Although an internship is not “technically” a career position, it’s still considered work experience. Whether it further supports your career experience, or you’re a recent grad and it demonstrates your eagerness and your exposure to the working world. Today we’re covering where, when and how to include internships on your resume. Check it out!

Where

If your internship was the most recent position that you held, you can list it as your most recent career experience. If the internship was in the middle of your career experience, you can place the internship in chronological order based on the date, with the rest of your career history. Just be sure to specify that that position was an internship position. However, if the internship was the oldest career experience you have, you can list it at the end of your career experience, or in a separate section at the bottom of your resume. This will be especially helpful if you have had multiple internships as well.

When

How recent is the internship? How relevant is the internship for your next career move? How influential is the internship? If the internship relates to the position that you are applying to then including this on your resume can be extremely beneficial. You should also be sure to include internships if you are in the process of undergoing a career change – and the internship may relate, or the skills that were needed to perform that position. Under the circumstance that your internship was a significantly influential one – such as at a reputable company, or working alongside someone who is well known in your industry – you should also be sure to keep this on your resume as well.

When Not To

There are a few specific instances where internships should be left off your resume. For example, if there has been a large gap between your career experience and your last internship, then you may refrain from including it, as its relevance does not necessarily take precedence anymore. If it has been a long period of time since your internship and it does not apply to your current career path, you may also leave it off your resume. However, as previously stated, if the internship seems to hold a lot of weight regardless of the time period that has gone by, you can also keep it listed under these circumstances as well.

How

From the title to the location, the dates and the description – you should list your internship the same way you would your professional career experience. For example, if you were a Software Engineer Intern, then you should specify the title as a “Software Engineer Intern”. It is just as important to include the dates that you were in this position, what company the internship was held and what your job responsibilities were. List your tasks the same as you would for your other previous regularly held positions. If possible, try to align the responsibilities with tasks that are relevant and important to the industry you’re in. Such as, if you’re applying to a tech position that requires you to have SQL experience, and you had experience at your internship working with SQL – be sure to include this in your job responsibilities.

Internship to Career

If you took an internship that turned into a career position, this can be entered in a few ways. You can list these as two separate positions Such as “Software Engineer Intern” and then list “Software Engineer” with the internship listed first (if you are listing chronologically by relevant experience this will go below the job that it turned into as you list most recent experience at the top), and then the position that it turned into.

 

 

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