reviewed by Melina Theodorou

Internship Resume Example

Writing a résumé when you are just starting out might seem like a difficult task. If you’re applying for an internship, you might be wondering how you are going to sell yourself without any experience to show. But don’t worry; internships are a valuable first step in your career and employers know that, and are not expecting you to have much, if any, professional experience.

Writing an internship résumé is about skilfully showing your transferable skills , strengths and educational qualifications to demonstrate that you will be a valuable employee. Take some time to think about your achievements, within and beyond of education, your best qualities, and anything you can demonstrate your suitability for the internship role.

Our guide is here to walk you through the process and help you create an impressive internship résumé.

What to include

Resumes are subjective so there really isn’t any ‘right’ per say to create one. That said, there are some important factors to consider as well as sections that must be included if you want to hit the mark and impress employers as an applicant.

Your résumé should include the following sections:

  • Header : This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people don’t include a proper header . Having your name and contact details at the top of your résumé is imperative.
  • Summary/Career objective: This is your introduction to present yourself and why you are the ideal candidate in around three to five sentences. Summarise your goals and most relevant skills and strengths here.
  • Education: This is important when you have little experience. List your educational qualifications starting with most recent first, along with any relevant projects, coursework and awards.
  • Skills: This is an important section. List the skills and qualities which are most relevant to the internship with a short description.
  • Experience: Experience doesn’t have to be paid. Use this section to mention any volunteer work , projects and any part time jobs even if they don’t seem directly relevant.
  • Additional sections : You may have some further sections that are relevant for your application. These could be projects, awards, languages, publications, interests or similar and will be unique to your situation. Add whatever you think is the most relevant to the role.

How to write an internship résumé

Now you know which sections to include in your résumé, take a look at our top 10 tips to help you write the best internship résumé you can, covering everything an employer will be looking for:

Step 1: Tailor your résumé to the role

Your résumé is your way of showing that you have everything it takes to be selected for the internship you’re applying for, so it must be highly tailored to that role . A general résumé that you can send out to everyone just won’t cut it. Each résumé that you send should be tweaked so that it shows your interest in the specific role and company, and clearly outlines why you have everything they are looking for in an intern.

Look at the job description, check the company website and use the essential criteria for the role to make sure you cover all points. If they are looking for someone who is innovative, you need to have that in your résumé. If they want a good leader, include examples to demonstrate that you have this ability, and so on.

Step 2: Research the company

Doing some thorough research on the company you’re applying to will help you tailor your résumé and will give you a good idea of what is important to them, so you know what to focus on. There will be clues about work culture, mission statements and how employees are valued, as well as details about the application process and beyond.

Step 3: Write a strong career objective

Think of this part as your sales pitch. This is your chance to tell the reader that you are the person for the job. In around three sentences, you need to translate who you are, your strongest assets, relevant educational achievements and any relevant experience or attainments, whilst also getting across your career aspirations and goals.

Your summary is the door to the rest of your résumé. The employer will only read on if your career objective catches their attention , so spend time on this and make sure it is confident, professional and tailored.

Step 4: Highlight your achievements

A mistake people often make on their résumé is to list what they have done (duties and responsibilities) instead of what they have achieved. An employer wants to know what you have done that puts you above another candidate so don’t be afraid to demonstrate your accomplishments.

Achievements can be slotted into any section, and can span across education, experience, skills, extracurricular activities and anything else you’ve included. You may even want to include an achievements section if you are drawing from many walks of life.

The key with achievements is to use action words and to make sure they are measurable where possible. You may find the STAR method helpful: it stands for situation, task, action, result. You can use this to make sure achievements are clear by outlining the overall event, the task you were given, your own specific action and the result.

Step 5: Focus on your education

At this stage in your career, your education is crucial because it is the main factor an employer will use to determine your motivation, skill level, dedication and passion. Make sure to make yourself stand out by including relevant coursework, modules and projects, as well as any awards you have won, conferences you have attended and publications.

Step 6: Use your experience

When it comes to experience, don’t think you can only include relevant paid employment. Any experience is valuable when it comes to showing your transferable skills, business acumen and work ethic. Include any volunteer work you have done and absolutely include part time jobs.

Remember that experience can also come from extracurricular activities such as captaining a sports team, being a member of a society, fundraising, helping at an event and even ad hoc jobs such as helping in a family-run business, delivering leaflets or babysitting.

Step 7: Cut the fluff

Your résumé needs to be short and concise. There isn’t endless space so make that what you include is valuable and leave out any fluff. People often fill their résumé with buzz words such as “highly motivated”, “passionate” and “target driven” but if you don’t have evidence to back this up, it really is just words. Make sure everything in your résumé has a purpose and that any claims are evidenced will real life examples.

Step 8: Utilize keywords

To really tailor your résumé effectively, consider the keywords you’ll use. Go through the job description and company website and underline the words and phrases that they use and make sure to add them to your résumé. These are the words they will be searching for so using them will align you with the company and optimise your résumé for applicant tracking system screening.

Step 9: Get an opinion

If you want to be sure that your résumé is where it should be, seek the opinion and feedback of those in the know. If you have a network of people, such as professors, and professionals in the same industry, ask them to review your document and advice you on what else should be included once you’ve written it.

