How To Become An Administrative Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is an administrative internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Anne McConnell Ph.D.

An administrative intern supports office staff in the planning of administrative projects and carrying out data entry, analysis, and research. Interns work under the supervision of professional employees and hold this status for a relatively short period of time, after which they get hired for a full-time position or move on with their job search, with experience in the field.

The duties of an administrative intern revolve around administrative operation systems, assisting in the design and implementation of new procedures to create and file records efficiently. Customer service is also something interns have to learn, as well as fruitful collaboration with other members of the team.

Candidates for administrative internships have usually completed higher education in business management or a related field. Good communication skills, both verbal and written, and the ability to find and maintain order in chaos are key skills you will need.

What general advice would you give to an administrative internship?

Anne McConnell Ph.D.

Professor, West Virginia State University

I would say it's important to be very attentive to the way you communicate with your employers, managers, and co-workers. Even sending an e-mail can be an opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism and communication skills. Some people think that no one knows how to write anymore, or how to communicate in a professional way. I don't think that's true. But we don't always think about how our writing can be a tool to communicate our competence and seriousness. If you know how to write and communicate professionally-which college grads do-then make sure to demonstrate that in the workplace.

ScoreAdministrative InternshipUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,801

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.73%

Asian 3.81%

Black or African American 9.17%

Hispanic or Latino 16.05%

Unknown 3.87%

White 66.37%

Gender

female 61.16%

male 38.84%

Age - 52

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 52

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.4

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an administrative internship

Explore administrative internship education requirements

Most common administrative internship degrees

Bachelor's

67.5 %

Associate

12.1 %

Master's

11.2 %

Start to develop specific administrative internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Entry	12.92%
Healthcare	10.56%
PowerPoint	6.28%
Administrative Intern	6.12%
Financial Statements	4.56%

Complete relevant administrative internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New administrative interns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an administrative internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real administrative internship resumes.

Gain additional administrative internship certifications

Administrative internship certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific administrative internship certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for administrative interns include Microsoft Office Specialist: Expert (Office 365 and Office 2019) and Certified Medical Interpreter - Spanish (CMI).

More About Certifications

Research administrative internship duties and responsibilities

Create and manage the company's Facebook page for online promotion of artists and performances.
Manage Linux staging and testing environments.
Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Assist with maintaining company newsletter, website, twitter, and Facebook.

Prepare your administrative internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your administrative internship resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an administrative internship resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable administrative internship resume templates

Build a professional administrative internship resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your administrative internship resume.