Careers
How to find an internship (a practical guide for students)
A step-by-step guide to landing an internship — where to look, how to apply with little experience, and how to stand out. With links to top university career resources.
June 25, 2026 · 9 min read
An internship is the fastest way to turn what you've studied into something an employer can see. But the search can feel opaque — especially the first time, when you don't yet have work experience to point to. The good news is that internships are explicitly designed for people early in their careers, so the bar is your potential and your skills, not a long résumé.
Where to actually look
Four sources cover most good internships. Your university career center is first and best — it has employer relationships, vetted listings, résumé help and mock interviews, all free. The big US university centers publish excellent public guidance too: MIT's CAPD, Yale's Office of Career Strategy, Harvard's Mignone Center and UC Berkeley Career Engagement are worth reading even if you study elsewhere. Beyond that: company career pages, skills-first hiring platforms, and reputable listings. For what an internship should actually involve, NACE's definition is the standard.
Applying with little experience
The mistake most students make is trying to pad a thin résumé. Don't. Reframe instead: a class project, a society you ran, a hackathon, a small freelance gig, or a self-taught skill are all real evidence. Describe them the way you'd describe work — the situation, what you did, the result. If you're unsure which field fits your degree, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' field-of-degree data maps majors to careers and pay.
For the résumé itself, see our companion piece on writing a résumé with no experience. Keep it to one page, lead with skills and projects, and cut the generic objective line.
How to stand out
Two things separate strong intern applicants. First, proof of skill — a portfolio, a public project, a short work sample — lets an employer see ability directly instead of guessing from a transcript. Second, genuine interest in the specific role, shown by a short, specific note rather than a mass-blast cover letter. On skills-first platforms you can skip the résumé-guessing entirely: build one profile, show what you can do, and be matched on it.
How Spoon Hire helps students
On Spoon Hire, students build one profile — no work experience required — and get judged on a fair, structured AI interview rather than a thin CV. Browse open internships, take the free work-style test to add to your profile, and let companies find you on what you can actually do. Build your profile.
Frequently asked
How do I get an internship with no experience?
Lead with projects, coursework and skills rather than job history. Apply to roles built for students, use your university's career center, and show you can do the work through a portfolio or a short sample. Many platforms — including skills-first ones — let you build a profile and be judged on ability rather than a résumé.
When should I apply for internships?
Earlier than you think. Many large employers recruit summer interns 6–9 months ahead (often the previous autumn), while smaller companies hire closer to the date. Apply on a rolling basis and don't wait for a single 'season'.
Where are the best places to find internships?
Your university career center, company career pages, skills-first hiring platforms, and reputable internship listings. Avoid anything that charges you to apply — legitimate internships never do.
Put it into practice with Spoon Hire.
Run fair, skills-first AI interviews and review anonymized, merit-ranked shortlists.