Step 10: Proofread

This might seem obvious, but it is a step that is often skipped. Once you’ve completed your résumé, proofread it before submitting. You may have created a great résumé, but if it is riddled with grammatical errors, it will not create the impression you’re aiming for.

For an insight into how to pull together everything we’ve discussed, check out this example.

This is an ideal résumé for an internship as it distributes the focus so that experience isn’t where you are immediately drawn.

The summary clearly outlines skills and experience as well as making the career focus apparent and the education section is comprehensive, including modules, awards and extracurricular activities as well as the name and outline of each course.

The owner of this résumé has added some sections to really highlight how they stand out including languages, interests and qualifications which build on the standard sections in a positive way.

You’ll notice that it is highly achievements-focused with measurable results added in percentages, rather than just listing duties under the experience section.

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Key takeaways

Internships will help you gain valuable experience but you will find that you have so much else to offer if you take the time to really focus on what you’ve achieved in other areas of your life. At this stage, education, transferable skills and an ability to tailor your résumé to the internship you’re applying for is key.

By pulling together all your achievements, strengths and skills, you are outing yourself ahead of the competition and you will also many examples to elaborate on when you land that internship interview!

Finding an Internship

Résumé Writing

how to write intern in resume

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How to Write a Resume for Internship – With Examples

How to Write a Resume for Internship with Examples

Writing a resume for internships is high-key stressful. We mean, let’s 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 there’s the stress of figuring out how to fill out a resume for an internship when you don’t 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. That’s why we’ve 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. 

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Applying for Internships: Do You Need to Have Prior Experience?

OK, let’s address the elephant in the room: your limited experience. How do you write a resume when your greatest accomplishment to date has been sinking a three-pointer at the final buzzer when you were in the sixth grade? (NGL, still one of the greatest moments of my life.)

The good news is that you don’t need tons of experience to apply for internships. Sure, there will always be some employers who want to take advantage of cheap labor that they don’t have to train. But many employers (read: the best employers) recruit interns because they want to grow their company’s talent pipeline. These employers aren’t necessarily looking for experiences , but rather, a demonstrated interest and passion in the work they do. 

employers looking for experiences graphic

Bottom line? You are qualified!  

@jasonrodelo YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS @bigwillsimmons @rexkline #affirmations #vibewithus ♬ original sound – Jason Rodelo

Want to work at Google? Apply for Google internships . Dreaming about a career in fashion journalism? Go for that Vogue Magazine internship. As long as your extracurricular activities show a demonstrated interest and passion in the field, you have as good a chance as any to getting the internship of your dreams.

Related: How to Get an Internship

What to Include on a Resume for Internships

OK, so what all do you need to include in a resume for an internship? We’re going to take it section by section and break it all down.

1. Contact Information

Always include your contact information (name, email address, location) at the top of your resume. You don’t need to list your full address — your city and state are enough. 

Also, this is a good time to retire that embarrassing email address you’ve been using forever. Asking recruiters to get in touch with you at [email protected] doesn’t exactly scream professionalism.

Student writing notes looking at laptop

2. Summary Statement (Optional) 

Next comes your summary statement, which is simply a brief summary (two or three lines, max) of your qualifications and experience. Some students choose to skip the summary statement so they can make room for more important things on their resume. The choice is up to you. 

In general, you should stay away from objective statements. Summary statements are preferable because they focus on the needs of the employer. Check out the sample below:

Objective Statement: I am seeking an internship that will allow me to build experience in the field of programming.

Summary Statement: Detail-oriented software engineering student with an outstanding academic record. Achieved Dean’s list and maintained a GPA of 3.5. Seeking a programming internship at [company name] to utilize my comprehensive understanding of Java 8.

The summary statement sounds much better, right? Here’s one more useful tip: Look at the job description and use similar vocabulary in your summary statement. That way, employers will quickly see that you’re qualified for the job.

Student Celebrating Graduation With His Dad

3. Education 

Since you’re still in school, your education should go above your career-related experiences. This is because students tend to have limited experience, so it makes more sense to draw the employer’s attention to their education. 

In this section, you should include the following:

  • Name of institution + location
  • Degree and intended major
  • Expected graduation date
  • Study abroad, GPA, honors, relevant coursework — anything that allows you to flex your hard work ethic.

It should look similar to this:

University of South Carolina, Columbia               Expected June 2021

Bachelor of Arts in Economics, GPA 3.6/4.0

Relevant Coursework: Advanced Microeconomic Theory, Industrial Organization and Public Policy, Public Economics

Italy Study Abroad Program: University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health September 2018-December 2018

young apprentice in vocational training

4. Experiences

Now, it’s time to list your career-related experiences. This section will likely make up the bulk of your resume and should include extracurriculars like volunteer work, part-time jobs, student organizations, sports, etc. 

When listing your experiences, make sure that you put them in reverse chronological order. This is the most popular resume format and, in general, the one that will make your internship resume the most impactful. 

A reverse chronological resume includes your career-related experience history beginning with the most recent and working its way backward. Here’s what it looks like:

Molecular Biology Internship

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine July 2019-Present

  • Core responsibilities #1
  • Core responsibilities #2
  • Core responsibilities #3

Assistant Dog Groomer

Wagging Tails Grooming Salon                April 2016-August 2018

Animal Shelter Volunteer

Southwest Humane Society               October 2012-April 2016

The skills section is nothing fancy. This section typically goes at the bottom of your resume and includes any skills that may be relevant to the position you’re applying for. 

