How to Get a Graphic Design Internship

Looking for a graphic design internship? Employers from Clever Spider, Your Wedding Countdown, and Thanks Mom are looking to hiring graphic designers like you! 

Ever notice how graphics for a company’s content or social media pages look so unique to that company? That is part of a Graphic Designer’s job: to play a critical role in the way the a company’s brand is conveyed aesthetically — from marketing collateral to helpful infographics to mockups for a new website. If this is your dream career, it’s important to get your foot in the door by applying for Graphic Design internships. To do so, you’ll need to market yourself in such a way that you seem perfect for this specific job. Here’s how.

Make sure the right tools and skills are listed on your resume.

Whether you’re a PhotoShop, Illustrator, After Effects or Sketch guru, it’s important to list those tools on your resume to show off your experience. Experience with coding languages (though not always necessary!) can also bring your application to the top of the pile, so make sure to cite your knowledge of HTML, CSS and SASS.

The same goes for your graphic design-related hobbies: For example, if you love taking original photographs, include “photography” in the Skills & Interests section of your resume.

Make sure your resume exudes creativity.

A standard, white 8 x 11 resume is fine, but it doesn’t scream, “I want a role in Graphic Design.” Be creative with the layout so that employers can see that you have an eye for design; you can use cool tools like Canva for creative, easy-to-use templates that will catch an employer’s attention.

Just make sure that you don’t sacrifice comprehensiveness for creativity: You want the employer to quickly get a sense of your skill set and experience, but you don’t want him or her to get lost among the experimental shapes and symbols on your resume. 

Create an online portfolio.

Whether you’ve completed school projects or freelance work for clients, it’s important to make sure your best work is displayed online. It not only helps you to look like a professional designer, but it also allows employers to peruse your work to see how you implement your creative vision. Having an online portfolio also shows that you have vested interest in graphic design.

Not to mention, it’s a great way of having more control over what shows up in search results when employers Google your name. (Think professional online portfolio versus a YouTube video of that middle school play you were in that one time…).

Get strategic with social media.

Employers will be looking you up on social media to gain more information about who you are as a candidate – so why not leverage your channels to show off your graphic design skills? Whether it’s updating your Facebook cover photo with one of your original designs or making sure you post a new graphic on Instagram or Pinterest each week, this can take your personal and professional branding to the next level.  

Be ready with ideas and examples about how to improve user experience.

If you’re applying for a role that will have you designing product or website interfaces, coming up with ideas for how to improve the company’s pre-existing services is a huge bonus. As someone who has been on the customer-side of the business, you can add valuable feedback, like, “As a user, I would have a better experience on the site if X were tweaked or if the flow of Y were changed.” Then, provide specific examples and ideas of ways you can implement those changes.

Not only does it show that you’ve been closely watching the way the company products or services operate, it also shows that you’re actively thinking of ways that you can contribute during your internship.

Making sure your job application materials – and your online presence! – are tailored to getting graphic design internships will give you a huge advantage during your job search. Employers will be pleasantly surprised that you know exactly how to portray yourself, and they’ll be far more confident in your abilities when you showcase them so well, so if you have these five things in place, it’s time to start applying for some incredible internships!