How to Actually Get Your First Internship (Step by Step)

Getting your first internship can feel like one of those frustrating situations where everyone wants experience, but nobody explains how you’re supposed to get that experience in the first place.

The good news is that most employers hiring interns aren’t expecting a long professional history. They’re looking for signs that you’re interested, capable of learning, reliable, and willing to put in the work.

That means you don’t need the perfect résumé or a long list of previous jobs. You need a practical strategy. Here’s how to go from having little or no experience to landing your first internship.

Step 1: Figure out what kind of internship you want

Before opening a job board and applying to everything labeled “intern,” narrow your search.

Start with the field you want to explore. Maybe that’s marketing, finance, software development, journalism, design, engineering, public policy, HR, or something else. You don’t need to know exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life. An internship is partly about figuring that out.

Then think about what you actually want to learn. A marketing student, for example, could look for internships in social media, SEO, content, advertising, communications, or market research.

Create a shortlist of job titles and keywords related to those interests. This will make searching much easier and help you avoid wasting time on opportunities that don’t match your goals.

Step 2: Build a résumé even if you have no experience

One of the biggest mistakes first-time applicants make is assuming they have “nothing to put” on a résumé.

Professional experience is only one part of your background.

Include your education, relevant coursework, academic projects, volunteering, extracurricular activities, student organizations, certifications, language skills, and technical skills. If you helped organize a university event, managed social media for a student club, created a website for a class, or completed a research project, those experiences can demonstrate useful skills.

Focus on what you actually did and, where possible, what resulted from it.

Instead of writing:

“Member of university business club”

Try:

“Helped organize three networking events for more than 100 students.”

Keep the résumé clean, easy to scan, and ideally one page long when you’re just starting out. Most importantly, adjust it for the internship you’re applying to rather than sending exactly the same version everywhere.

Step 3: Create proof that you can do the work

If your résumé feels thin, create experience instead of waiting for someone to give it to you.

Someone interested in writing can publish a few articles. An aspiring designer can create sample projects for a portfolio. A future developer can build a small application and upload the code to GitHub. Someone interested in marketing could develop a mock campaign for a brand or analyze an existing company’s social media strategy.

These projects don’t have to be paid or commissioned by a real client to demonstrate your abilities.

Think of it from an employer’s perspective. Saying “I’m interested in content marketing” tells them something. Showing them three articles, an SEO content brief, and a sample campaign tells them much more.

A small portfolio can be especially useful when you’re competing against applicants who already have some work experience.

Step 4: Search beyond the biggest job boards

Job boards are useful, but they shouldn’t be your only strategy.

Check company career pages directly. Follow organizations you’re interested in on LinkedIn. Look at university career centers, professional associations, startup communities, alumni networks, career fairs, and industry-specific platforms.

You can also make a list of 20–30 organizations where you would genuinely like to work and check whether they offer internships.

If they don’t advertise one, you can still contact them.

A short message introducing yourself, explaining why you’re interested in the organization, and asking whether they take interns can occasionally uncover opportunities that were never publicly posted.

This approach works particularly well with smaller companies, nonprofits, startups, research organizations, and local businesses.

Step 5: Tailor every application

You don’t need to rewrite your entire résumé for every application, but you should make small changes based on the job description.

Read the requirements carefully and identify the skills that appear most important. If you genuinely have those skills or relevant experiences, make sure they’re easy to find on your résumé.

Do the same with your cover letter when one is requested.

Avoid generic statements such as “I am applying because I want to gain experience.” Explain why this particular role interests you, what you already bring to it, and what you hope to contribute or learn.

Ten thoughtful applications can often be more useful than sending 100 identical ones.

Step 6: Use your network without making it awkward

Networking doesn’t mean asking strangers to give you a job.

Start with people you already know: professors, classmates, former students, family friends, supervisors from volunteer work, or people you’ve met through university activities.

Tell them what you’re looking for specifically.

“I’m looking for a summer internship in communications or digital marketing” is much easier for someone to act on than “I need an internship.”

You can also reach out to professionals whose careers interest you. Instead of immediately asking for an internship, ask a thoughtful question about their work or request a short conversation about how they entered the field.

Relationships often lead to opportunities later.

Step 7: Prepare for the interview

Once you start getting interviews, prepare a few stories that demonstrate how you work.

Think about situations where you solved a problem, worked with a team, handled a deadline, learned something quickly, took initiative, or dealt with a challenge. Your examples can come from university projects, volunteering, extracurricular activities, or part-time work.

Research the organization before the interview and prepare a few questions of your own.

You should also be able to answer three basic questions clearly: Why this field? Why this organization? Why this internship?

You don’t need complicated answers. You need specific ones.

Step 8: Keep applying and keep improving

Your first applications may go nowhere. That’s normal.

Internship searches involve timing, competition, availability, and plenty of factors you can’t control. Instead of treating every rejection as proof that you’re not qualified, use the process as feedback.

If you’ve submitted 30 applications without getting an interview, revisit your résumé and targeting. If you’re getting interviews but no offers, work on your interview responses.

Your first internship is usually the hardest one to get because you have the least evidence behind you. Once you land it, you’ll have real experience, references, projects, and professional connections to build on.

The goal isn’t to look experienced before you’ve had a chance to become experienced. It’s to show enough curiosity, preparation, and initiative that someone is willing to give you that first chance.