For example, if you’re applying for a programming internship, you might list Java and HTML as relevant skills. This section can also include interpersonal skills (aka, soft skills) such as leadership, multi-tasking, etc.

If you’re cutting it close on space, consider leaving out “proficient in Microsoft Word” and similarly basic skills. Not trying to call you basic or anything! But as a Gen Zer, many employers kinda expect you to know your way around a computer.

Create resume will help you stand out graphic

How to Write a Resume for Internships: General Tips and Advice

So, how do you build an internship resume that a) demonstrates your interest in the company/industry you’re applying for and b) tells a unique story? Here is our best advice for creating a resume that will help you stand out in a sea of internship applications.

1. Keep It Simple 

Unless you’re applying for a graphic design internship or something similarly creative, it’s best to keep your resume layout simple. Stick with an easy-to-read font like Times New Roman or Arial (10-12 point) and use clearly marked sections and headers. 

Be sure to leave plenty of white space. Do not cram every experience you’ve ever had onto your resume. Remember: You’re trying to tell a story with carefully-chosen experiences. 

2. Use Strong Action Verbs

When filling out your information for each work experience, use easy-to-skim bullet point statements to help explain your responsibilities and accomplishments. Start each bullet point with a compelling action verb.

For instance, let’s say that you want to highlight a capstone project that you completed for your class. Here is an example of how you might use action verbs (bolded below) to kick off each bullet point:

Marketing Projects

Marketing Campaign for Smith’s Family Insurance – Cincinnati, OH October 2019 

  • Surveyed 150 families in Cincinnati to collect detailed data on client’s target audience. 
  • Developed and implemented a cost-effective marketing plan for local insurance company that leveraged social media and offline marketing techniques.
  • Created a campaign budget of $1,200 which we estimated to be the minimum cost that would yield the highest return on investment (ROI).

Need some ideas for your resume? Here is a list of action verbs to get you started.  

Student typing on laptop

3. Get to the Point

Your internship resume should be no more than one page . Seriously, keep it short and sweet. This forces you to be concise and make every word count.

Besides, most hiring managers spend all of 7.4 seconds looking at your resume. They’re probably not going to bother looking at the second page unless the first is extremely compelling. And TBH, most entry-level candidates don’t have enough experience to warrant a second page anyway. 

4. Be Specific 

Too often, resumes for internships have vague descriptions like “utilized advanced computer skills to improve company’s website.” Like, what does “advanced computer skills” even mean? Is it programming? Managing servers? Try to be more precise. 

On a similar note, you should describe the task and its impact. How did your work on a specific project impact the organization and/or its customers? 

When writing your bullet statements, try to follow this formula: Action verb + task + result statement. For example:

Marketing Capstone Project

  • Increased voting participation by 25% in a student election by advertising the election on Facebook and Twitter.

Here’s another: 

Senior Camp Counselor

  • Implemented a three-step conflict resolution program for 15+ unruly children that resulted in a 20% decrease in unwanted behavior.

5. Use Keywords (But Avoid Keyword Stuffing!)

When writing a resume for internships, you need to write it for both human readers and computerized resume scanners. Companies that receive a lot of internship/job applications often use application tracking software (ATS) systems to simplify the process.

Long story short, these computerized resume scanners are looking for keywords in your resume that indicate whether or not you’re a qualified candidate. So, what does that mean for you? It means that you need to pull up the job description and carefully pepper in the most likely keywords to make it past the robots.

Obviously, you shouldn’t lie on your resume. If you can’t code your way out of a paper bag, don’t try to insert words like “proficient in C++” or whatever. When tailoring your resume to fit the position, stick to the truth.

You also shouldn’t stuff your resume with keywords. Remember that if you make it past the robot, a human will be reading your resume next. Make sure that it’s both human and robot-friendly.

6. Proofread Carefully

Here’s a fun thing to do this Halloween: Read resume horror stories in which the applicant didn’t proofread his or her resume before submitting their application. Seriously, typos can kill your chances of getting a callback. Don’t let your resume get tossed in the “no” pile just because you spelled “manager” as “manger.”

Proofread your stuff not once, not twice, but THREE times. Additionally, don’t be afraid to ask someone to look over your resume. Resume advice can vary depending on your industry and circumstances, so try to get someone who is familiar with both. If nothing else, pop down to your college’s career center and get a professional to look at it for you.

Final cover letter tips graphic

Final Tips 

You’ve finally finished up your resume. Nice one! Before you send it off, make sure that your bases are covered with these final tips:

  • Don’t forget your cover letter. Yes, cover letters matter! We wrote a detailed guide on how to write a cover letter for internships , so check it out and flex that awesome personality of yours on your CV.
  • Leave out references. You don’t need these unless the employer specifically asks for them. If references are requested, be sure to create a separate document for your reference list.
  • Submit as a PDF. When you’re ready to submit your resume, opt for a PDF version instead of a Word document. A PDF is more likely to preserve the formatting of your resume when your employer opens it.

