How To Make Your Resume Stand Out for Internship Applications

No matter how hard you’ve worked make your resume stand out, the odds of landing your dream internship still seem like a game of chance. Internship application season — that dreaded time of year when everyone scrambles to try and land a coveted spot at a renowned company. Plenty of college students are looking out at the job market with a well of anxiety in their chest; roles are competitive and limited.

“We have seen companies proceed cautiously with entry-level hiring,” says Natalia Guarin-Klein, the executive director of alumni and career engagement at Brooklyn College. “Because it is more competitive, employers will expect more from candidates.”

But she believes that there are still plenty of things that hopeful applicants can do to enhance their resume and ensure that they stand out in the pile of applicants. All of it comes down to preparation. “The earlier students prepare, the more they leverage their contacts and resources, the higher their chances for success,” she says.

Typically, Guarin-Klein said that internship application season depends largely on the industry and size of the company. For roles in fields like IT, finance and accounting, she said applications are often posted almost a year in advance — so it’s important to start looking as soon as possible. She recommends students start looking two to six months in advance, but for the first-years and sophomores who are hoping to get ahead of the game, she suggests beginning the hunt even earlier.

“A key tip is approximately eight to twelve months in advance to create a spreadsheet with the general deadline for the companies and industry they are targeting to ensure they don’t miss the deadline,” she says. “Then, put reminders on your calendar of when to start applying.”

Keeping an organized record and schedule of your applications can streamline the process as deadlines near, and the holiday break is a great time to focus on building that plan, Guarin-Klein says. Starting as early as possible will only benefit applicants in the long run.

Winter break is a time meant for you to spend time with your loved ones, recover from finals, and generally get a much-needed break after a long semester of grinding. But it’s also a great opportunity to focus on shaping up your internship applications.

Guarin-Klein recommends taking this time to network with people at the companies or fields you’re interested in, setting a target to contact at least ten alumni or professionals and setting up informational interviews. She says that the advantage of spending time with your friends and family is that you can also ask them questions about their careers, too, and potentially uncover some helpful information.

“Even if they do not work in your field of interest, tell them what your career interests and goals are because they may know someone who can help you,” she says. “Reconnect with old supervisors, classmates, teachers, and co-workers! They might know someone in your field of interest or be able to help in other ways.”

For students, your university alumni network is one of the easiest ways to connect with people and even get referrals for job postings, which can add a huge amount of credibility to your applications. “I tell students not to be nervous to contact alumni from the college via LinkedIn to ask for advice,” Guarin-Klein says. “Not everyone will respond, but if you contact enough alumni, you will find someone eager to help.”

For those who aren’t entirely sure what post-grad path they want to take, leadership coach William Hyman says that the holidays are also the perfect time to do a self-assessment to better understand what career might fit your interests — as in, making a list that evaluates what excites you, what you don’t like, skills that you have and want to improve, and skills you don’t have and want to develop. From there, you can start to envision your “plan of attack,” and build a more specific plan.

“Your plan needs to include specific actions that you want to accomplish, dates, and resources you need to accomplish the task,” he says.

You also don’t have to wait for an internship to teach you new skills. Guarin-Klein says there are still plenty of ways for ambitious young students to get a jump start on learning (and potentially add those to your resumé by the time you submit, too).

“Don’t stay idle; for example, take a course to learn a practical skill through Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, or Google certificates, or you can showcase your writing talents in a blog, share marketing tips through video, build an app, volunteer, or take on a freelance project,” she says.

Before sending out mass messages on LinkedIn, though, Hyman also recommends taking a moment over the holidays to clean up your social media presence. “Scrub all social media accounts — i.e., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok videos, et cetera — for all questionable posts,” he says. That means a carousel of a wild night out probably should go, just in case. Hyman recommends making it a priority to clean it up before reaching out to connect. And if you’re going to be scrolling on the couch anyway, you may as well make sure your socials are background check-friendly.

There’s also often a misconception that when students are on break, so are the staff, but Guarin-Klein says that this is totally untrue. “Students often think that college offices are closed during winter break,” she says. “At most colleges, the career center staff is working, and it could be the best time to set up an appointment when you have more time.”

Hyman also agrees that staying close to your career office can also help you receive guidance, support and hiring news, so taking advantage of the resources at school while everyone is off for break can greatly improve your outlook on the overall process.

“The most important ‘tools’ are people,” he says. “The Career Services Office and faculty members can be extraordinarily helpful in this process.”

There are a couple tried-and-true rules for resumé writing: use active verbs at the start of every bullet point, prioritize quantifiable achievements over vague statements, and format everything in a coherent manner. Online, there are plenty of free resume templates that can help streamline the process. “Templates and tools are helpful to get you started, but if you don’t personalize them, it is often so obvious that you did not write them yourself,” she says. Though it may sound tempting, Guarin-Klein cautions against throwing everything from ChatGPT right into the application. But, if you are going to use AI, the best way to go about it is using it as a second check for grammar on your own original content.

Along with tidying up your resumé, Hyman also suggests practicing your “elevator pitch” (as in the 90-second introduction of who you are, what you’re studying and what job you’re looking for) in your downtime. Practicing mock interviews can not only give you an edge for the interview process, it can also help you feel more confident about going through the rounds, since you’ll already have a few prepared topics and points you want to highlight about yourself.

“Looking for a job is not for the faint of heart. It only takes one!” he says. “You need to be prepared for rejection. As you receive rejections, always ask and be open for feedback in order to learn. Don’t worry about ‘getting it right’ and focus more on what you will learn about yourself.”

Guarin-Klein says that the path to your career goal will be winding, and setbacks are inevitable. “The key is to have strong support so you aren't tackling the process alone,” she says. “Your professors, classmates, alumni, family, friends, and the career center staff can serve as your sounding board, give resume feedback, suggest jobs they hear about, help you practice for the interview, and boost your confidence when you're feeling discouraged. The process is stressful, but stay positive, be confident, and put in the work, because it is a ‘job’ to find a job.”