How to hire a design internship

How to hire a design internship, step by step

Here's a step-by-step design internship hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a design internship job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new design internship
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a design internship do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the design internship you need to hire. Certain design internship roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect design internship also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents design internship salaries for various positions.

   Type of Design Internship	Description	Hourly rate
   Design Internship	Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for various applications such as advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.	$15-30
   Graphic Artist	A graphic artist is either an illustrator or an animator who creates art work that will be used in graphic projects such as advertisements, posters, or even book covers. Although a graphic artist has his/her own style of artwork, he/she may be often commissioned to create art specifically for a particular project... Show more	$16-40
   Visual Merchandiser	A visual merchandiser is responsible for arranging product displays at retail outlets, attracting customers to purchase the items. Visual merchandisers should be updated with the latest trends in the market to prioritize retail displays and floor plans... Show more	$12-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Design Intern
   • Sketch
   • Graphic Design
   • User Experience
   • Visualization
   • UI
   • Prototyping
   • Human Centered Design
   • Adobe Creative Suite
   • Adobe Photoshop
   • PowerPoint
   • Adobe Indesign
   • User Research
   • Auto CAD

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Design promotional materials, annual reports, newsletters and HTML emails, manage the website presence and functions
   • Manage the website and twitter page, write the blog posts and attend numerous fashion shows and sample sale rooms.
   • Assemble front-end implementation using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
   • Develop knowledge of designing websites and learned languages such as HTML and CSS.
   • Improve and simplify the user interface by using interaction design and data visualization.
   • Leverage project management principals to improve process and program effectiveness, drive down costs and improve efficiency.

   More design internship duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your design internship job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A design internship can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, design interns' average salary in south dakota is 51% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level design interns 50% less than senior-level design interns.
   • Certifications. A design internship with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a design internship's salary.

   Average design internship salary

   $45,791yearly

   $22.01 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level design internship salary

   $32,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average design internship salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$64,253	$31
   2	Washington	$63,846	$31
   3	Massachusetts	$57,490	$28
   4	Maryland	$57,124	$27
   5	District of Columbia	$57,035	$27
   6	Alaska	$56,380	$27
   7	Oregon	$53,985	$26
   8	New York	$51,743	$25
   9	Texas	$48,588	$23
   10	Virginia	$47,067	$23
   11	Arizona	$46,667	$22
   12	Illinois	$45,942	$22
   13	Minnesota	$44,554	$21
   14	Pennsylvania	$44,507	$21
   15	Colorado	$44,326	$21
   16	North Carolina	$41,976	$20
   17	Missouri	$41,276	$20
   18	Georgia	$39,694	$19
   19	Michigan	$39,540	$19
   20	Maine	$37,084	$18

   Average design internship salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$76,497	$36.78	474
   2	Snowflake Computing	$66,748	$32.09	2
   3	Itron	$64,538	$31.03
   4	HP	$63,874	$30.71	8
   5	Pegasystems	$63,776	$30.66	1
   6	Maxim Integrated	$63,122	$30.35
   7	Eversource Energy	$61,924	$29.77	11
   8	Renesas Electronics	$61,805	$29.71	5
   9	STMicroelectronics	$61,049	$29.35	1
   10	Electronic Arts	$61,019	$29.34	2
   11	STV Group	$60,817	$29.24	7
   12	Google	$60,504	$29.09	92
   13	SAP	$60,432	$29.05	2
   14	AECOM	$60,247	$28.96	170
   15	APCO Worldwide	$60,013	$28.85
   16	Skyworks Solutions	$59,751	$28.73	13
   17	SWA Group	$59,100	$28.41	1
   18	Wpp Us Holdings Inc	$58,980	$28.36	7
   19	AKQA	$58,921	$28.33
   20	Lattice Semiconductor	$58,914	$28.32

4. Writing a design internship job description

   A job description for a design internship role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a design internship job description:

   Design internship job description example

   We believe that clothes - and how you make them - can make a difference.
   
   Since 1853, we've been passionate about innovation to meet people's needs. We invented the first blue jean. And we reinvented khaki pants. We pioneered labor and environmental guidelines for our manufacturing partners. And we work to build sustainability into everything we do.
   
   A company doesn't last 160 years by standing still. It endures by reinventing itself, striving to delight its consumers, winning in the marketplace, and by remaining true to its values. We employ more than 17,000 people around the world - supporting great brands, including Levi's , Dockers and Denizen . Our employees are committed to progress, authenticity and collaboration.
   
   This summer you could have the opportunity to work for one of Levi Strauss & Co.'s iconic brands! Our Summer Internship opportunities give students real world work experience and exposure to one of the world's leading fashion and apparel companies. Our 10 week Summer Internship Program is the perfect way to gain work experience within the core of the organization, while learning what a career at LS&Co. might have in store for you.
   
   In addition to day-to-day responsibilities, all interns will participate in an intern group project dedicated to a critical business initiative as well as be exposed to all areas of our business and our brands. Leadership seminars and career exploration series connect our interns to our leaders and educate around different career paths. Intern performance will be assessed using out internal review process and could potentially lead to a full-time offer.
   
   Primary responsibilities may include (but are not limited to):
   Support the Men or Women's Design team with the development of product from inception to floor Research market trends and concepts that support the brand identity Support in creating fit, fabric, finish, and trim developments Assist team with sketches, tech packs and maintaining data entry and product line sheets Cultivate relationships and effectively communicate to cross-functional partners including Merchandising and Product Development
   
   Requirements for the Internship:
   High school diploma or GEDMust be enrolled in an accredited undergraduate program Must be in junior year (rising senior at time of internship) with a graduation date of spring 2024Demonstrates passion for apparel industry and product knowledge Computer literacy including proficiency with MS Office applications Knowledge and proficiency with Adobe Illustrator & PhotoshopGood working knowledge of garment construction
   
   Additional Qualifications:
   Ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment with changing priorities Strong verbal and written communication skills; detail orientated and thorough Exceptional problem solving and organization capabilities High degree of flexibility and initiative with limited direction Energetic, positive, helpful demeanor and a passion and interest in LS&Co.
   
   EOE M/F/Disability/Vets
   
   LOCATION
   San Francisco, CA, USA
   
   FULL TIME/PART TIME
   Full time
   Current LS&Co Employees, apply via your Workday account.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find design interns for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your design internship job on Zippia to find and attract quality design internship candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit design interns, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new design internship

   Once you've selected the best design internship candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new design internship first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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