And that’s it! Whether you’re applying for a remote internship or a traditional internship, a strong resume can be your ticket to an amazing career opportunity. Now, go forth, and make your resume shine!

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Here’s How (and When and Why) to List Internships on Your Resume

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Writing or updating your resume brings up a hundred different questions. Should you highlight this, that, or the other thing you did? How should you describe yourself, your education , and your experience?

And when it comes to listing internships on your resume, you’re bound to have plenty of specific questions. Like:

  • Should you include your internships at all?
  • Where should you list them?
  • How much detail should you go into about each one?
  • How long into your career should you keep those internships on there?
  • What if you had a super fancy internship but it was kind of a long time ago?

As Muse career coach Tina Wascovich emphasizes, your resume is “the thing that gets you in the door.” And having solid internship experience on your resume can often make the difference between getting called for an interview and getting passed over—especially if you’re early in your career. So these questions matter.

But you don’t have to agonize over them or let them cause you too much stress, because we’ve got answers here for why, when, and how to list internships on your resume.

Why List Internships on Your Resume?

In short, you should include internships on your resume because they’re part of your work experience. And especially if you don’t 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 you’ve 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 wouldn’t you want to showcase that on the first document an employer will see?

Recruiters and hiring managers “know that entry-level candidates don’t have a lot of experience,” says Dana Leavy-Detrick, the director of Brooklyn Resume Studio . “They’re 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 you’re telling later on—for example, if you’re changing careers or pivoting back to an earlier interest.

When Should You Include Internship Experience on Your Resume?

There’s no hard and fast rule about when to include internship experience on your resume. But here are a few questions to ask yourself that’ll help you determine which internships to list and when:

How Recent Is the Internship?

If you’re a student or a recent graduate, you’ll most likely want (and need) to lean on your recent internship experiences on your resume, and you’ll probably keep them on there for at least a few years as you embark on your career.

The same applies if you’re 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 you’re doing today hold more weight,” Leavy-Detrick says.

How Much Other Work Experience Do You Have?

This is a similar question to the one above but not identical. As you start gaining post-internship professional experience and entries about those jobs begin filling up your resume, you’ll have less and less space for internships.

But the number of roles you’ve had will vary. For example, say you’re six years out of college and have worked full-time jobs at three different companies since then. You’ll certainly want to include those three full-time experiences with a good amount of detail, leaving less space (or maybe none) for your past internships. However, say you’re six years into full-time work but have been at the same company the whole time. In this case, you’ll likely have more space on your resume to include some or all of your internships.

How Relevant Is the Internship to Your Next Step?

You should always tailor your resume to the role, company, and industry you’re applying for. So do the same when you’re deciding which internships to include.

For example, if you had internships doing both social media and email marketing, but you’re eager to pursue social media, prioritize including those related experiences. Or if you did a couple of marketing internships but then ended up going into operations and are now trying to pivot back to marketing, those old internships are more relevant than they would be if you were staying in operations.

In short, “anyone at any point in their life can list an internship, especially if it’s relevant to their next step or career vision or goal,” says Wasserman.

How Prestigious Is the Internship Program or Organization?

“There are some companies that the prestige of them is worth mentioning,” says Wascovich, even if your internship took place a little further back than you’d otherwise go on your resume. For example, if you got a really competitive internship at the White House or Apple or whatever the equivalent “wow” program would be in your industry, it might be worth mentioning.

If you’re trying to make a jump to a larger, more prestigious, or national or international company, it could be particularly helpful to show that you have internship experience at a similar organization.

Did Something Go Wrong at the Internship?

Hopefully, this isn’t an issue for you. But in the rare case that there was some extremely difficult situation or even a legal issue during your internship, Wasserman says, you may decide to leave it off. You don’t want to run the risk of the recruiter or hiring manager reaching out to someone there—and hearing only negative things about you.

Does an Internship Open You Up to Potential Bias?

If you worked at an organization with a certain political affiliation, for example, or interned with a hot-button advocacy group, and are concerned that a prospective employer might judge you unfairly (or even illegally), you might decide not to include that particular internship on your resume.

It’s up to you, of course. While you might not even want to work at a company where this would give a recruiter or hiring manager pause, not everyone has the financial freedom to be open and unapologetic in their application materials.

How Should You Include Internships on Your Resume?

Okay, you have a pretty good idea which internships you’d like to list on your resume. But where do you put them? And what do you actually say about your internship?

In general, you should treat your internships just like any other work experience, which means you’d list them under the section labeled “Work Experience” or “Professional Experience” or “[Industry, i.e. Marketing] Experience,” and fit them right in where they go chronologically.

The format should be the same, too. In the first line, include:

  • Title: Try to go beyond “Intern” and be specific here. Was it “Graphic Design Intern” or “Copywriting Intern” or “Business Development Intern”? If you had a title that didn’t explicitly include the word “intern,” you can put it in parentheses if you want, as in “Crime Reporter (Intern).”
  • Location: Write [City, State], as in “Toledo, OH.”
  • Dates: When did your internship take place? You can put [Month–Month, Year] or [Season Year], as in “June–August 2019” or “Summer 2019.”

