Listing your internship on your resume is a great idea. It can give you a powerful competitive advantage when trying to land your first job or enter a new industry. However, there are places where it’s not recommended.
For example, if you interned as a librarian in your college but are applying for an engineering job, you should probably leave off that experience. This explains further why students must look for internships only related to their intended future professions.
So, put internship experience on your resume if:
- You are a recent graduate, and you don’t have much work experience
- The internship was at a business operating in the same industry or closely connected to one
You have developed skills and gained knowledge during the internship that is relevant to the position you are applying for including your internship experience in the resume can also be an essential part of a story you tell via your resume – for instance, if you are changing to a new career. Though you can choose to leave out certain internships after gaining full-time work experience in your resume, most professionals, even with a lot of work experience, choose to highlight internships when applying for work in the same/relevant industry.
Where to Add the Internship Experience
The position of your internship experience in the resume can make a huge difference. You have two options here:
Work Experience
For fresh graduates, an internship count as a vital work experience. Therefore, when writing your resume, go ahead, and list your internship in the work’ experience’ or ‘work history section, alongside the other jobs you might have done.
However, make sure you clearly mention it was an internship, not a part-time job.
Internship Experience
You can also create a separate section to list your impressive internships. This option is best for candidates with multiple amazing internships to showcase.
Plus, if the work is closely related to the job role, you can also mention the ‘internship experience section’ above your work experience.
