Resume for Internship: Samples for College Students
Ready to kick-start your career? Build a resume for internships that shows your passion, potential, and readiness to learn—and opens doors to exciting opportunities!
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An internship can be the gateway to your dream career, and landing one starts with writing an impressive resume. A well-written resume for an internship shows employers that you’re ready to learn, contribute, and make an impact. Even with no experience, you can highlight your education, skills, and ambition in a way that grabs attention.
With this guide, you’ll learn how to write a resume for an internship that stands out and sets you apart. Let’s pave the way to your future success!
Sample Resume for Internship
College Student Resume for Internships: Responsibilities
Interns assist with tasks professionally, gaining hands-on experience and learning about the industry. They support team members with administrative, research, or project-based work, contributing to daily operations while developing skills and knowledge relevant to their career goals.
The exact responsibilities of an intern will vary depending on the role and industry, but here’s a list of typical duties:
- Assist with research projects, gathering information, and summarizing findings to support team efforts.
- Provide administrative support, including scheduling, data entry, filing, and managing documents.
- Attend meetings and take notes, helping to capture key points and action items for team members.
- Collaborate with team members on various tasks, learning from their experience and offering assistance as needed.
- Prepare reports and presentations, helping to organize and format information for internal or client-facing purposes.
- Support daily operations, such as managing inventory, coordinating events, or handling customer inquiries.
- Participate in training sessions, gaining knowledge about company processes, tools, and industry-specific skills.
- Contribute to project development, assisting with brainstorming, planning, or implementing tasks under supervision.
If you’ve completed an internship, you can adapt these bullet points when describing your experience. It’s okay if you’re writing a resume for an internship with no experience, though—your education and projects will speak for themselves!
Here are example resumes for internships from candidates with different levels of experience to give you an idea of what to include and how:
Resume for an Internship With No Experience
James Scott
Marketing Intern
(123) 456-7890
james.scott@email.com
linkedin.com/in/james.scott
x.com/james.scott
Summary
Results-driven marketing intern with experience in digital campaigns and data analysis. At Redwood Digital Solutions, contributed to a social media campaign that exceeded lead targets by 10% and boosted brand awareness by 15%. As President of the UT Austin Marketing Club, led a nonprofit campaign that increased donations by 20% and organized an event generating 30% higher social media engagement. Excited to bring proven marketing and analytical skills to the internship program at Velocity Creative.
Experience
Marketing Intern
Redwood Digital Solutions, Austin, TX
June 2024–August 2024
Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
- Assisted in the development and execution of digital marketing campaigns across social media platforms, contributing to a 15% increase in brand awareness.
- Conducted market research and analyzed competitor trends, providing actionable insights that informed 3 major product launches.
- Collaborated with the content team to create blog posts and email newsletters, increasing engagement by 10%.
- Supported the marketing team in data analysis, utilizing Google Analytics to track campaign performance and optimize strategies.
- Managed and updated customer contact databases, improving email marketing targeting and segmentation.
Key Achievement:
- Contributed to a social media campaign that generated 30% more leads than previous campaigns, surpassing the target by 10%.
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Digital Marketing (in progress)
University of Texas, Austin, TX
September 2022–May 2026 (expected)
President of the Marketing Club (since 2024)
- Organized a campus-wide digital marketing competition, attracting over 200 participants and generating 30% more social media engagement for university events.
- Led a team of 10 members to create a marketing campaign for a local nonprofit, increasing donations by 20% in 3 months.
Academic achievements
- Achieved high test scores (>90%) in relevant coursework, including Digital Marketing Strategies, Consumer Behavior, Market Research, Brand Management, and Social Media Marketing.
- GPA: 3.9/4.0
Projects
- Developed and executed a digital marketing plan for a mock e-commerce business as part of a capstone project, resulting in a 20% increase in website traffic and a 10% growth in online sales within one month.
High School Diploma
Oakview High School, Austin, TX
September 2018–June 2022
Skills
- Social Media Management
- Content Creation
- SEO and SEM Basics
- Data Analysis
- Email Marketing
- Graphic Design (Canva, Adobe Suite)
- Market Research
- Project Coordination
- Communication Skills
- Copywriting
Certifications
- HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification, HubSpot Academy, 2024
- Google Analytics for Beginners, Google Analytics Academy, 2024
Languages
- English—Native
- Spanish—Fluent
Resume for Internship for a College Student
1. Format Your Resume Template for Internship Applications
Like any successful internship project, your resume should be well-organized and focused, highlighting your strengths. To do this, use an accepted resume format. That will ensure your resume looks professional and is easily read, with key information correctly highlighted.
The functional resume format might be viable since you likely have limited work experience. This format focuses on your skills—research, communication, or leadership—rather than a traditional job history. The combination format, which blends skills and experience, can also help highlight transferable skills and your academic background.
However, many recruiters are unfamiliar with these formats, which aren’t the best choices for showcasing your accomplishments—including those from college.
