How to Add an Internship to Your Resume

Internships are a great tool to gain relevant work experience in a field you’re interested in. Great internship programs will focus on developing you as a professional while also giving you exposure to the real day to day responsibilities of the role. When you’re considering how to add an internship to your resume, it’s important to keep in mind whether the experience adds value to your resume. In most cases, it will. 

Highlight the job training you received and any and all results you were responsible for.

When to Add an Internship to Your Resume

If you have limited experience related to the job you’re applying for, an internship can give your resume the boost it needs to land in a recruiter’s ‘yes’ pile. Internships are short-term, intensive programs that provide on the job training. While you won’t learn everything there is to know about a position from an internship, you will gain valuable insight and become familiar with responsibilities, procedures, and industry terminology. 

Pro-Tip: The quick answer to, “When do I add an internship to my resume?” is when you have less than five years of experience in the field. 

If you’re a recent graduate trying to break into the industry, having an internship (or two) listed on your resume can help you stand out to recruiters. For most entry-level positions, recruiters won’t expect you to have years of knowledge and experience under your belt. However, familiarity with an industry or system can give you a leg up in the hiring process as your experience could cut down on the time an organization needs to invest in training you. 

Add an internship to your resume if you believe it will add value. Your resume is a preview of who you are as a professional and it should highlight all of your relevant accomplishments and skills. 

Who Should Add an Internship to Their Resume?

It’s natural to picture students when you think of the word ‘intern,’ but not all interns are young, inexperienced, or recent graduates. Internships have become popular in recent years, and many students believe that an internship experience during their college years will help them land a job post-graduation. In fact, two-thirds of the class of 2019 have worked as an intern!

According to Forbes, 70% of employers consider work experience to be more important than a college major, meaning that even one semester of internship experience can help your resume make it to a recruiter’s ‘yes’ pile.

So, who should add an internship to their resume? That’s simple.

1. Anyone with limited experience in the field.
2. Students entering the professional workforce.
3. Established professionals transitioning into another industry or field.
4. Current students who want to gain additional experience in their desired industry.

If you fall into any of the above categories, it’s perfectly appropriate for you to include an internship on your resume. As long as the internship is relevant to the career path you’ve chosen, it will add value to your resume. 

Pro-Tip: To be included on your resume, your internship experience should be recent, within the past two years.

How to Add an Internship to Your Resume

Your internship experience should be included in the professional experience section of your resume, making it easy for recruiters to see if you have the qualifications they’re searching for. It does not need to be listed under a separate header.

When listing your internship, make sure to format it so that the important parts stand out. We’ve outlined the most effective format below.

Job Title                       Month/Year of Start – Month/Year of End
Organization Name
-Responsibility that starts with an action verb
-Responsibility that starts with an action verb
-Responsibility that starts with an action verb

Pro-Tip: When writing out your responsibilities, use numbers and percentages to your advantage and add context to your work.

Marketing Intern                                              January 2020 – June 2020
Getting You Hired
-Wrote 15 blog posts reaching 6K viewers per month
-Created original infographics boosting page view time 12%
-Updated SEO to increase site viewership

If your internship is in progress, you can note that by listing the month and year that your internship started and then using the word ‘present’ in the place of the month/year of the end of your internship. Feel free to display this as: 2019 – Present.

Marketing Intern                                              January 2020 – Present
Getting You Hired
-Wrote 15 blog posts reaching 6K viewers per month
-Created original infographics boosting page view time 12%
-Updated SEO to increase site viewership

If you’ve had more than one internship, list the most recent one first. Similarly, if you’ve had multiple intern positions with the same organization, you should list your most recent job title first.

For example, if you started at a company as a Marketing Intern and then returned for another semester as a Public Relations Intern, you would list Public Relations Intern first, followed by Marketing Intern. In this case, it’s appropriate to list the company name on the first line but you will still bold your job title.

Since it’s natural to read down a page, list your internship experience from most recent to least recent. This outlines your resume in a way that’s easiest for recruiters to understand!

Finding an Internship

You don’t have to have extensive professional experience to have a solid resume! Many organizations consider candidates with internship experience desirable for entry-level positions.

If you’re fresh out of school or looking to change career fields, internship experience can help you make up for what you lack in long-term professional experience (within reason). When you complete an organization’s internship program, you’re essentially receiving that organization’s seal of approval that you understand and may even be qualified to perform the basic tasks of the equivalent full-time position. Feel free to add any internship experience you have, even if you’re currently working at the organization, to the Experience section of your LinkedIn profile.

If you’re not sure what internships are available for the career you’re pursuing, a quick Google search can help you out! Online sites, like Indeed, Handshake, and Chegg Internships offer online access to thousands of internship opportunities. There’s truly something for everyone if you Google hard enough!

Pro-Tip: If you see an internship that you’re really interested in, feel free to apply for it on multiple job platforms. If the employer does not have an automated applicant tracking system, this may increase your chances of your application being seen.

If you’ve had a number of different internships, be selective when listing them on your resume. While LinkedIn is a great place to list the majority of your professional experience, your resume should only include the experiences that directly relate to the job you’re applying for. Listing unrelated internships can take up valuable space on your resume that could be used in a more effective manner.

Remember that your resume is intended to catch the eye of a recruiter and provide them with enough information to believe you could be successful at the job they’re looking to fill. Often, a recruiter will see your resume before they speak their first words to you, so it’s important that you put your best foot forward and be selective with what content you include.

Taking the initiative to take on an internship and expand your professional knowledge on your own time shows recruiters that you’re a self-starter who’s eager to learn and achieve. (And who wouldn’t want to hire someone like that?)

Now that you know how to add internship experience to a resume, you’re ready to update yours! And, if you’re interested in more resume tips, you can find them here.

Want a real recruiter to give you a hand with your resume? We offer a free resume review right here on Getting You Hired! Sign up, upload your resume, and we’ll send you personalized feedback that will help you put your best foot (resume) forward.