Below that, you’ll want to include a description, most likely in bullet point format—again, just as you would for any other work experience. Start with an action verb that’s relevant to the industry, try to include numbers as well as any achievements or accomplishments, and incorporate keywords from the job description for the role you’re applying for, if possible. Focus on your most substantial projects and assignments rather than on busywork you might’ve done. In other words, talk about the detailed event plan you put together more so than the photocopies you made.

“You want to show the employer what you can do for them,” says Wasserman. “Don’t just think about duties or responsibilities you had, go beyond that and be very specific about what you accomplished and achieved and what skills you developed.” So instead of “Composed tweets” you’re better off writing, “Composed dozens of tweets a day that garnered an average of 100 likes and 25 retweets.”

But don’t panic if you can’t think of giant achievements. With internships, you’re “probably not going to have a ton of accomplishments. Show the potential. Show what you learned in some way,” says Leavy-Detrick. “What functions of the business did you get exposure to?”

Examples of Internships on a Resume

An internship entry under your work experience might look like one of these examples:

Video Editing Intern, ABC Productions; Topeka, KS May-August 2017

  • Edited rough and fine cuts of 18 one-minute videos
  • Created an easy-to-navigate library of video graphics and templates
  • Worked closely with video and marketing teams on day-to-day tasks and long-term planning

Websites Galore, San Francisco, CA—Web Design Intern Summer 2018

  • Assisted senior designers to develop new web pages for four different brands using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
  • Updated existing websites to improve user experience

Would You Ever List Internships Somewhere Else on a Resume?

There are a few other ways you can incorporate internship experience in cases where you have a good amount of other experience:

  • Include just the title, company, location, and dates—without any details below—in your work experience section.
  • Add a footnote at the end of your work experience section, along the lines of “Previous experience includes design internships at [Company A] and [Company B].”
  • If you’re well into your career, you can mention older but significant internships under a leadership or significant accomplishments section lower down on the page or below the degree during which you completed them in your education section.

What If You Were an Intern and Then Got Hired?

If you were impressive and lucky enough to get hired at an organization where you first interned, there are a few ways to go about including both your internship and your subsequent role(s) there. You could:

  • Create two separate entries, a good choice if you don’t have many jobs to list or if the two experiences weren’t consecutive.
  • List it as you would two roles at one company , with two sub-entries under the company name.
  • List the full-time role and mention in a bullet, “Promoted from software developer intern to full-time role,” or, “Initially brought on as an intern to support development department, promoted to membership assistant.”

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How to Write a Resume for College Applications in 2024

How to Write a Resume for College Applications in 2024

So, you’ve aced your classes, prepped for the SATs, and started crafting those compelling essays. But wait! There’s one more component to the college application you might be overlooking: the resume. While not every school requires one, a well-written resume can be a game-changer, setting you apart from the crowd and giving admissions officers a glimpse into the well-rounded individual you are. 

But with limited space and a lot to talk about, how do you craft a resume that stands out? This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to write a college application resume that gets you noticed by admissions officers. From highlighting your leadership skills to quantifying your achievements, we’ll cover it all.

Importance of Resume for College Applications

While not all colleges require a resume, it can be a valuable component to show your qualifications beyond what fits in the standard application.

For example, the Common App only necessitates an activity list. However, you have the option to submit a resume alongside it. It provides a more comprehensive picture of your academic achievements, interests, and hobbies. Similarly, the coalition application allows you to upload a resume to the locker section.

Opinions on college application resumes vary among admissions experts. Some see them as a strong way to demonstrate your academic journey, work and volunteer experiences, and contributions outside the classroom. This allows colleges to get a better sense of who you are as a well-rounded individual.

However, remember that honesty is important. Avoid embellishing your experiences. Instead, focus on highlighting your unique achievements and specific details that make you stand out. Steer clear of generic statements and cliches.

A well-crafted resume can also benefit you in other ways. It can serve as a reference for your recommenders, helping them write stronger letters of recommendation. Additionally, many scholarship applications allow you to submit a resume as part of your application package.

Should you submit a resume to colleges?

Some colleges and scholarship committees may request or recommend a high school resume as part of your application materials. Always follow their application instructions carefully. If a resume is requested, it’s a great opportunity to show your academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and relevant skills. However, don’t submit a resume if they don’t ask for one. Following instructions is crucial for a successful application.

College Application Resume Must-Haves

While a college resume shares similarities with a professional resume, it serves a distinct purpose. Here’s a breakdown of what to include in your resume for college applications:

1. Contact information

List your full name, email address, phone number (optional), and home address at the top. If you have a personal website showcasing your work or a LinkedIn profile with relevant experiences, include their URLs for a well-rounded online presence.

2. Education and accomplishments

This section is your academic spotlight. List your high school name and attendance dates. Consider including your GPA, class rank (if applicable), and any Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses you’ve taken. If you’ve taken the ACT or SAT exam , mention your scores if they strengthen your application.

3. Work and volunteer experiences

For high schoolers, “work experience” takes on a broader meaning. Include internships, part-time jobs, job shadowing, and even study abroad programs. Volunteer experiences are highly valued by colleges. It demonstrates your commitment to your community. Be sure to highlight any leadership positions you held during these experiences.

4. Extracurricular activities

Colleges love well-rounded individuals. In this section, list your involvement in sports teams, clubs, and activities beyond the school setting. This paints a broader picture of your interests and passions.

