Prior to a few years ago, students still in college did not give jobs any thought. They paid more attention to their academics. However, nowadays, college students are beginning to plan ahead and understand the significance of gaining valuable work experience before they enter the employment market after graduation.
An internship is a fantastic method to give yourself an advantage in your chosen field, whether you are in high school or college. They are the most common way to gain experience in any industry or profession by receiving on-the-job training and acquiring new skills. It is believed that students who pursued internships during their graduation were offered more job opportunities after their college completion than those who had not interned at all.
But back to the point: if you want to be considered for an internship with a company of your choice, your resume needs to be impressive. Your internship resume must stand out in order to land you an interview if you have little to no work experience. To secure an internship in an esteemed firm, you need to approach the potential employers like a confident and pro-individual, and that process begins by drafting a strong internship resume.
What does Resume for Internship mean?
The CV you submit while applying for an internship with a company of your choice is commonly known as a resume for an internship. An internship resume chiefly emphasizes your educational background, skills, and competencies because you may not yet have significant work experience at this stage.
While deciding what to mention and what not to on your internship resume might be challenging, it also provides you with a small window of opportunity to highlight your unique traits and abilities which sets you apart from other applicants. In your resume, you can throw some light on your strong features and attributes and use them to lay emphasis on what you can give to the company or how your contributions can positively affect the company’s growth.
However, it’s wise to just mention the abilities and traits that are pertinent to that particular internship. For each internship opportunity, you apply for, it is opined that you create a unique resume. Consequently, it would become more targeted and relevant.
Writing a Resume for an Internship
Despite the fact that you are still in college or an undergraduate student, you possess the knowledge necessary to build a solid resume that will set you firmly on your future career path. To write an outstanding professional internship resume and secure the internship you want, follow these simple steps –
- Resume header
The top of your resume document, displays the information to whom it belongs therefore, write your complete name clearly and correctly. Under the resume header, mention your contact information – phone number and email address which enables recruiters to get in touch with you easily. The next information you need to provide is your postal address. In addition to these, you can provide your social media profile links as long as they elevate your reputation positively. For instance, a management student can include his/her LinkedIn profile, similarly, a student pursuing a course in graphic design can add his Behance profile link.
- Resume summary
Resume summary or profile summary gives you an opportunity to showcase your knowledge, passion, and your exceptional set of qualities which will ultimately enable you to prosper in the internship. Although there is a good chance that the look of your internship resume will mirror those of other applicants, your profile summary will stand out because it is unique to you. Profile summary is a good way to present yourself and explain why you would make the perfect intern.
However, because you only have two or three sentences to set yourself apart from other candidates, writing a strong summary can be quite challenging. For writing an effective summary that will attract potential employers, you need to – (i) Understand the qualities an applicant needs to possess for that particular internship and then describe how you possess these key traits in your summary statement. (ii) Write another sentence that illustrates what you have achieved or are capable of accomplishing.
- Objective statement
An objective statement is an introductory statement that explains the objective of the internship seeker. Although in recent years, this statement also includes the applicant’s long-term goals.
A resume summary, in contrast to a resume objective statement, puts more emphasis on the needs of the employer rather than those of the applicant seeking the internship. A profile summary answers the question “what can I do for you?” whereas the objective statement provides the answer to “what am I looking for?” Both are introductory statements but serve different purposes. For some, objective statements work best; for others, resume summaries might be the right fit.
For college students seeking an internship, it is advised to choose between a resume summary and an objective statement carefully based on the company profile, internship description, and its requirements; in short, the roles and responsibilities to be performed by the intern.
- Employment experience
Yes, you read it right. Even as an intern, you likely have more experience than you think. Potential employers or recruiters seeking to hire for internships already know you lack vast experience. However, they are strongly interested to know if you are dependable or whether you take your work seriously or not, or whether you possess technical or interpersonal skills.
In this section of your internship resume, you can mention – (i) details regarding your previous internships and the skills you used and acquired in that duration (ii) volunteer work (iii) any personal projects like writing your blog or a YouTube channel where you post videos related to your profession or interests (iv) college events that you might have organized.
Avoid cramming this section with unnecessary details as it might negatively affect your chances of selection. To maximize your chances of securing the internship, solely emphasize the relevant skills.
- Educational qualification
In this section, include a list of your education, certificates, and/or training. Ensure you list the highest qualification first and work your way down to the lowest. For example, mention your HSC (class 12th) before SSC (class 10th). It is a common practice to mention the name of your school/college/university, the month and year of passing and the percentage or GPA scored under the educational qualification section in any resume.
You can also include a line or two related to your achievements such as securing the highest score in the class or earning a scholarship or stating the details of the research paper or project you worked on, etc.
- Skills / Core competencies
As a student, you’ve probably acquired a tonne of useful technical (hard) skills and soft skills that make you a stronger intern candidate than others. Technical skills reflect the in-depth knowledge you possess related to your field or area of expertise. For freshers or students searching for internships, technical skills may include Computer skills – MS Office, Adobe, Typing skills – typing speed or WPM (words per minute), etc. Soft skills are mostly related to your personality which you have developed over a period of time. For example, multi-tasking, organizational skills, communication skills, etc.
When candidates share the same educational background, their skills or core competencies will typically distinguish them from their peers and other applicants. The potential employer can evaluate whether you are fit for the internship at their company with the help of the skills section in your resume.
- References
As a student who is ready to step into the employment market, even as an intern, it is crucial to have someone vouch for you since you do not possess any relevant work experience. Speak with your professors, guest lecturers, project mentors, alumni, etc., and request their opinion and permission to use their names as references for your internship resume. The correct way to write references in your resume is to include – (i) the name of the person (ii) their designation (iii) the name of the college or company they are employed at (iv) contact details – phone number and email address.
- Resume Layout
When you are done with all the sections and their details, check the layout or format of the resume. Keep in mind – (i) it looks well-designed, professional, and readable (ii) use simple fonts like Times New Roman or Arial (iii) use bold or italics to emphasize the key points. Allow your professor or a member of your family to proofread your resume for you.
There are several resume templates available on the internet so you can choose the one suitable for yourself.