Internship on the curriculum

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When looking for a job, the competition is very high, and it is often the small details that make a candidate more attractive than another that make the difference. If you have participated in training or work internships in the sector for which you are applying, especially if these have later turned into professional experiences, it is good to add this information on the CV to enrich it. But how to give relevance to internships we have attended, even in the past? In this guide we give you some tips to follow to create a really useful and functional CV.

CV internship: mandatory information or not?

Nothing is mandatory when you talk about writing a CV: some may find it necessary to enter some information, while others may omit it and enter others. Certainly a good CV cannot ignore one’s personal and above all contact data (email and telephone number) and must contain all the work experience of the candidate, to put the recruiter in a position to have access to as much data as possible in view of the first selection. It is not mandatory to specify all the training and professional internships you have attended, but it is useful to do so if these experiences have had an impact on your career and therefore are functional to the job you are applying for.

Is it convenient not to insert information about the internship in the resume?

There are two options: there are those who argue that it is essential to insert everything that somehow qualifies you in view of a possible interview and who, on the other hand, need to exclude everything that is redundant or that does not bring direct benefits during the selection phase. Undoubtedly, it must be evaluated case by case and therefore remember that each CV should be customized according to the job offer in order to make the best decision.

When to insert the internship on the CV

There are cases in which inserting information about internships in which we have participated is useful and convenient. For example, if you are applying as a translator for a company, and you have participated in an internship in the European Parliament as a translator, you must necessarily specify as much as possible of this experience. If you have just finished university and your only approach to the world of work was an internship in the sector for which you studied, it is good to specify this on your CV: this will give you an advantage over other candidates with your same level of experience, and it will allow you to be clear from the beginning.

When not to insert the stage on your CV

It is not certain that having participated in one or more stages must necessarily be specified on a CV. For example, if you are applying for a position as a chef and your only internship was that carried out in a swimming pool as a lifeguard, it makes little sense to give this information because it is not directly linked to the position for which you are applying. If the internship was carried out many years ago, it may no longer be relevant and therefore it is information that should be omitted.

Internships on a CV: the pros

Specifying that you have taken part in one or more internships has its pros. Among them:

  • Strengthen the position of the candidate with no experience compared to other candidates;
  • Strengthen the position of the candidate with experience, only if the internship is relevant;
  • Allows you to establish the type of career the candidate has followed;
  • Helps to better understand the candidate’s attitude.

Internships on CVs: the cons

Specifying that you have taken part in one or more internships also has its downsides. These include:

  • It can be confusing, if the internship is not relevant to the area you are applying for;
  • It can make it difficult to understand the candidate’s career, if the internship was done a long time ago;
  • It can be boring if the information is too redundant.

The rules for inserting internships and internships on a CV

To ensure that the information on internships and internships carried out is effective, you must always take into account a few rules that help not to compromise the effectiveness of the CV:

  • Do not overdo the information: it is not necessary to provide too much information which will lengthen the CV making it redundant and excessive. If you have experience, you have to focus on that and not any stages; if the internship was your only contact with the world of work, on the contrary you must provide as much detail on the activities carried out, on the outcome you received, on your tasks and so on;
  • Do not report internships and internships you have done many years ago;
  • Make sure your CV is always consistent and follows a logical line: insert only and exclusively internships relevant to the position you are applying for.

Where possible, add references – references are optional for experienced candidates, essential for those who don’t.

In conclusion

  • Inserting an internship on your CV is essential if the internship is relevant to the job you are applying for;
  • Inserting an internship on the CV is not necessary if the internship is not relevant to the role in question;
  • It is necessary to follow some rules if you want to insert an internship experience on a CV.