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

What is an inside sales internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Derrek Schartz

For students, recent graduates, or anybody looking to enter a new field, internships are a great way to get their foot in the door. No matter the field, whether they are paid or unpaid, internships help entry-level workers gain valuable experience and make meaningful connections. Inside sales internships are no different.

Inside sales interns work in the inside sales department, which sells a company's product remotely using the phone or the Internet to connect with clients. They work on building client relationships, following new leads for potential clients, and more. Sometimes, the intern may follow an already experienced professional and learn by shadowing them.

Most inside sales internships are temporary contracts for a semester or a summer. After completing the internship, a former intern can leverage that experience to find a full-time position as an inside sales representative or any other position relating to sales. Sometimes, they can even earn college credit through their internship.

What general advice would you give to an inside sales internship?

Derrek Schartz

Senior Lecturer, Website

Be agile and able to adapt. Sales has changed more of the last 20 years than over the previous 100. It's not your father's sales career. Over the last several decades the role of sales in most organizations has changed dramatically.

ScoreInside Sales InternshipUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $42,498

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 5.19%

Black or African American 3.87%

Hispanic or Latino 14.45%

Unknown 3.72%

White 72.54%

Gender

female 37.37%

male 62.63%

Age - 48

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 - 48

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an inside sales internship

Explore inside sales internship education requirements

Most common inside sales internship degrees

Bachelor's

86.1 %

Associate

6.5 %

Master's

3.1 %

Start to develop specific inside sales internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Sales Intern	21.98%
Salesforce	11.88%
PowerPoint	8.95%
Sales Process	4.87%
Account Management	4.55%

Complete relevant inside sales internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New inside sales 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 inside sales internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real inside sales internship resumes.

Research inside sales internship duties and responsibilities

Rout leads and create opportunities in SalesForce.com.
Create presentations using PowerPoint and Prezi for teaching nutrition, health, meal planning, portion control and exercise habits.
Update customer account information on Salesforce.
Perform inside sales, including telemarketing, prospecting, account penetration and product application, consulting and delivery of customer service.

Prepare your inside sales internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your inside sales 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 inside sales 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 inside sales internship resume templates

Build a professional inside sales 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 inside sales internship resume.

Apply for inside sales internship jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an inside sales internship job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do inside sales interns rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Inside sales internship reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

I love to engage the public and meet new faces. I enjoy explaining all of the benefits of the product I am selling, and making the customer feel important and well informed.

Cons

I don't like feeling like I haven't did a great at job at making customers feel comfortable and confident about where and who they are purchasing from.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019