CAREER DEVELOPMENT                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  One of the key experiences recommended during your time as an undergraduate is doing an internship. Gaining work experience is key for boosting your employability, especially as a business student. That’s why, after my second year at I chose to go back home to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to intern for a part of the summer.

I undertook a six-week internship at a local bank, called Rawbank. I was one of about thirty university-level interns—what they referred to as “academic interns.” I and my fellow academic interns were not there in the hopes of getting a job with the bank later, but rather we were there to learn and understand the inner functioning of a bank.

Ewbank is one of the biggest commercial banks in the country, with multiple big clients. So the first thing we had to do was sign non-disclosure agreements to make sure that the privacy and anonymity of their clients were maintained. After that, we were assigned a supervisor. We were expected to report back to our supervisor at the end of each week with questions and an overview of what we had learned.

At the start of each week, we were sent to a new department where we were briefed and given a person to a shadow. During the shadowing, we mostly took notes and were given small tasks or errands to run.

Thanks to the classes I had already taken at Hult, after two weeks I was assigned to a “permanent” position at the front office of the bank, where I dealt with small daily operations such as check deposits, withdrawal slips, and such.

In short, for four weeks I was treated and acted like a regular employee of the bank. I had to be there at 7:30 every morning, dressed professionally, and ready to have positive interactions with clients at all times, no matter how I was feeling personally. Over those four weeks, I developed friendships with my coworkers, got feedback from my superiors, dealt with frustrating clients, and was—for the first time—treated like a fully-grown and responsible adult.

The purpose of an internship is to develop professional skills in a hands-on environment. Because internships are a learning opportunity, it is important to evaluate the skills you have developed in your time with the company. In this article, we define the essential parts of an internship report and give you a template and example for writing your own.

An internship report is a summary of your internship experience that many employers require to complete your time at their organization. The internship report is important because it informs your educator of the lessons and skills you learned and the opportunities you had to apply those skills.

Your internship report includes relevant details about your intern experience, such as a description of your position with the organization, the tasks you completed, and the skills you learned. Your director may use this report to improve internship opportunities or lessons for incoming 

Not all educational programs will require an internship report. However, if your organization needs one, make sure to give yourself adequate time to prepare it. You may find it helpful to take notes throughout your internship experience to remember any important details. Even if your program does not require an internship report, it can still be useful as a personal resource to evaluate this important learning experience.

An internship report should cover key details of your internship experience. It should also include an overview of the skills you developed. Keep in mind, however, that you should certainly follow any instructions your internship employer gave you in regards to your report. Those instructions might include required content, formatting, due dates, and more.

Use the following steps to create your internship report:

Include a title or cover page with your name, class, date, and the name of the organization. This separates your report from other interns who may also be submitting reports.

It can also be useful to include a table of contents with your internship report. This should be the first page in your report since it allows readers to navigate to the parts of the report they are most interested in reading.

Your report should include a relevant history of the organization. Include information like the date it was founded, the business’s purpose or mission statement, the types of tasks the company completes daily, and any other relevant details. Context gives the reader a clearer understanding of your experience.

The body of your internship report will focus on your experiences with the organization. Before detailing your experience and the lessons you learned, it can be useful to describe your position and responsibilities as an intern with the company. Doing so will give your reader a more complete overview of your internship and allow you to discuss your accomplishments in the role.

In the main portion of your internship report, you will describe the specific things you learned and the skills you cultivated. Relate these skills back to your educational experiences. Detail specific experiences within the organization that contributed to your development.

It can also be useful to consider the skills or experiences that you would still like to develop. For example, if you wish you had been able to get more direct client experience, discuss that. If you had hoped to be more involved in the technical aspect of the business, you could mention that as well. This process gives you insight into things you want to continue working on in your next position, while also recommending ways the organization can improve its internship program.

Keep in mind that multiple individuals could read your internship report, including your internship supervisor and other company management. If the internship is part of your schooling, your instructor, classmates, and other school officials might also read your report. Maintain a professional method of communication and carefully proofread your report before submitting it.