The Ultimate Guide to High School Internships

Want to land an internship at a great company, earn real-world experience, and give your college applications something genuinely rare — all while you're still in high school? It's more achievable than most students think. This guide walks you through exactly how to do it, from building your resume to sealing the offer.

Let's go.

Building Your Resume

Your resume is the first thing a company sees, and as a high school student, it has to convince them you're competent enough to be worth the bet — especially since in most cases you'll be reaching out to companies that don't formally hire interns. Here's how to make it shine.

Contact details. Your full name, a phone number or email, and a LinkedIn profile if you have one. Use a professional email address (firstname.lastname@email.com), not a childhood handle.

Summary or objective. A brief statement of what you're aiming for and what you bring — tailored to the specific internship, not generic.

Education. Your high school, expected graduation date, and GPA (if it's strong). Add relevant coursework, awards, or honors.

Skills. List abilities relevant to the role — both soft skills like communication and teamwork and technical ones like programming languages or software. Be honest; don't inflate.

Work experience. Include anything relevant, even if it wasn't a formal job: freelancing, volunteering, babysitting, pet-sitting, or leadership roles in clubs and projects. Describe your responsibilities with action verbs like "organized," "collaborated," and "achieved."

Projects. Highlight academic or personal work tied to the field — science fair projects, coding builds, art portfolios. Explain what you did, what tools you used, and the results.

Extracurriculars, honors, and references. Mention clubs, sports, and leadership roles, stressing teamwork and applicable skills. List any academic or extracurricular honors. And if you can, name mentors or teachers who'll vouch for you — always ask their permission first.

Formatting. Keep it clean and readable: a formal typeface like Calibri or Arial, bullet points for clarity, ideally one page. Proofread carefully.

The single biggest thing: feature the skills most relevant to the role, and phrase your accomplishments in the active voice with concrete impact so a hiring manager can see the full extent of what you've done. And keep updating your resume even after internship season — it's a document you'll carry for life.

Writing a Cold Email

Now the fun part: actually reaching out. And it shouldn't be one company — send to a wide range of places with roles that fit your career path. Once you have their contact info, your email needs to be cordial, precise, and genuinely engaging. Here's how to structure it.

Subject line. Clear, succinct, attention-grabbing. Example: "Internship Inquiry from High School Student Interested in [Specific Position]."

Introduction. State your name, grade, and the purpose of the email, plus a brief, sincere note on why you admire the company's work.

Value proposition. Highlight what you bring — a quick snapshot of your passions, accomplishments, and how they align with the company's values.

Research and personalization. Show you've done your homework: reference a recent project, article, or initiative you found genuinely interesting, and explain why you want to work with them specifically. Keep it informed, not flattering-for-the-sake-of-it.

Call to action. Be clear about what you're asking for — a brief call or informational interview. Crucially, ask for their availability rather than stating yours. Example: "Could we schedule a 15-minute call in the coming weeks, whenever works for you?"

Professional signature. Close politely ("Best regards," "Sincerely"), and include your full name, phone number, and email.

One reality check: most companies won't respond. That's normal. Don't be discouraged, plan to email dozens, even hundreds, before one says yes.

Nailing the Interview

Interviews can be nerve-wracking when you're a high schooler stepping into the professional world, but preparation is everything. Here's how to leave a lasting impression.

Research the company. Understand their mission, values, and recent work through their website, blog, and social media. You've already started this from the cold-email stage, so build on it.

Know your resume inside out. Expect questions on your experiences and skills, and practice articulating how they relate to the role.

Dress the part. Dress professionally even for virtual interviews — business casual, neat, well-groomed, down to clean shoes and minimal accessories.

Practice common questions. Prepare concise answers for the classics: Why this internship? Tell me about a challenge you overcame. Describe a time you worked in a team.

Showcase your soft skills. Students underestimate these. Demonstrate communication, adaptability, and problem-solving with real examples.

Handle behavioral questions with STAR. For "describe a time you led" or "how do you handle pressure," structure your answer as Situation, Task, Action, Result.

Ask your own questions. Interviews go both ways — prepare thoughtful questions about the team and role, and hold off on salary or benefits at this stage.

Mind your body language. Maintain eye contact, sit up straight, smile genuinely, and avoid fidgeting.

Practice, practice, practice. Run mock interviews with a friend or family member and get feedback on both your answers and your delivery.

Follow up. Send a thank-you email within 24 hours, express genuine gratitude, and reiterate your interest. Be authentic, stay calm, and believe in yourself. You've got this.

Skills That Outlast the Internship

As you push through this process, remember that everything you're learning — resume building, cold emailing, interviewing — will serve you far beyond high school. Long after college, after your first job, you'll keep using these exact skills to build connections, land new roles, and close the gap between you and the work you care about. The time is now, and your future is genuinely in your hands.

While you're at it, it's worth building a profile that makes these applications easier to land. If you're a STEM student, our guide to pre-med summer programs for high schoolers and guide to the BCA Research Expo are strong ways to stack up experience that stands out to companies and colleges alike. And if you're funding your path, how to win a National Merit Scholarship is worth a read.