Crafting a clear and comprehensive intern job description is the first step to building a successful internship program. It sets expectations, aligns goals, and ensures both interns and employers are on the same page from the outset. But why is it so crucial? An effective job description not only attracts the right candidates but also lays the foundation for meaningful contributions and growth—for both the intern and your business.
This guide walks you through the essentials of creating an impactful intern job description. From defining key responsibilities to outlining required skills, we’ll help you streamline the process and set your internship program up for success.
What you expect from an intern and their responsibilities are clearly defined in an intern job description. You establish this before even starting the recruitment process to set the standards and expectations.
This job description for an internship allows you as the company and the intern to have mutual understanding. It provides clarity of what your company expects from them. It includes various tasks that help interns gain experience and skills in their path of interest. Making a job description helps set the ground rules of who can apply or not. If you're advertising a marketing internship, you could list some of the tasks they'd be involved in, for example:
An intern is known to shadow their professional leads. However, what to include in their intern job description remains a question which we will unpack here:
Whereas the job description outlines what is expected, intern requirements highlight who can and should apply for the internship. It ranges from stating the responsibility of an intern to whether they academically qualify for the position. Knowing these requirements can help make a good first impression on your hiring team. The internship role is explained in detail to avoid misunderstandings due to incomplete communication. Some of the intern requirements may be:
For most internships, the most basic requirement for education is a completed high school education. This can differ from company to company. You can set your qualification criteria for the applicants. For example, a marketing and advertising intern may be required to have some sort of diploma or certificate in search engine optimization, marketing strategies, or keyword optimization.
You need to explain to the applicants what they are in for. Intern job responsibilities are often stated in the job description to mutually understand what the intern would be responsible for doing in your company.
The responsibilities of an intern vary because of different industries and business types. However, some examples include:
Interns are mostly final-year students with already tough schedules. They have to examine whether their routine allows an internship or not. This is why it is important to mention that in the internship position description. Another important thing to state in the job description is the benefits. Stating the fringe benefits and monetary incentives like stipends will attract more applicants.
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With Virtual Internships, you can focus on what matters most—growing your business—while we handle the rest. Let’s connect you with your next rising star!