How to apply for internships

When to start your internship search

Timing is the single biggest reason qualified candidates miss out. Large employers, especially in finance, consulting, and tech, open their summer internship applications in August or September of the prior year. Many close within six to eight weeks. If you wait until January to apply for a June start, most competitive roles are already filled.

Smaller companies and startups hire on a rolling basis and often post two to three months before the start date, so a March posting for a May internship is normal there. Government and nonprofit internships vary widely: some federal programs in the US, such as those listed on USAJOBS, open in October for the following summer, while others accept applications year-round.

In the UK, large graduate employers follow a similar early-cycle pattern. In Australia, the main intake for summer internships aligns with the academic calendar, meaning applications typically open in February or March for a November or December start.

• Finance, consulting, big tech: apply August to October for the following summer
• Startups and mid-size companies: apply two to three months before the start date
• US federal internships: check USAJOBS from October onward
• UK large employers: applications often open in September
• Australia summer internships: applications typically open February to March

What application materials you need

Most internship applications require a resume and a cover letter. Some employers add a short written response, a video introduction, or an online assessment. Have your core documents ready before you start applying so you are not rushing when a deadline appears.

Your resume for an internship should fit on one page. Lead with education if you have limited work experience. Include relevant coursework, projects, and any part-time or volunteer work that shows transferable skills. Use plain formatting: no tables, no text boxes, no graphics, because applicant tracking systems often misread them.

Your cover letter should be three short paragraphs: why you want this specific role, what you bring that matches the job description, and a clear closing sentence. Avoid copying the same letter to every employer. Hiring managers notice generic letters immediately, and a tailored letter takes only ten to fifteen minutes once you have a solid template.

• Resume: one page, plain formatting, education first if you are a student
• Cover letter: three paragraphs, tailored to each role
• Transcripts: often requested at offer stage, but have an unofficial copy ready
• References: prepare two or three names with contact details before you are asked
• Portfolio or work samples: required for design, writing, and engineering roles

Where internship postings appear

Internship postings are spread across many platforms, and no single source covers everything. You need to check several places regularly.

Campus career portals are the most overlooked resource. Many employers post exclusively through university systems such as Handshake in the US, because they want to target specific schools. Log in and set up alerts before the semester starts.

General job boards such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor aggregate postings from employer sites. Search for 'internship' plus your field and filter by date posted to catch new listings quickly. In Canada, the federal government's Job Bank lists co-op and internship roles alongside full-time positions. In Australia, GradConnection and Prosple focus specifically on student and graduate opportunities.

Going directly to employer careers pages is often the most reliable method for large companies. Bookmark the careers section of every employer you are targeting and check it weekly during peak application season.

• Handshake (US): campus-exclusive postings from thousands of employers
• LinkedIn and Indeed: broad coverage, set daily alerts
• GradConnection and Prosple: Australia and New Zealand focused
• Job Bank (Canada): government and private sector roles
• Employer careers pages: most accurate and up to date
• Professional associations: many post internships for members in fields like engineering, accounting, and journalism

How to tailor each application

Read the full job posting before you write a single word. Note the specific skills, tools, and qualities the employer lists. Then check your resume and cover letter to make sure those exact terms appear where they are genuinely true for you.

Do not pad or invent experience. Instead, reframe what you have. If the posting asks for 'data analysis experience' and you ran a survey for a class project in Excel, that counts. Describe it accurately: 'Analyzed survey responses from 120 participants using Excel pivot tables to identify trends in consumer preference.'

Match the language of the posting. If the employer says 'cross-functional collaboration,' use that phrase rather than 'teamwork.' Applicant tracking systems score resumes partly on keyword overlap with the job description.

1. Copy the job description into a document and highlight every skill and requirement
2. Check your resume line by line against those highlights
3. Add or reword bullet points to reflect matching experience, using honest language
4. Rewrite the second paragraph of your cover letter to address the top two or three requirements
5. Save each version with the employer name in the file name so you can track what you sent

How to track applications and follow up

Once you are applying to more than five or six roles, tracking becomes essential. A simple spreadsheet works: columns for employer, role, date applied, application portal, status, and any follow-up date.

Following up is appropriate in some situations and not others. If you applied through a campus portal or a direct referral, a brief email to the recruiter one to two weeks after the deadline is reasonable. If you applied through a general job board with no named contact, following up is rarely productive and sometimes unwelcome.

When you do follow up, keep it short. One sentence confirming your continued interest and one sentence offering to provide anything else they need is enough. Do not ask why you have not heard back.

How Break-In Bad can handle the application work

If you are applying to many internships at once, the volume of tailoring and submitting can become unmanageable. Break-In Bad is an AI job application agent that reads each posting in full, including location, visa requirements, and experience level, and scores it against your profile. Roles scored 75 percent or above are submitted automatically on your behalf through Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, and other employer sites, with a screenshot as proof of submission.

Omar, the assistant, builds or enhances your resume through a short conversation, asking up to 20 questions you can answer by typing or speaking. She then writes a tailored resume and cover letter for each role from facts you have confirmed, so nothing is invented. Employer replies come into one inbox with interview alerts and reminders the day before. You start with 50 free credits when you sign up, and credits never expire.