How to get an internship in high school, step by step

What counts as a high school internship

If you're figuring out how to get an internship in high school, start by widening your idea of what an internship is. It doesn't have to be a summer program at a big company. It's any structured role where you do real work for an organization, someone checks that work, and you learn something you couldn't learn in class.

Most high school internships fall into a few groups:

• Nonprofit internships. Helping a charity, community group or student-run organization with social media, events, research, outreach or fundraising.
• Local business internships. Shadowing or assisting at a small office, shop, clinic, lab or studio, often found through someone you know.
• School and city programs. School districts, libraries, parks departments and city offices run their own student programs. Your counselor knows where they are.
• Research or lab roles. Assisting a teacher, a local college lab or a community science project.
• Remote internships. Work done online for an organization that may be in a different city or country. These fit around school and don't depend on where you live.

Paid or unpaid, in-person or remote, the question to ask is the same: will I do real work, and will someone give me feedback on it?

Where to look first

Start close to home and move outward. The people who already know you are the ones most likely to say yes.

Your school counselor and teachers

Counselors and career center staff often hear about local opportunities that never get posted online. Tell them what you're interested in, even if it's vague ("I want to try marketing" or "I like biology but don't know what jobs exist"). Teachers in the subject you care about may know former students, parents or local organizations looking for help.

Local nonprofits

Food banks, libraries, museums, animal shelters, environmental groups and youth organizations frequently need help with tasks a capable teenager can do. Look at their websites for a "volunteer" or "get involved" page. If they don't list an internship, it's still fine to ask whether a project-based role is possible.

Your family network

Ask parents, relatives, family friends and neighbors what they do and whether their workplace ever takes students. This isn't cheating. Most people got their first role through someone they knew. Be clear that you want to do real work, not just watch.

Remote nonprofits and student-run organizations

If your town has few options, look online. Many nonprofits work remotely and need help with writing, design, research and outreach. Student-run organizations are a strong fit because they're built around people who are also in school. Our guide to online volunteer opportunities for students lists more places to start.

Write a short outreach email

When there's no posted opening, a short email can create one. Keep it under 150 words, name what you can do, and make it easy to say yes. Here's an example:

Subject: High school student interested in helping with your social media

Hi Ms. Rivera,

My name is Jordan Lee, and I'm a junior at Lincoln High School. I've followed the River Cleanup Project's Instagram for a while and I'd like to help. I've run the account for my school's environmental club for a year, where I plan posts and make short videos.

Would you be open to a small internship or volunteer project this spring? I could draft a month of posts or edit event photos into short videos. I'm available about two afternoons a week and on weekends. I've attached my resume.

Thank you for your time, Jordan Lee

Notice what it does: it shows Jordan knows the organization, names a relevant skill with proof, offers a specific project and says when they're free. Avoid long life stories, generic lines like "I'm a hard worker," and asking what they can do for you.

Before you send it, make sure your resume is ready. If you don't have much on it yet, see how to write a high school resume with no experience.

How to follow up

People are busy, and many good emails get buried. If you don't hear back in about a week, send one short follow-up in the same thread:

Hi Ms. Rivera, I wanted to follow up on my note below about helping with your social media this spring. I'm still very interested and happy to start with a small test project. Thanks again, Jordan

If there's still no answer after another week, move on without taking it personally. Keep a simple list of who you contacted, when, and what they said. Plan to reach out to several organizations at once so one silence doesn't stall you.

If someone says no, thank them and ask whether they know anyone else who might need help. A polite no can still lead to a referral.

Applying to posted internships

Some organizations have a real application, often a short online form. Read the whole posting before you start. Answer each question directly, use full sentences, and connect your answers to the actual work described. If they ask why you want the role, give one or two specific reasons tied to what the organization does.

Proofread everything, including your email address and resume file name. Something like "Jordan-Lee-Resume.pdf" looks more prepared than "document1."

How to prepare once you get a yes

Getting the internship is the first step. Doing it well is what makes it count.

1. Clarify expectations. Ask who you report to, how you'll communicate, what your first project is and how often you'll check in.
2. Set up your tools. Make a professional email address if you don't have one, and learn the basics of whatever the team uses, such as shared documents or video calls.
3. Plan your schedule. Block out regular time around school and tell your supervisor early about exams or busy weeks.
4. Keep a work log. Write down what you did each week, what you made and any results. This makes your resume and future applications much easier.
5. Ask for feedback. Ask what you could do better, then do it. Interns who improve quickly get trusted with bigger projects.

When it's over, add it to your resume with specific bullets. Our guide on how to put volunteer work and internships on a resume shows how.

Mistakes to avoid

• Waiting for the perfect opportunity instead of starting with a smaller one.
• Sending the same generic email to everyone.
• Applying only to famous organizations and ignoring local or remote nonprofits.
• Saying yes to more hours than you can handle during school.
• Forgetting to track what you actually accomplished.

Start with a student-run nonprofit

Everything above works anywhere, but a remote, student-run nonprofit lets you skip the cold-email grind and get straight to real work. At Flash Forward Foundation, you pick a department (marketing, partnerships and operations, or fundraising), take a short course built around the real organization, then ship at least two real projects: a social campaign, a partner-research database, a grant proposal. Managers review your work every week, and executives with backgrounds in marketing, growth and strategy set monthly goals and mentor you.

The work has a point. Interns build $5.17 solar study lights, and partners in Haiti, India and DR Congo get them to students who have no electricity at home. The internship is unpaid, fully remote and flexible around school.

If you'd like to try it, the internship application is a short Google Form that asks for your resume.

FAQ

Questions

More student guides

• How to put volunteer work on a resume (and internships too)
• How to start a nonprofit as a student
• How to get an internship with no experience
• All student guides