Showcase Your Experience: Personal Branding Tips for Landing a U.S. Internship

If you hope to secure an internship in the U.S., you need to know how to present yourself in a compelling way to employers. You must be able to effectively showcase your experience and skillset to show recruiters why you’re right for a role. Hiring managers may look through hundreds of resumes on a daily basis, so yours must meet their standards for style and simultaneously help you stand out from the competition. Below, we’ve broken down how to effectively present your credentials to prospective employers.

Resume Tips: Making a Good First Impression

Your resume is often the first thing a hiring manager or prospective employer will see from you, so it’s important that it looks professional. While a curriculum vitae (CV) may be more common in your country, resumes are the standard for most internship and job applications in the U.S. Similar to a CV, they summarize your professional experience. It’s important to note that even if you know how to write a resume, guidelines may vary depending on what country you’re coming from, so it’s crucial you follow U.S. resume writing rules when applying to a U.S. internship.

A typical U.S. resume includes the following (in order from top to bottom): 

• Header: Your name, contact information, and professional social media handles 
• Overview: 1 – 2 sentences about who you are, your experience and skills, and what kind of role you’re looking for. 
• Education: Official degree type (e.g., Bachelor of Arts) and major/concentration, the name and country of your university, and select notable achievements, like a thesis or study abroad experience. 
• Relevant professional experience: Your position title, employer (or equivalent), and dates in that role, followed by bullets listing your measurable achievements, examples of initiative seeking, or meaningful tasks you completed in the role(s). 
• Additional experience: Volunteer/community action, university clubs, and sports teams. Also note your role, duration of participation, and any important achievements in bullet form. 
• Skills & language: Applicable skills and language proficiency (e.g., English — Fluent). 

Use a clear template and keep your resume to one page if you have fewer than 10 years of experience. Start each bullet point with strong action verbs, include metrics or statistics when possible, and follow reverse chronological order so your current or most recent experience is first. Also, stick to clean fonts like Times New Roman and Arial. ​ 

Here are some resume mistakes to avoid for U.S. internship applications: 

• Including your birthdate, photos, marital status, and hobbies 
• Listing tasks like a job description when describing experiences without focusing on accomplishments or contributions. 
• The use of passive language that downplays the value of your experience. 
• Relying solely on Google Translate — it’s always a good idea to have a native English speaker proofread your resume. 
• Using an unprofessional email address. Create a new one if necessary (e.g., [FirstName].[LastName]@gmail.com). 
• Not sending a PDF copy of the resume. Opening Word documents on different devices can present very different, sometimes messy formats. 

Crafting Your Internship Cover Letter 

A strong cover letter complements your resume, helps you tell your story, and explains what skillsets and personality traits make you a great fit for the U.S. internship you’re applying for. This can also help present your English fluency. 

Follow this cover letter format: 

• Header: Your name, contact information, and professional social media handles. 
• Professional Opening: “Dear [Name],” or “Dear Hiring Committee.” 
• Intro paragraph: Present the position title you’re applying to and include a compelling summary statement of who you are and what motivated you to apply for this internship. 
• Skills paragraphs (body): 1 – 2 paragraphs that summarize your skillset and work ethic developed through your past and current experiences. Provide one or two examples where you demonstrate your skills. 
• Closing paragraph: Summarize what value you’d bring to the company, and a statement about your demonstrated commitment to the company’s mission or internship-related projects. 

When creating your cover letter, make sure to tailor it to the U.S. company and internship you’re applying for — don’t just change the name of the company, and don’t use the same cover letter for every application. Show what makes your perspective unique, especially as an international applicant. Like your resume, edit it carefully, keep it to one page, and save it as a PDF. 

Depending on the industry, cover letters may be optional. We always recommend submitting a thoughtful, professional cover letter in this case as it shows you are willing to put forth additional effort for the role. Take advantage of any opportunity to share valuable information about yourself to a hiring manager that a resume alone cannot achieve. 

Use LinkedIn and Other Platforms to Stand Out

Think of LinkedIn like your digital business card. Create a strong profile that includes: 

• A professional photo 
• A catchy headline​ (e.g., “Creative Designer | Contractor | Student”) 
• A version of your resume overview in the “About” section 
• Your experience, education, certificates, and skills that align with your application materials 

Use LinkedIn to follow companies, join industry groups, and connect with classmates, professors, colleagues, and professionals in your desired field. The more people you connect with, the more likely you are to build a valuable network you can use to boost your career and get new opportunities. To truly take advantage of LinkedIn, you should engage with others by commenting on posts, sharing your thoughts, and highlighting achievements. 

Your other social platforms, like Instagram, Substack, or a personal website, can also serve as a professional portfolio. Showcase projects, articles, event work, or performances. Use relevant hashtags, tag collaborators, and separate professional content from personal accounts (with some exceptions for personal branding) to get noticed and engage with others in the field. 

AIFS Professional Pathways—Your U.S. Internship Partner and Sponsor 

Interning in the U.S. on a J-1 visa is a great way to develop your career at an American company. While the process of securing an internship may seem challenging, using these personal branding strategies and choosing a premier J-1 visa sponsor like AIFS Professional Pathways goes a long way. We’ll be there with you from the start — we can help determine eligibility, vet host companies, and provide support throughout your J-1 visa program. 

Learn More About J-1 Visa Sponsorship