So here you are, young and fresh, here to take the bull by its horn. You’re filled with expectations and dreams for the future. You feel like the world is at your feet, which it is, by the way. You’re pumped and ready to experience life outside the controlled environment of your school. Of course, the first thing you’ll be needing to do will be writing an application letter for an internship. Still, not just any letter. It will be among hundreds of letters sent to various companies at the same time in search of the same position you’re aiming for.
So your letter needs something compelling while not seeming disrespectful. Easy humour while maintaining formality. And of course, a letter that sells you adequately without coming off as proud, crazy, right? Now I have your attention.
Of course, you are going as an intern, so no pressure. My job here is to ease any iota of anxiety. I will give you a step-by-step guide on how to go about writing an application letter. One that hits the right notes. Has the exact amount of information, and is delivered in a way that strikes your potential employer as precisely right!
- Be Specific.
- Sing your Praise.
- You Choose them, not the others.
- Tell Them About Your Edge.
- Let us Get Writing.
- Letter Samples
- Conclusion
Writing an Application Letter For an Internship: Step-by-step
Be Specific!
While you are trying to swoon your potential employees, flexing your vocabulary skills, and showing off how well versed you are in different aspects of your field, is paramount. While coming up with a draft, you should have in mind that the overused phrase “we can work anywhere” won’t cut it. This is so as the firm may or may not be shopping for employees now but would be willing to consider only due to your status as a student.
Bearing this in mind, the first thing you should do is indicate the exact position you are interested in. During this, any extra information that may have influenced this decision would go a long way in influencing your employers towards making a favourable decision.
This is important as it is safe to assume that whoever reads your letter is busy. Hence, stating your case in the shortest time possible will do the job of hitting your potential employer as precisely right!
Sing Your Praise
At this point in your letter, when required to sing your praise, what you need to do is to introduce your academic achievement. Beginning from your field of study and relevant information related to your specific option or where you intend to major in. You can include your current CGPA and relevant courses taken both in and outside school. This provides you with additional expertise in your field.
Fieldwork and your excellence in it and external competitions that you were engaged in will do well to increase your chances even by the slightest bit.
The same goes for awards acquired due to academic excellence. Mention roles that you took up during the course of study or other engagements during school work. This shows your particular interest in the field and hints towards you being willing to work harder.
Now, remember, when writing an application letter for an internship, you’re trying to sell yourself adequately without sounding proud at the same time. So, make sure to include only the relevant parts to avoid adding unnecessary information that may either bore or strike your potential employer the wrong way.
You Choose Their Company, Not the Others.
You know the way people like being recognized and seen? That’s the same way people want to feel unique or essential. The same applies to companies as well. And so, before deciding to write an application letter for an internship, they expect you to carry out extensive research on your choice of company, what they do, what their policies are like.
Let them have that feeling of importance by including reasons you choose the company and not others. These reasons have to be genuine and can only be gotten through extensive research from your end.
This information comes in handy at this point in your letter as it shows you off as someone who does their research and goes the extra mile before deciding.
While you are at it, add your view on projects carried out by the company, exercises they engaged in in the past, or in subsequent times that are of particular interest to you.
Explain how you feel it will play a vital role in educating and moulding you to do better in your choice of academic pursuit. Referencing talks, publications, or articles published by them that you have come across shows depth and a particular interest in their firm. This scores you extra points.
Tell Them About Your Edge
We all have skills peculiar to us that may or may not come from an educational setting. However, they can be handy in the work environment, which will stand you out in a crowd. Have you worked in a team before? Have you taken the time to develop your communication and people skills? How well is your team spirit? Do people work well with you and bring out the best in others when working with them?
If you have acquired any volunteering experience while in school, now would be a good time to tell them about that edge.
Yes, you have been a student for a long time, and no one is about to hold that against you. However, you should bear in mind that every other person applying for the internship position has the same qualifications as you, sometimes even better. So, they need to see more than a student to choose you over everyone else.
They need to see a bright student and a student who understands people relations. Someone ready to put in the work while thinking outside the box and someone who can maintain a conducive workspace with their employer and colleagues at work.
Writing an Application Letter For an Internship: Let us Get Writing!
Having made up your mind to write to the company of your choice, some companies have provisions made online for applicants to fill in the required information. However, suppose no such thing is provided, and you’re going to be needing to write an original letter. In that case, this step-by-step guide to writing an application letter is for you. If carefully adhered to, it will give your letter the exact touch it needs to stand out. So, let’s get on writing an application letter for an internship!
The Beginning
Your name, phone number, and email address at the top right-hand side of your letter,
The name of the intended firm, their address, a contact person’s full name on the left, or if none, address to the HR department on the top left-hand side.
The title of your email comes next. Here, you specify the job you are applying for.
The addressee’s salutation, such as “Dear Sir” or “Dear ma.” . Avoid the use of “to whom it may concern” if possible.
The Middle
The next part of your letter is for you. After stating where you came across the internship position, take the following few lines to do the following things. Introduce your background of the study, your current level of study, area of specification in the chosen field and, proposed duration of the internship. It is also advisable but not necessarily compulsory, to mention your current Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).
Once you cover adequate information about your educational background, the other qualities that make you stand out and easy to work with should be mentioned here.
The End
In conclusion, thank the addressee for the time they take to read your letter. Also, indicate the attachment of a contact number through which they can easily reach you. Also, give your availability to meet up for an interview if they require.
Sign out as you normally do in every formal letter, with your signature first before a name.
Some Samples Of Cover Letters
Dear Mr. Smith,
I am submitting my resume for consideration for the summer application design internship program at ABC Company. Given the skills and experience outlined in my enclosed resume, I believe I will be a worthy asset to your team.
In my three years at XYZ College, I have completed a great deal of coursework on cutting-edge design trends and best practices, including Principles of User Experience Design and Mobile Application Design, where I learned and applied skills such as user journey mapping, application wireframing, and designing software for a variety of mobile devices and operating systems.
In addition, I spent the past semester volunteering my time with a local non-profit that collects donated clothes and furniture and redistributes it to families in need. I helped the web team update and re-launch an application that allows people in the community to locate nearby drop-off points and schedule pick-ups.
Finally, my two years working as a barista at the student center have taught me the importance of building a convenient and memorable consumer experience that aligns with the brand. It also helped me grow my skills in team collaboration, verbal communication, and project leadership.
I would make an excellent addition to your team. This internship would help me grow my real-world experience in the technology industry and help me further develop and refine my application design skills.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Erica Garcia
Here are some additional samples you can check out because I want you to get this right.
Conclusion
For most of this article, we have gone through writing an application letter for an internship, a step-by-step guide. So far, we have explored different areas that make you write a letter for an internship to be at its A-game.
We discussed focus areas to center concentration in such as, making your letter specific, singing your praise with regards to academic achievements, letting your company know you chose them, and it was no random pick by including information about them such as programs of interest, accomplishments, and information only obtained by research.
We also advised informing them about your edge, what makes you a good intern, like lessons, attributes, or skills acquired outside or within school walls to keep the company at an advantage by hiring you.
But we did not stop there, and we went further to give you a step-by-step guide for how to finally make all this information fit and not have your letter ridiculously long with trying to fit everything in at the same time and ending up missing the whole point.
We have also provided you with samples of letters you can use as a guide while writing your application letter for an internship. We know it’s not every day you read an article four times the size of what you’re expected to write, but we believe this article gives you whatever you need and even more.
