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What is a leadership internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted Expert
Christopher Gehrz Ph.D.
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A leadership internship helps support an organization's mission to foster and encourage leadership skill development among student leaders. In working to achieve this goal, the internship requires the internee to conduct programs and training, facilitate dialogue, and create resources, among other tasks. This is an opportunity offered by an employer to potential employees, called interns, to work at a firm for a fixed period of time.

To qualify for the position, a person should be a sophomore, junior, or senior at their respective colleges or universities and completing a bachelor's degree, although a high school diploma or G.E.D is sufficient as well. Furthermore, since this is an internship program, no prior skills are required apart from basic organizational skills and computer skills such as knowledge of M.S. Word, among others. Leadership internships provide individuals with practical knowledge of what makes a great leader and opportunities for future employment by networking with actual professionals.

Although internships can vary from being unpaid to paying ones, a leadership intern can earn an average of $14.03 an hour. That approximates to over $29,000 a year. The profession is likely to grow 9% in the coming years and create various opportunities across the United States.

What general advice would you give to a Leadership Internship?

Christopher Gehrz Ph.D.Christopher Gehrz Ph.D. LinkedIn Profile

Professor and Chair, Bethel University

First, be sure to sustain the life of the mind. You're no longer a college student, but you're still a learner, so you need to keep exercising those muscles. And you won't have people like me giving lectures or assigning books anymore, so you need to find your own ways to nourish your interests, sustain your passions, challenge your assumptions, and enhance your understanding.

Second, keep in touch with your college professors. Not only might you need to ask people like me for recommendations at some point down the road, but in turn, you can provide something to your alma mater more immediately meaningful than donations: helping us answer questions like these from newer students wondering how they'll connect their studies with their careers. (For example, I keep a list of several dozen alumni in various fields who have told me they'd be willing to be interviewed by first-year students wondering what they can do with a History major.)
ScoreLeadership InternshipUS Average
Salary
3.1

Avg. Salary $39,660

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
5.5

Growth Rate 8%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.8
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 6.38%

Black or African American 10.78%

Hispanic or Latino 16.56%

Unknown 6.52%

White 59.26%

Gender

female 56.27%

male 43.73%

Age - 44
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 - 44
Stress Level
5.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
8.0

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
6.0

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

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Leadership Internship career paths

Key steps to become a leadership internship

  1. Explore leadership internship education requirements

    Most common leadership internship degrees

    Bachelor's

    75.1 %

    Master's

    12.4 %

    Associate

    6.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific leadership internship skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Internship Program19.33%
    Customer Service17.11%
    Leadership9.91%
    Professional Development9.35%
    Leadership Development9.11%
  3. Complete relevant leadership internship training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New leadership 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 a leadership internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real leadership internship resumes.
  4. Research leadership internship duties and responsibilities

    • Manage content on the school's official athletics website and YouTube account.
    • Lead teams and run meetings for CityFest Houston committee's and promotions.
    • Develop and lead cross-functional Kaizen event that identify and eliminate waste and improve communication in the yield signal investigation process.
    • Develop a web page that visualize department budget spreadsheets into a variety of charts using Google API, HTML and JavaScript.
  5. Prepare your leadership internship resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your leadership 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 a leadership 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 Leadership Internship Resume templates

    Build a professional Leadership 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 Leadership Internship resume.
    Leadership Internship Resume
    Leadership Internship Resume
    Leadership Internship Resume
    Leadership Internship Resume
    Leadership Internship Resume
    Leadership Internship Resume
    Leadership Internship Resume
    Leadership Internship Resume
    Leadership Internship Resume
  6. Apply for leadership internship jobs

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

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

How Did You Land Your First Leadership Internship Job

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Average leadership internship salary

The average Leadership Internship salary in the United States is $39,660 per year or $19 per hour. Leadership internship salaries range between $30,000 and $51,000 per year.

Average Leadership Internship Salary
$39,660 Yearly
$19.07 hourly

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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