An inter CV is a kind of written record for a candidate who is applying for an internship. However, it should be noted that this kind of CV requires extra work, as it lacks enough information, mostly work experience.
Therefore, while customizing an intern CV, you can add any sort of extracurricular activities or any volunteer work that might be beneficial for the company and see you as a career-oriented professional.
Writing an intern CV seems like a lot of work, but it’s not supposed to be so hard. By keeping key points and tactics in your mind, you can catch the recruiter’s attention into considering you as a potential candidate.
Let’s go through some key steps to follow while writing an intern CV.
Details
If an employer is interested in your skills as an intern, the first thing they want to do is contact you, hence your CV should be organized in a way that they can easily navigate through your contact details, such as name, phone number, address, and email address.
Education
Education is one of the most relevant part of an intern’s CV because an intern lacks any kind of work experience, and only a strong educational background can make him a better candidate. Mentioning your qualifications, your institution, and years of completion is a must information to add to your CV.
Accomplishments
When writing an intern CV, including an accomplishments section seems like a good idea. This will help recruiters to know about any specific skills and expertise you possess, highlighting any sort of awards or certificates you got for volunteer work or any part-time job, you can also describe any extracurricular activities you performed as accomplishments.
Straightforward
Internship CVs are not supposed to be too complicated and hard to comprehend since recruiters are expecting that the CV will not have too many details, so try to make it simple and readable. Discourage the use of any complex and technical terms that make your CV too overwhelming. It needs to be specific, straightforward, and concise.
Inquisitiveness
Your curiosity, interest in your desired field and constant need to learn to make you a good fit as an intern, you can mention any kind of courses or workshops you have attended and show your recruiter your ability to work enthusiastically. By putting on this information in your intern CV, you can make yourself a great choice for the internship position.
Plan your statement
Before you write an objective statement in your intern CV, make sure to plan it first according to the needs of the employer. Your objective statement should be memorable and of value so that the hiring manager can quickly scan it when needed. Do a bit of research on the company and the position it offers and then show your interest and ways in which you can be of value to them in the future.
Additional information
Adding extra information might sound good here while crafting an intern CV. You can describe your hobbies or part-time jobs, where you learned a lot about work ethics, and how to function as a team member. Hobbies, such as mind games, can help you demonstrate to your employer that you can think strategically and out of the box.
Customize it
Customizing your CV in the best possible way creates a good impression of you as a professional and serious about the job opportunity, by performing minor research about the company and its offers, you can customize it greatly. In this way, you will have a better understanding of what you have to offer the company and align it most significantly.
Languages
This section is only applicable to those interns who speak more than one language and gives them a plus point in order to land a dream internship. It’s important to mention the level of proficiency when adding a language to your CV, how fluent you are, and how easily you can deliver in the speaking environment.
Consistency
When crafting an intern CV, consistency is a crucial element, as it prevents the recruiter from getting distracted. Prevent usage of different fonts for different headings or word sizing, which diverts the attention of the recruiter from the primary purpose of going through your CV.
Keywords
If you want to be on top of the candidate list, then don’t forget to add keywords to your CV. Recruiters mostly use certain software which helps them in picking out the most eligible candidates for the job, therefore if you use important keywords which also match the job description you have a very strong chance of getting shortlisted and called for an interview.
Skills
As a fresher, you might not have any work experience which helped you gain hard skills. But soft skills are something that you must showcase in your CV. Hiring managers are interested in candidates who possess leadership qualities and are adaptable to the work environment. Problem-solving skills can be of value to the company’s needs, therefore you must mention it. Effective communication and the ability to work as a team can impress your recruiter within no time.
Cover letter
Adding a cover letter along with the CV can be beneficial for a candidate, a cover letter is something that helps you elaborate more about yourself, your interests, and your passion to work, don’t add any kind of irrelevant information in your cover letter as it’s your chance to gain exposure to your hiring manager about your skills and interests to join the desired organization. But keep in mind that it shouldn’t be too informal, keep it engaging yet professional.
Edit
Once you have prepared an intern-level CV, you must take your time to review it and find any kind of mistake in it. Check it again for any grammatical mistakes or using inappropriate words. It shouldn’t be so wordy, leave a lot of white spaces so that the recruiters easily find out what they are looking for. Remember that these small mistakes can have a negative impact on your image as a professional. Proofreading can also be done by showing it to a family member or a professional, so they can give an honest opinion about it.
Adding a LinkedIn profile
If you have a LinkedIn profile, then choosing to add it to your intern CV is a good option, as it shows you have an online presence and by staying connected with other professionals in your field you are learning new trends and innovations. It also shows how career-oriented you are in order to achieve your goals.
Proper labelling
When writing a CV for an intern, you must give it proper labelling, and refrain from using words which do not match you or your job application. In most cases choosing your name along with your specific job description is suitable.
Endnote
Creating an intern CV is a challenging task as you have a small amount of data and you need to put it in a creative manner, which helps the candidate to land the required internship. Educational background is the most important aspect of an intern’s CV as you can’t find much work experience. Therefore, customizing your intern CV requires full focus on the most relevant details and then displaying it effectively to grab the recruiter’s attention. Keep it simple, write about soft skills and mention your passion and enthusiasm to learn. Your intern CV should help you get a chance to show your skills as a team member, or your leadership qualities, and show how adaptable you are in a working environment.