5. Honors and awards

This section is your trophy cabinet! List your academic awards from school, external organization recognitions (like the Eagle Scout or Gold Award), and any athletic achievements you’re proud of.

6. Skills and interests

While not a traditional resume section, consider including a brief section highlighting your skills and interests. This can include languages you speak, computer proficiency, and valuable soft skills like teamwork, communication, and leadership. You can also mention hobbies you’re passionate about, especially if they connect to your intended college major .

Read Also: When Do College Applications Open in 2024?

6 Essential Tips to Write a Resume for College Applications

While the content of your resume is important, how you present it holds nearly equal weight. Here are six essential tips for structuring and writing a resume that shows your achievements and stands out from the crowd.

1. Professional email address

Create a professional email address using your first and last name (e.g., [email protected]). This demonstrates clarity and professionalism.

2. Education takes center stage

Unlike traditional resumes, highlight your education section first. Colleges prioritize academic performance, so show your GPA, relevant coursework, and any academic awards or honors.

3. Formatting for readability

Create a visually appealing and easy-to-read resume. Use simple, to-the-point headings and consistent fonts. Additionally, always use clear, concise bullet points when listing information. This makes your resume visually appealing and makes it easier for admissions officers to scan through a high volume of applications.

4. Action verbs make a difference

Strengthen your bullet points with action verbs that show your skills and accomplishments. Instead of simply stating your job title, elaborate on your responsibilities. For example, instead of “Managed ice cream shop,” use “Directed a team of five employees, ensuring efficient customer service and product quality control.” 

5. One page is the golden rule

Keep your resume concise and to the point—ideally one page. Select your most impressive and relevant achievements and activities. Admissions officers are likely less interested in one-semester involvements. Highlight activities you are passionate about and those that demonstrate commitment. Avoid including irrelevant information or lengthy descriptions.

6. Be truthful

Colleges can easily verify details on your resume, so focus on accurately representing your involvement. While highlighting your dedication is important, be mindful of how you quantify time commitments. For example, instead of saying, “Basketball practice for 30 hours a week,” you could describe your active role on the school sports team.

Read Also: 8 Top College Interview Tips For 2024

From the Desk of Yocket

Resumes for college applications can be a valuable additional component for applicants to show a more well-rounded picture of themselves. While transcripts and test scores provide a snapshot of academic performance, a resume allows students to highlight their extracurricular activities, leadership qualities, work experiences, and awards. This can be particularly beneficial for students with strong non-academic achievements or those applying to programs that value well-rounded individuals.

However, it’s important to remember that resumes are not always necessary for college application process . Some colleges may not request or even consider them. It’s crucial to follow the specific application guidelines set by each institution. 

For those colleges that do welcome resumes, it’s an opportunity to make a strong impression. A well-crafted resume can supplement the application by showing a student’s passions, commitment, and initiative beyond the classroom. It can also serve as a conversation starter during college interviews, allowing applicants to elaborate on their experiences. Yocket provides valuable resources to help you create an impressive resume for your college application.

how to write intern in resume

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between a college application resume and a regular resume.

Unlike a traditional resume used for jobs, a college application resume is meant to show your well-roundedness as a student. It highlights your academic achievements, extracurricular activities, awards, and skills that demonstrate your potential for success in college.

Do I even need a resume for college applications?

While not all colleges require a resume, it can be a strong optional addition to your application package. It allows you to provide more details about your accomplishments beyond what fits on the standard application form.

How long should my resume for college applications be?

Ideally, keep it to one page. Two pages are acceptable if you have a very extensive background but aim for concise and impactful information.

What format should I use for a resume for college applications?

For a resume for college applications, use a clear and easy-to-read format with headings, bullet points, and consistent fonts. Chronological order (most recent first) is a good way to organize your experience.

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Build & write Best Resume / CV & Application Covering Letter [Free Online Course] - TechCracked

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How Ivy League Hopefuls Can Build Their Network This Summer

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For high school students dreaming of attending Ivy League institutions, summer is not just a break from academics—it is an invaluable opportunity to build a network that can help them on the path toward their collegiate goals. Networking can open doors to mentorship, internships, and firsthand advice from those who have successfully navigated the Ivy League admissions process. While the age of the internet has opened new avenues for connection by allowing students to meet peers, professionals, and subject matter experts that they would not otherwise encounter, making the most of such networking opportunities—whether online or in person—requires strategy and skill.

For high school students seeking to level up their networking skills this summer, here are some key tips to keep in mind:

1. Start Locally

While the internet offers innumerable outlets for students to meet others in their field of interest and enrich their skillset, networking should always start in one’s own community. Before setting their sights on exchanging emails with Elon Musk, students should identify respected professionals, academics, or community leaders in their own community who may provide valuable insights or connections. Students can start by reaching out to friends and family members who know others working in their field of interest, attend the colleges they are applying to, or offer internships or volunteer opportunities for high school students in their area.

2. Master Email Etiquette

When reaching out to community members they do not know, students should send a brief and professional email explaining their goals and specifically stating how the recipient’s expertise might benefit their goals. They should begin with a professional greeting, using the person’s official title before introducing themself (this should include their school, grade and relevant accomplishments or interests). Students can then ask specific questions, set up a time to get coffee, or request to chat via Zoom or over the phone.