The reverse-chronological format is the best choice for most internship applicants. This layout emphasizes your most recent academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and part-time jobs, making it easy for recruiters to quickly see what you’ve done and what you can contribute. Even if you don’t have professional experience, this format allows you to showcase relevant coursework, projects, or volunteer work that demonstrates your qualifications.
Here are the sections you’ll need to include on any resume, including college student resumes for internships:
- Header with your contact details
- Resume summary with your key achievements
- Work experience, if you have any
- Education section, highlighting your academic accomplishments, relevant extracurriculars, and projects
- Skills section with up to 10 of your most relevant abilities
- Additional sections, like volunteering, foreign language skills, projects, or awards
Give each resume section a clear heading—make it stand out with colors or a larger font.
Successful resumes also follow specific formatting guidelines (not unlike your coursework) to ensure they’re easy for recruiters to navigate. Here’s how to format your resume:
- Pick a resume font that’s easy on the eyes and doesn’t draw attention to itself. Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica are classic choices. Use a wider font, like Verdana, if you’re short on content for your resume and need text to take up more space.
- Set the font size to 10–12 points (14–16 for headings).
- Using one-inch margins on your resume and 1.15-line spacing will also help create white space.
- Keep an eye on your page count. The best length for a resume for internship applications is one page, with no exceptions.
- Submit your resume as a PDF—this format will keep your resume layout the same on any device.
All right, that’s your resume structure. It’s all done! Look at the internship resume templates below—they show these tips in action. If you like these templates, you can edit them now to make your application process quicker and easier!
2. Add Your Contact Details in a Resume Header
The resume header is a small section that should always be along the top of the page, just like headers on formal correspondence. It’s where you’ll provide your contact information, including:
- Your full name and job title
- Your phone number
- Your email address
- Relevant links, such as to your LinkedIn profile (if you maintain it), portfolio, GitHub, or personal website, depending on your field of study
Make the header stand out from the rest of the page using a little color or a different font. Your name, in particular, should draw attention—typically, that’s the most significant text on an internship resume template.
Pro Tip: Not sure what to put for the job title? Go with what you’re applying for, e.g., “Marketing Intern.” That makes it easier for the recruiter to immediately note what role you’re after. Alternatively, “Marketing Student” or “College Student, Accounting” can work, too.
3. Outline Any Work Experience on Your Resume for Internships
The first section after the header is your resume summary or objective, but don’t worry about it for now. You don’t have anything to summarize just yet! Let’s start on your other resume sections and circle back to the introductory paragraph.
For now, this means turning your attention to the work experience resume section. Don’t worry: it’s not mandatory on a college student resume for internships. After all, one of the key benefits of internships is that they’re an opportunity to gain experience in the first place! If you don’t have anything to say here, skip this section and move on to describing your education.
However, if you’ve completed any previous internships, held a relevant job, or volunteered, it’s worth making the most of it on your resume. List your experience in reverse chronological order, starting with current or most recent jobs or volunteering. For each entry, include the job title or position you held, the company or organization’s name and location, and your employment dates.
You’ll also need to write 3–5 bullet points for each experience, where you’ll outline your accomplishments and contributions. Here’s how to get those resume bullet points just right:
- Focus on your achievements instead of describing duties. Don’t just say what you did—show them that you did it well.
- Start bullets with action words, like “developed” or “assisted.” They show that you take initiative and own your successes.
- Use numbers and percentages to quantify your accomplishments where possible. For instance, instead of “helped organize events for the community,” you could say “assisted in organizing 20+ events for the community, with 100+ participants per event.”
- Customize those descriptions when applying for a different internship to target your resume to the employer’s needs and expectations.
In general, you should only list relevant experience on a resume. However, if you don’t have much experience in your field, you can mention unrelated jobs to show your transferable skills.
For example, a part-time job in retail can demonstrate good customer service, adaptability, and problem-solving skills. Tailor your job description to the internship to draw attention to the right skills.
4. Provide Details of Your Education on Your Internship Resume
When listing education on your resume, provide details of your degree and high school diploma if they are still in progress. For each, include:
- The name and level of the program, e.g., “Bachelor of Science in Physics” or “High School Diploma.”
- The name and location of the school or college
- Your dates of attendance
For your degree, make it clear that it’s still in progress by providing your expected graduation date.
Experienced candidates would leave it at that, but since you’re applying for an internship, it makes sense to expand your education section to show your full potential.
Add bullet points under your education to highlight the following:
- Your academic achievements, such as a high GPA, making the Dean’s list, or excelling in coursework relevant to your internship
- Extracurricular activities—write bullet points explaining your clubs or societies activities, focusing on what you have achieved there.
- Key projects, if relevant to your degree and the internship. If you have a lot to share about your projects, you can include them in a separate section instead.
If your education section ends up being longer than your work experience, put it first on your resume. Chances are that it’s your most significant asset right now.
5. Pick the Right Skills to Put on a Resume for Internships
In the skills section, list up to 10 of your most relevant abilities, focusing on the skills mentioned by the employer in the internship posting. These skills from the ad work as resume keywords, boosting the relevancy of your application in the eyes of recruiters and ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems).
