Eyeing Remote Internships? How to Write a Perfect Resume

In our previous article, we mentioned how companies are hiring remote interns more than ever. The opportunities for remote internships are on the rise but with it, the competition in remote working space is increasing as well.

While for a local job your competition is mainly limited to people in your vicinity, a remote internship is open to people from across the country (and the world). Therefore, your old resume won’t cut it. You need to put in extra effort and create an application that stands out amongst the sea of resumes.

To land a remote internship, you need to create a resume that not only talks about your skills and strengths but also demonstrates your capabilities to work (and perform) remotely.

Here are a few points to follow when writing a resume for a remote internship or job:

Include Keywords and Tailor the Resume to Match the Job Description

Whether you are applying for an office internship or a remote one, this goes without saying. And while most of us know the importance of including keywords, how many of us actually follow it.

Most big companies use ATS ( Applicant Tracking System) to shortlist candidates. And it is no secret that ATS scans candidates based on keywords. Therefore, the first step in writing your resume that strategically includes keywords so that you get through the first screening stage.

Also, tailor your resume by thoroughly reading the job description and highlighting the skills they are looking for in your resume.

Highlight Your Remote Working Experience

Remote working is anything but easy. Contrary to what many people think, remote working is not all fun and games. It needs a huge amount of discipline, motivation, and concentration from the intern.

Therefore, when it comes to remote working, employers always prefer someone with remote working experience over someone who has no experience.

So, if you have any experience in remote working, make sure you mention it in the resume title, summary, or work description. Considering that you are still a student, a small project you have done in collaboration with friends from another college will also count.

Put Emphasis on Remote Working Skills

If you have no experience of remote working, then it becomes even more important to lay stress on skills that make you an ideal candidate for a role in remote working.

Skills such as motivated, dedicated, self-starter, time management, communication, team player must be highlighted in your resume.

Mention Your Knowledge in Working with Communication and Collaboration Tools

Remote working means you need to communicate and collaborate with other team members and mentors online. For this, you need to be comfortable in using communication, project management, and collaboration tools.

It is alright if the employer in question is using some other tools, the basic layout of all these tools are same and the idea is to show that you are tech-savvy and can adapt to any tools needed

Tools such as Slack, Trello, Asana, Google Drive, Dropbox, Zoom, Skype, WebEx are among the commonly used tools for remote working.

Put Links to Your LinkedIn Profile or/and Online Portfolio

You have a high-traffic blog that you regularly update or you are a graphic designer who has freelanced for multiple websites? If yes, do not shy away from including a link to your online portfolio or freelance work in your resume. Showing your work is always more effective than mentioning skills in your resume.

If there is no online portfolio to boast of, create a good LinkedIn profile and include its link in the resume. It always helps to give added information that speaks about your work and experience.

Formatting is As Important as Content

We have so far covered all the important points about the content of the resume. But did you know that formatting of your resume is as important as the content you put in?

Recruiters spend less than 10 seconds reviewing your resume and a poorly formatted resume with spelling errors and multiple fonts go straight to the bin. Considering that remote working is fiercely competitive, you need to format your resume well to create the first good impression.

Using the right font, optimum font size, clearly defined sections, and bullet points contribute to creating a resume that is easy and convenient to read. Also, have enough spacing between sections and keep the length of resume to a maximum of 2 pages.

Conclusion

Remember, getting a remote internship is tough and your resume needs to be adequately written and formatted to position you as an ideal remote worker among thousands of applicants.