3. Maintain a Professional Online Presence

Alternatively, students can reach out to community leaders via networking sites such as LinkedIn ; social media platforms like Twitter can also be powerful tools for networking if used wisely. Creating a professional online presence can help students connect with key individuals and stay informed about new opportunities. While students may have personal Instagram or Twitter accounts on which they share photos or personal thoughts, they should be sure to engage with professionals and academics in their field from an account used solely for professional purposes. Students can follow Ivy League admissions officers and faculty members, and engage with their posts by commenting thoughtfully and sharing content that resonates with them.

‘The First Descendant’ Servers Remain Offline During A Rough Day Two

Chief justice roberts’s two landmark opinions turn tide toward liberty, ‘beverly hills cop: axel f’ director on eddie murphy and making an ‘80s-style action movie, 4. make long-term impact.

When building a network, students should keep in mind that quality is often more important than quantity. Making connections with a breadth of peers and professionals in your field of interest can be helpful, but you will likely find that the most meaningful and beneficial relationships are those cultivated over time. For instance, if you are involved in a volunteer organization or internship program, committing to the activity over a couple of years during your high school career will allow you to grow in your role, demonstrate your commitment to the cause, and develop new skills over time. Likewise, your peers, supervisors, and mentors will be able to craft meaningful letters of recommendation, offer advice as you engage in the college search, or connect you with others who can help you along the way.

5. Make a Strategic Plan for Requesting Letters of Recommendations

Finally, students should note that a strong network is made up of people with diverse expertise—not every person in their network will be able to offer insightful college advice or write a strong letter of recommendation. Because of this, students should be intentional and strategic about how they leverage their network, using some connections to secure internships or jobs, others to make connections in their field of interest, and others to craft compelling letters of recommendation. The best recommenders will be those who have interacted with the student in a meaningful way (whether as a supervisor, professional or academic mentor) and who can attest to their unique strengths in the admissions process.

Building a network is a proactive and ongoing process. By taking advantage of summer opportunities, you can create a support system that provides guidance, inspiration, and practical assistance on your path to the Ivy League. The relationships you build now can significantly impact your future academic and professional success.

Christopher Rim

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  1. Creative Human Resources Internship Resume Example & Guide

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  2. 17 Best Internship Resume Templates to Download for Free

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  3. 11 Internship Resume Examples & Writing Guide for 2024

    how to write intern in resume

  4. Intern Resume & Writing Guide

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  5. Intern Resume & Writing Guide

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  6. FREE 7+ Sample Internship Resume Templates in MS Word

    how to write intern in resume

VIDEO

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  5. Professional Intern Resume Guide For Beginners [+ Examples]

  6. The RESUME That Got Him Into GOOGLE 🚀

COMMENTS

  1. How to Put an Internship on Your Resume (With Examples)

    List your internship experience using the same format as any full-time job you've held. For each internship you've held, include the following information: Name of the company or organization you interned for. Your position title. Your employment start date and end date (including month and year)

  2. How To Put an Internship on a Resume (Plus Examples)

    Here are the steps you can follow to list your internship experience on your resume in a way that appeals to hiring managers: 1. Add the internship in a relevant section. Determine whether you want to include the internship in your work experience section or as its own section. List your internship and work experience in chronological order.

  3. How To Write an Internship Resume That Will Get You Hired

    How to write an internship resume. These six steps will help you write an impressive resume that showcases the unique skills you would bring to an internship: 1. Consult your network. Before you begin looking for an internship, talk to your professors, advisors, friends, family or anyone you know who can help you build a plan.

  4. Resume for Internship: Template & Guide (20+ Examples)

    Our resume builder will give you tips and examples on how to write your internship resume for college students - the same advice a hiring manager would give you. You can easily copy them straight into your resume - it will save you a ton of time. 4. Online Resources For Finding Internships And Connections.

  5. How to write an internship resume (+ an example)

    Step 2: Objective or summary statement (optional) A resume objective or resume summary statement gives hiring managers a sneak peek into your career goals by highlighting specific skills that make you perfect for the internship. Tailor this section to the internship you're after.

  6. 9 Internship Resume Examples & Writing Guide for 2024

    1. Write a targeted student internship resume objective. When you apply for internships, a resume objective is the best way to start your resume off strong because it lets you target your application directly to a specific company and state your career goals.. Your resume objective should highlight your willingness to learn and how you plan to apply the real-world skills you've already ...

  7. Here's How to Write an Internship Resume (Plus an Example!)

    Step 3: Fill in Your Information. When you start adding jobs and activities to your resume, you'll want to put them in reverse chronological order—most recent to least recent. If some happened at the same time, put the most relevant one first.

  8. Internship Resume Tips, Examples & Templates

    Here are some tips for writing a resume for an internship with no experience: Start with a strong objective statement: This should be a brief statement that highlights your career goals and what you hope to achieve from the internship. Focus on how the internship will help you develop your skills, gain experience and contribute to the company.

  9. How to Put an Internship on a Resume [Guide and Examples]

    Here's how to put an internship on a resume: Make sure your internship is relevant to the position you're after. List your internship in the professional experience section of your resume. Specify what kind of internship you had in the job title. List the company name, dates, and location.

