Computer Science Internship Resume: Samples and Guide

You need a computer science internship resume that gets you in at Apple or IBM. But how can you do it, when you’re up against 65,000 graduates from the US and over 400,000 from other countries? Oh-oh. Unhandled exception.

You’ve got this.

It’s not that hard to write a resume for computer science internships that validates. That’s because most of your fellow students don’t know how to list their education on a resume. They talk about what they learned. Instead, you’ll share what you achieved, and come out looking like Linus Torvalds.

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Are you hunting other computer science jobs or other internships? See these resume guides:

• Computer Engineering Resume Examples
• Database Developer Resume Examples
• DevOps Engineer Resume Examples
• Engineering Internship Resume Examples
• iOS Developer Resume Examples
• IT Technician Resume Examples
• IT Resume Examples
• IT Support Resume Examples
• Machine Learning Resume Examples
• Network Engineer Resume Examples
• Tableau Developer Resume Examples
• Android Developer Resume Examples
• Technical Resume Examples
• Job Resume Examples for All Professions

Sample Computer Science Internship Resume Template

Here’s how to write your own successful computer science internship resume:

1. Format Your Computer Science Internship Resume Correctly

Computer science internship resumes have to show you won’t write sloppy code. One of the key ways you do that is with a professional resume layout. Just like with code, clean formatting makes your work easy to read and understand. Pay close attention to spelling, margins, line-spacing, and fonts.

The perfect resume for computer science internships will show you care about the line-level details. Follow these resume formatting tips:

• Choose one of the three resume types. For most computer science internships, you’ll write a modified reverse-chronological resume.
• Don’t start off from “hello, world!” Just like coding libraries help you work faster, a clean resume template is your shortest path to getting hired.
• Choose a professional resume font for the best first impression. Some of the most trusted are Helvetica, Arial, and Calibri.
• Set your resume margins at one inch, including on the bottom and the top of the page.
• Stick to a one-page resume for computer science internships. You won’t have trouble filling it, because we’ll show some tricks below.
• What’s the best name for a resume file? “Name-Job Title-Resume.pdf”.
• Include the right parts of a resume, including heading, profile, education, experience, projects, and additional activities.

Pro Tip: There are only 65,000 computer science graduates in the US each year. But—many internships are work-from-home. That means you’ll compete with well over 500,000 worldwide graduates.

2. Get Noticed With a Resume Profile Statement

To get attention fast, start with an eye-catching resume introduction about three lines long. In it, share your graduation date, key area of study, and one more vital thing. Add a couple of educational achievements or personal projects that will get their interest crackling.

The introduction is also called an objective for a resume. Back before COBOL, that was where you talked about your hopes and dreams for your career. We don’t do that anymore. Today, we focus on our skills and achievements to show how we can help.

You may have heard about a summary for a resume. That’s the same thing, but for experienced applicants. Since that’s not you, you’ll write an objective at the top instead.

Read more: How To Make Your Resume Stand Out

3. Write a Different Kind of Computer Science Internship Resume Education Section 

Since you’re writing a no-experience resume, your education resume section has a bigger job to do.

• Put the name of your educational institution right after your resume objective.
• List your degree, the school name, the date you’ll graduate—or the date you graduated—and your major and minors.
• To make sure your resume is long enough and strong enough, add education sections. You can list school projects and/or relevant coursework like programming languages.
• It’s also helpful to add extracurricular activities like a robotics club or student programming association.
• Since you’re not out in the working world yet, you’ll have to add your GPA to your resume. If it’s not stellar, include a weighted GPA.

Read more: How to List Unfinished College on a Resume

4. Write a Tailored Computer Science Internship Resume Job Description

Have you done computer science internships already? Those go in a work experience description on your resume. But there’s an important way to do it to beat out the other internship applicants. You have to know the skills they want and show you’ve got them:

• List your newest internship or job first.
• Tailor your resume by adding a bullet list that overflows with achievement examples.
• Write the job title, the name of the company you interned at, where it is, and the months you worked there.
• All your bullets should start with resume action words like developed or debugged.
• If you don’t have computer science experience, show transferable skills from jobs waiting tables or in retail.

Read more: How to Add Internships to a Resume

5. Show Your Best Computer Science Internship Skills

Worried you won’t list the right skills on your computer science internship resume? Not nearly worried enough. The reason most resumes fail is that they fail to list the right skills.

Here's how to show your CS skills are Microsoft-worthy:

• Seek the job skills in the online posting. Note the ones the company seems to place a priority on. They’ll be up top in the ad.
• Find both soft skills and hard skills in that ad. Soft skills are things like communication and teamwork. Hard skills are coding languages or machine learning skills.
• Next, write a skills list for your resume of the top 10 skills you found. But don’t stop there. Add those skills to the achievements in your bullet points, too.

Pro Tip: Once you’ve got an eye-catching resume, submit it to the top 50 Fortune 500 companies looking for computer science interns. But also apply at small companies, where you’ll get more responsibility.

Computer Science Internship Resume Skills

• Organizational skills
• Programming languages (Java, Python, C, etc.—but don’t put every language in the book. Just the ones you’re really great at.)
• Software engineering
• Databases
• Machine learning
• Product development
• Data structures
• Data mining
• Debugging
• Prototyping
• Time management
• Communication skills (verbal and written)
• Testing
• IT skills
• Problem solving
• Computer skills
• Technical skills
• Project management skills
• Detail-oriented mindset
• Interpersonal skills
• MS Office skills
• Teamwork skills
• Decision making

Pro Tip: When targeting a resume, use resume keywords to get past the ATS system. That’s just an algorithm that checks to see if you’ve got the right skills listed in your CS internship resume.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your resume here.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

6. Include Extra Sections for Your Computer Science Internship Resume

“Extra” resume sections in a computer science internship resume aren’t necessary. But—they can give employers a reason to want to meet you:

• You can add sections for organizations you belong to, like IEEE, or for certifications.
• Add a section for personal projects (such as programming projects) you’ve completed, along with a link to your online portfolio. And definitely have an online portfolio.
• List volunteer work in its own section, or in an “additional activities” section.

Read more: What Sections Belong in a Resume?

7. Write a Cover Letter for Your Computer Science Intern Resume

You may be wondering, “Should I include a cover letter with my resume for computer science internships?” Absolutely! No employer wants a generic application. They want to know you want to work for them, and why. Sound daunting? It’s not.

Here’s how to nail down all the right cover letter parts:

• Start with a modern cover letter template. 
• Avoid writing a ’Dear Hiring Manager’ cover letter. If you can’t find the manager’s name, use “Dear computer science internship hiring manager” instead.
• Write a cover letter opening line that grabs them from the first sentence. A winning opening line will get them interested in what you have to say.
• In the second paragraph, entice the hiring team with a few key moments from your CS internship resume.
• In your cover letter closing paragraph, make them understand that this internship is near and dear to your heart. Then offer to discuss what you can do for them.

The length of cover letter should always be 3–4 paragraphs and slightly less than a full page. The idea here is just to get them interested in your resume.

Read more: Cover Letter for an Internship: Examples and Guide

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

You’re set—

Now you know everything you need to write a great computer science internship resume!

Thanks for reading! Do you have another question on how to make a computer science intern resume that connects? Give us a shout in the comments section!