Don’t hide your internship experiences at the bottom of your resume. Instead, highlight your internship experiences, and detail how they have prepared you for the job you want. Here’s how and where to put an internship on a resume, what to list, and examples of resumes that include internships.
When to Include Internships on Your Resume
You should include an internship on your resume when the internship is relevant to the job you are applying for. This is especially the case when you are a student or recent graduate with limited work experience. Internships provide you with critical experience in an industry, so be sure to include them to show your skills and abilities. You should also include internships when you are making a career change. While you might have many years of work experience, these jobs might not relate to your new career. Highlight any internships that have prepared you for a job in your new industry.
When to Leave Out Internships
You can begin to remove internships from your resume when you’ve developed enough work experience in your field. After about five or so years (or two or three jobs) in your industry, you can focus primarily on this work history rather than on your past internship experience. For example, if you had an internship at Google or Facebook, or another important internship in your industry, keep it on your resume.
Where to Put Internships
Internships can be listed in the employment history section of your resume. Or, you can create a separate section that highlights the internships you’ve done. Work Experience Section: Because internships provide important work experience, you can include your internships in the “Work Experience” or “Work History” section of your resume, along with other jobs you have held. Internships Section: If you have held multiple internships, you can include a separate “Internships” section on your resume. Put this section towards the top of your resume. Put your “Internships” section above your “Work History” section if your internships are particularly relevant to the job you are applying for.
How to Include Internships
When you include an internship on your resume, include the same information as any other job:
Include the internship title. If possible, don’t just say “Intern” – ask your supervisor if you have a more detailed title, such as “Marketing Intern” or “Sales Associate Intern.”List the details. Also include the company name, location, and the dates of the internship. You can list the dates by month and year, or by the season (such as “Summer 2021” or “Spring 2022”).Include your responsibilities. Underneath this information, include 2-4 bullet points that list your responsibilities and achievements during the internship.
Focus on responsibilities that relate to the job you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a writing job, mention how you wrote and published five articles during your internship. You don’t need to include your less relevant tasks, such as answering phones or photocopying. If you are having trouble deciding what responsibilities and achievements to include, start by making a long list of everything you did at each internship. Then look at the job listing for the position you’re applying for. Circle anything from your list that matches the skills or abilities required for the job. Highlight these particular experiences. Also ask your intern supervisor for advice on how to include your internship on your resume. He or she can help you highlight the most important skills and experiences for the industry, and can tell you what key terms from your industry to include. Again, internships are just as important to your career as a job, so you don’t need to format them differently. This is especially the case if you include internships under “Work History.” For example, if you bold your job titles, do the same for your internship titles.
Example of Internships in a “Work Experience” Section
This is an example of a “Work Experience” section of a resume that includes two internships.
Resume Example With an “Internships” Section
Here is a complete resume that highlights the job candidate’s internship experience in a dedicated “Internships” section. Download the template (compatible with Google Docs and Microsoft Word), or read the text version below. New York History MuseumNew York, NYAcademic Programs InternJan. 2021 – May 2021
Developed and ran activities for museum visitors ages 5-15 for February and April school break programsWrote five articles for monthly newsletter with 5,000 readersConducted research on latest curriculum standards and reported findings in presentation to Education Department
Albany History SocietyAlbany, NYEducation InternSummer 2020
Developed and implemented activities for museum visitors ages 4-10 related to new museum exhibit on the history of transportationCollaborated with Education Department to develop and run an all-day history workshop for elementary studentsReceived award for Outstanding Intern of the Summer from the President of the Society
QUALIFICATIONS PROFILEHighly creative, trend-savvy emerging professional positioned to excel within fast-paced digital marketing environment. Well-versed in SEO strategy development, keyword research, and website optimization.
Superb writing and graphic design talents complemented by ability to easily build rapport within social media venues including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and LinkedIn.Practical “hands’ on” internship experience in segmented email campaign development and social media management.Technical Proficiencies: Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, WordPress, Campaign Builder, Google AdWords, Google Analytics, Facebook Analytics; advanced command of HTML and CSS.
EDUCATION Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing (2021); GPA 3.7Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TXBetta Gamma Sigma Honor Society; Golden Key INTERNSHIPS MAJOR MARKETING CORPORATION, Dallas, TXMarketing Intern, April 2021–June 2021Tasked with creating and launching daily eblasts and calls-to-action for high-velocity email campaigns. Identified target audiences, tracked unsubscribes, and monitored spam complaints.
Honed expertise in template design, A/B testing deployment, market analytics, and lead management.Recognized by senior management for success in landing 89% of lead conversions.
WESTERN GEAR, Dallas, TXSocial Media Intern, September 2020–December 2020As intern for upscale clothing retailer, wrote and scheduled posts on social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Took and edited digital photographs of sales items; generated and analyzed social media performance reports using Google Analytics and Facebook Analytics.
Increased Facebook audience by more than 2,000 “likes” by actively managing user conversations and encouraging repeat engagement.Launched and built company’s first-ever Pinterest and Instagram sites.
WORK EXPERIENCE DALLAS CLOTHIERS, Dallas, TXSales Assistant, June 2019–June 2021Concurrent with education, provided attentive customer service to clients of family-owned clothing boutique. Merchandised products and assisted clients with their selections. Operated POS system.
Used WordPress to create new digital sales website for store.
