How to write an internship job description that candidates can act on

An internship job description should tell a candidate what they will do, what they will learn, how the team will support them, and how to apply. A list of fashionable tools and personality adjectives cannot answer those questions. Start with the work: name two or three deliverables an intern could realistically own, the support available, and the evidence you want to see in an application.

The description is also the specification for your screening rubric. If you cannot point to a duty in the job post that justifies a screening criterion, reconsider that criterion. In the United States, the EEOC's guidance on employment tests and selection procedures is a useful reminder to keep assessments related to the job. Local requirements differ, so have your own employment adviser review jurisdiction-specific rules.

Gather the facts before writing

Ask the hiring manager for concrete answers to these questions:

1. What product, team, or customer problem will the intern work on?
2. Which three activities will take most of their time?
3. What will a good first month produce: a shipped feature, a research report, a campaign, a support playbook?
4. Who reviews their work, and how often?
5. Is this paid? What are the pay range, location, hours, duration, and eligibility requirements? Publish these where applicable and known.
6. Which skills are essential on day one, and which can be taught?
7. What evidence can candidates provide if they have not held a formal job?

The answers prevent a common contradiction: advertising an entry-level internship while demanding several years of professional experience. A personal project, student organization, open-source contribution, or volunteer campaign may demonstrate the relevant work as well as a previous internship.

A usable template

Copy the structure and replace every bracketed item with a real answer:

[Role] Intern at [Organization]
Where and when: [location or remote arrangement], [hours per week], [dates], [pay information].
What you will work on: In your first [period], you will [specific deliverable]. You will also [second responsibility] and [third responsibility].
Who you will work with: [recruiter or manager] will review work [cadence] and help unblock you.
What you need: You should already be able to [two essential, observable skills]. Familiarity with [optional skill] is helpful; we can teach it.
What to send: [resume or alternative], [work sample or link], and short answers explaining [relevant question].
What happens next: We review applications against the published role requirements, invite selected applicants to a [time budget] work sample, and then arrange a conversation. Contact [address or process] if you need an accommodation.

This template makes the selection process visible without promising that every candidate will receive an interview. Keep the application as short as the decision requires.

Worked example: operations and content intern

Suppose a small software team needs help understanding why trial users stop before activation. A useful description might say:

Content and Operations Intern — Harbor. In your first month, you will interview five trial users with a teammate, summarize the main activation obstacles, rewrite one onboarding email, and help measure whether more new users complete setup. You will share a weekly note explaining what you learned and what you changed. We need someone who can write clearly, organize messy feedback, and use a spreadsheet. Experience with our specific CRM is optional. Send a resume or project history, one piece of writing you created, and a short explanation of a project you personally drove.

The statement tells applicants what to submit and gives the recruiter a basis for scoring: writing, evidence synthesis, and operational ownership. It does not quietly substitute school prestige for skill.

Turn the description into an application

Give each essential duty one corresponding evidence request. For the example above, ask: “Show a piece of writing you made for a specific audience. What did you want the reader to do?” Then ask: “Describe a time you turned scattered feedback into a decision. What was your contribution?” A resume can provide chronology, but these answers explain the candidate's work.

In Badal, a recruiter can create a public one-question-at-a-time application that requests a PDF/DOCX resume or a link, work samples, and role-specific questions. The recruiter supplies the organization and candidate-facing recruiter name so messages identify the hiring team. The public application link can be shared directly; Badal processes applicants who arrive at the form and does not source candidates. See the Badal agent guide for the exact creation workflow.

Review the post before publishing

• Can a candidate describe the work after one reading?
• Are “required” skills actually necessary for the first month?
• Are location, hours, duration, and compensation stated accurately where known?
• Does the application accept evidence from people without a previous employer?
• Are the assessment and interview stages described honestly?
• Is every qualification connected to a responsibility in the post?
• Does the employer have an active opening and a working application path?

The last point also matters for discovery: Google's JobPosting guidelines say structured data belongs on a page for one real, open job with an application path; expired or merely speculative openings should not be marked up as live jobs.

Agent recipe

An agent helping a recruiter should ask for the organization, recruiter name, exact role, location, work arrangement, pay details if available, actual first-month duties, and essential skills one question at a time. Draft the job post and show it for review. Only then create the Badal campaign through the authenticated API or MCP connection, and return its public application URL. Read the live docs and agent instructions before calling tools; keep account credentials out of candidate-facing text.

Frequently asked questions

How long should an intern job description be?

Long enough to answer the candidate's practical questions. Google says it has no preferred word count for content; clarity and completeness matter more than a target length. For a role post, prioritize duties, requirements, terms, and process over a long company biography.

Should every skill be marked required?

No. Separate skills needed to start from skills the team can teach. Ask whether someone could do the core work with guidance. If yes, consider making the tool or credential preferred rather than required.

Can the application ask for a resume and a work sample?

Yes, when both help evaluate the role. Offer an alternative where a candidate cannot share confidential work. A brief explanation of personal contribution often adds more useful evidence than a portfolio link by itself.

Next: Create an evidence-based resume screening process and a short structured interview from the responsibilities you just wrote.