How to get an internship with no experience

The "no experience" catch, and how to get around it

Almost every student hits the same wall: internships want experience, and you need an internship to get experience. The good news is that an internship with no experience is normal. Most first internships go to people whose only proof is schoolwork, clubs and a few self-started projects.

This guide is for high school seniors and college freshmen and sophomores. The goal is to turn what you already have into evidence, add a little more, and apply where beginners are welcome.

Find your transferable skills

Transferable skills are abilities you built in one setting that work in another. You have more than you think. Go through each part of your life and write down what you actually did.

• Classes. Research papers show research and writing. Lab reports show careful documentation. Group projects show coordination and deadlines.
• Clubs and teams. Planning an event, running a group chat, recruiting new members or keeping track of money are all real work.
• Jobs. Retail, food service, tutoring and babysitting show reliability, customer communication and handling pressure.
• At home. Caring for siblings, translating for family or managing a household schedule shows responsibility.
• Hobbies. Editing videos, running a social account, building websites or designing graphics are skills organizations need right now.

For each item, write one sentence in the form "I did X, which shows I can Y." For example: "I organized our club's bake sale, which shows I can plan a project and coordinate volunteers." These sentences become your resume bullets and interview answers.

Do a project before you apply

The fastest way to beat "no experience" is to create some. A small, finished project is more convincing than a long list of interests. Pick one that matches the kind of internship you want and finish it in a few weeks.

Project ideas by field

• Marketing or communications: run a social account for a club for a month, or write three sample posts for a nonprofit you admire.
• Writing: publish a few articles on a topic you care about, or edit a club newsletter.
• Design: make a set of flyers or graphics for a real school event.
• Research or operations: build a spreadsheet comparing local organizations, programs or resources, with sources.
• Fundraising: organize a small fundraiser for a cause and track what you raised and how.
• Tech or STEM: build a simple app, website or hardware project and write up how it works.

Online volunteering also counts. Projects like Zooniverse or the Smithsonian Transcription Center let you contribute to real research and archives. Check each program's own site for current eligibility. For more ideas, see passion project ideas for high school students.

Whatever you do, document it: save the files, take screenshots and note any results. That record is your portfolio.

Start with nonprofits and student-run organizations

Large companies filter for prior internships. Nonprofits, especially small and student-run ones, judge you on effort and potential. They have more work than people, so they're used to training newcomers and giving them real responsibility early.

Student-run organizations have another advantage: they understand school schedules. Remote ones also widen your options beyond your own town. You can read more about this path in our guide to nonprofit careers for students.

Other good places to look:

• Your college's career center or your high school counselor.
• Professors or teachers who run research or community projects.
• Local libraries, museums and community organizations.
• People in your family and school network who work in fields you're curious about.

How to write the application

With little experience, every part of your application has to work harder. Be specific and keep it short.

Your resume

Put education at the top, then a "Projects" or "Experience" section with the work you described above. Use action verbs and concrete details. Compare these two bullets:

• Before: "Member of photography club."
• After: "Edited and posted weekly photos for the photography club's Instagram during the fall semester."

Add a short skills section with tools you can actually use, such as Google Sheets, a design tool, a video editor or a programming language. Our guide to a high school resume with no experience goes deeper.

Short answers and cover notes

When an application asks why you want the role, answer in three parts: what draws you to the organization, what you can already do, and what you want to learn. For example:

"I want to join because your work giving students a way to study at night connects to my interest in energy access. I've run my school club's social media for a year and edited short videos for events. I'd like to learn how a real campaign is planned and measured."

That answer is honest about being a beginner but still shows proof and direction.

Common mistakes

• Apologizing for your lack of experience. Focus on what you can do.
• Listing traits ("hardworking, passionate") without evidence.
• Sending the same answers to every organization.
• Skipping proofreading. Small errors stand out more on a short application.

If you get an interview

Expect questions like "Tell me about yourself," "Why us?" and "Tell me about a time you solved a problem." Prepare two or three short stories from your projects, clubs or jobs that show you taking initiative and finishing something. It's fine to say "I haven't done that yet, but here's how I'd approach it." End by asking one real question, such as what a first project might look like.

Make a student-run nonprofit your first step

Once you've got a few transferable skills, put them to work somewhere that trains beginners on purpose. At Flash Forward Foundation, you start with a short orientation and a department course with practical assignments for the real organization. Then you take on at least two real projects, like growing video engagement or drafting a grant proposal, with your manager reviewing your work every week. Strong work gets published as a portfolio piece with your permission, which solves the "no experience" problem for your next application. Tracks include marketing and communications, partnerships and operations, and fundraising.

The internship is unpaid, fully remote and flexible around school. You can apply through a short Google Form with your resume.

FAQ

Questions

More student guides

• How to get leadership experience in high school
• Nonprofit careers for students: marketing, operations and fundraising
• Online volunteer opportunities for students that actually count
• All student guides