  10. Internship Resume Examples & Templates (2024) · Resume.io

    This resume writing guide, along with sample resume sentences specifically for internship candidates, will set your candidacy apart from the pack. You'll learn how to: Create an engaging, easy-to-read resume that highlights the qualities you'll need to succeed in an internship; Choose the best resume format for an intern

  11. How to Write an Internship Resume [w/ Examples]

    Top ↑ Internship Resume Example 9 Steps for the Perfect Animator Resume #1. Choose the Best Format #2. Tweak the Layout #3. Add Your Contact Information #4. Write a Headline #5. Focus on Your Work Experience #6. Keep Your Education Section Relevant #7. Include In-Demand Soft and Hard Skills #8.

  12. Internship Resume Examples and Templates for 2024

    4. List your internship-related skills and proficiencies. Include a "Key Skills" section to show managers the various ways you could add value as an intern at their organization. These might range from general soft skills like teamwork to hard technical skills like Microsoft Excel.

  13. How To Create a Resume for an Internship

    How to write a resume for an internship. Use these steps to create an excellent resume to send to internship opportunities: 1. Compile your qualifications. It's important to make sure that your resume has all the information you need to make a positive impression on the individual who reads it. Your resume should include:

  14. How to Write a Resume for Internships: A Comprehensive Guide

    Use relevant keywords from the job description throughout your resume. Simplify formatting and avoid uncommon file formats. Save your resume incompatible file formats such as .docx or .pdf. Customize each resume with job-specific keywords and phrases. Review and edit for accuracy and professionalism.

  15. How to Write a Resume for an Internship (With Template)

    Use a simple font: Pick a font that's clear and easy to read, especially on a computer. (Learn the best font for a resume .) Keep it to a page: There's no need to go over a page, especially for a resume for an internship when you have fewer years of experience. Match the aesthetic to the employer: When applying to a traditional company ...

  16. The Proper Way To Include an Internship on a Resume

    HR Intern, [Dates of Employment] - Accomplishment #1. - Accomplishment #2. If you're not sure how effective your internships are on your resume, upload it to the tool below — it'll give you a detailed review of your internships, experience and accomplishments and suggest which ones to improve.

  17. How to write a resume for an internship [with examples]

    Public relations. #6. List your skills. While in many ways the purpose of an internship is to develop your skills, you still have to list your skills on your resume. Make sure you have a clearly labelled Skills section in your internship resume. Most job-seekers list their skills in a simple bulleted list.

  18. 20 Intern Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

    A Marketing Intern may: Collect qualitative and quantitative data to prepare for market studies and analytics. Analyze competitors. Complete several admin duties such as phone handling, social media marketing, email filtering, moderation services, content writing, updating the CRM, and copywriting.

  19. How to Write an Internship Resume in 2023 [w/ Examples & Tips]

    Your first step is to choose the right font. Fonts like Cambria, Tahoma, and Verdana are considered resume-friendly, as well as any regular, non-decorative ones. You should also pick the right font size for your resume—the recommended one for regular texts is around 10-12 pt and 14-16 pt for section headings.

  20. How to Write an Internship Resume (Template and Example)

    Resumes written for internship applications typically rely on showcasing your skills, especially academic abilities. It is important to identify your strongest abilities and find the ones that match the position in question. Examples of applicable skills may include software proficiencies or laboratory experience.

  21. Guide to Writing an Internship Résumé (with Example)

    Step 1: Tailor your résumé to the role. Your résumé is your way of showing that you have everything it takes to be selected for the internship you're applying for, so it must be highly tailored to that role. A general résumé that you can send out to everyone just won't cut it.

  22. How to Write Resume for Internship (With Examples)

    1. Keep It Simple. Unless you're applying for a graphic design internship or something similarly creative, it's best to keep your resume layout simple. Stick with an easy-to-read font like Times New Roman or Arial (10-12 point) and use clearly marked sections and headers.

  23. Here's How to List Internships on Your Resume

    In general, you should treat your internships just like any other work experience, which means you'd list them under the section labeled "Work Experience" or "Professional Experience" or " [Industry, i.e. Marketing] Experience," and fit them right in where they go chronologically. The format should be the same, too.

  24. How to Write a Resume for College Applications in 2024

    Include internships, part-time jobs, job shadowing, and even study abroad programs. Volunteer experiences are highly valued by colleges. It demonstrates your commitment to your community. ... 6 Essential Tips to Write a Resume for College Applications. While the content of your resume is important, how you present it holds nearly equal weight ...

  25. Résumé & Cover Letter Strategies

    Discover effective strategies for writing winning résumés and cover letters. We will learn up-to-date content and formatting principles and how to tailor your documents to employers' needs. We will cover hard vs. soft skills, résumé formats, résumé layout and content, attention-getting cover letters, and much more.

  26. Build & write Best Resume / CV & Application Covering Letter [Free

    Help for CV / Resume building and writing for job search using LinkedIn Profile ; Formats for Resume and Letter writing. This course includes:. 2 hours on-demand video

  27. How Ivy League Hopefuls Can Build Their Network This Summer

    1. Start Locally. While the internet offers innumerable outlets for students to meet others in their field of interest and enrich their skillset, networking should always start in one's own ...

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    Read CNN's analysis and commentary of the first 2024 presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in Atlanta.