Here’s an example list of general internship skills for a resume:
Internship Skills for a Resume
- Communication skills
- Time management
- Teamwork
- Problem-solving skills
- Adaptability
- Research and analysis
- Organization
- Attention to detail
- Computer skills
- Critical thinking
- Data entry and management
- Customer service
- Project coordination
- Presentation skills
- Interpersonal skills
The skills you list will depend on your field of study. For instance, an engineering internship resume will focus on hard skills and software proficiencies. Meanwhile, marketing students may focus on soft skills like communication, teamwork, and creative thinking. Either way, try to include a mix of hard and soft skills to show you’re a well-rounded and versatile candidate.
6. Include Extra Sections on Your Resume for Internships
If there’s anything else you can share with the recruiter to help your chances of getting hired, you can do so in additional resume sections. Here’s what you could add to your internship resume:
- Certifications resume section
- Volunteering experience, if you haven’t already mentioned it in your work experience section
- Foreign language skills, including your level(s) of proficiency
- Awards and publications
- Projects that showcase your skills and experience
- Professional or academic interests
Make sure that everything you include is directly relevant to your application. Employers only spend a few seconds looking at each resume, so concise and focused applications will do better than ones cluttered with unnecessary information.
7. Complete Your Resume with an Eye-Catching Objective or Summary
Time to return to the top of your resume and write that summary or objective! This paragraph aims to catch the recruiter’s attention by providing them with highlights from your education and experience.
You’ll write a resume summary if you have relevant work experience or have previously completed a similar internship. Draw attention to your best accomplishments, providing metrics to make them measurable and using active verbs to add impact.
Here’s an example resume summary for internships:
Driven healthcare student with internship experience and a strong focus on patient care and program coordination. At Sunrise Community Health Center, improved patient intake processes, cutting wait times by 10% and boosting satisfaction scores by 15%. Led a campus health initiative that reached 300+ students, increasing free health screening participation by 25%. Organized wellness workshops for underserved populations, benefiting 150+ attendees. Skilled in communication and data analysis, with a passion for accessible healthcare. Excited to contribute to community outreach programs as a Public Health Intern at Mercy Medical Center.
If you lack experience, you can rely on accomplishments from your studies, volunteering, projects, or extracurriculars. This type of introduction is called a resume objective.
Here’s an example objective for internship resumes:
Motivated healthcare student with a passion for community wellness and public health education. Volunteered with a local clinic, organizing health initiatives, including a nutrition workshop for elementary students that improved participants’ understanding of healthy eating habits by 40%, as shown in pre- and post-program surveys. Led a university health awareness campaign, reaching 500+ students and increasing attendance at mental health workshops by 30%. Known for strong organizational and interpersonal skills, eager to contribute to impactful health initiatives as a Public Health Intern at UnityCare Health Services.
Pro Tip: Many colleges’ career centers offer resume reviews, providing students with feedback on their resumes. If you can, take advantage of this service to have your resume proofread by a professional.
8. Write a Cover Letter to Submit With Your Resume
Writing a cover letter isn’t always required, but it’s always a good idea. A strong cover letter is one of the surest ways to make your internship application stand out, especially if you tailor it to the employer’s needs and expectations. Here’s an example internship cover letter to help you get started:
Resume for Internship: Dos and Don’ts
- Tailor your resume to the specific internship. Read the job description carefully and align your coursework, projects, and experiences with the responsibilities listed.
- Highlight academic achievements. If you’re early in your career, showcase your GPA (if it’s strong), relevant courses, research, or academic awards that tie into the internship’s focus.
- Use action verbs to describe your experiences. Words like “organized,” “collaborated,” or “analyzed” make even limited experience sound professional and impactful.
- Go over one page. Concise and relevant information is more valuable than lengthy descriptions for an internship. Stick to what matters most for the role and go with a one-page resume.
- Use overly decorative fonts or images in your resume. Decorations can be distracting and make your resume look unprofessional. Stick to classic formatting for best results!
- Submit your resume without proofreading. Double- and triple-check for spelling errors and details like inconsistent spacing, and if you can, ask someone else to take a look, too.
Looking for more resume examples? Check out these related guides written by our career experts:
- Undergraduate Resume Examples
- Research Assistant Resume Examples
- Student Resume Examples
- College Student Resume Examples
- Accounting Intern Resume Examples
- Entry-Level Resume Examples
- Entry-Level Marketing Resume Examples
- Administrative Assistant Resume Examples
- Legal Assistant Resume Examples
- Resume Examples for Every Profession
Sources
- Benefits of Internships for College Students, Husson University, accessed January 21, 2025, https://www.husson.edu/online/blog/2024/06/benefits-of-internships
- 5 Ways to Stand Out on Your Internship Application, University of Maryland Career Services, accessed January 21, 2025, https://www.umgc.edu/career-connection/articles/5-ways-to-stand-out-on-your-internship-application