How to hire a sales internship

How to hire a sales internship, step by step

Here's a step-by-step sales 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 sales internship job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new sales internship
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a sales internship do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the sales internship you need to hire. Certain sales 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a sales internship to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a sales internship that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of sales interns and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Sales Internship	Description	Hourly rate
   Sales Internship	Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses, government agencies, and other organizations. They contact customers, explain product features, answer any questions that their customers may have, and negotiate prices.	$12-21
   Outside Sales	An outside sales representative is responsible for generating the company's sales and revenues by offering goods and services to existing and potential clients, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about the products, and researching on possible leads. Outside sales representatives monitor the current industry trends to identify new business opportunities that would help the business adjust to market changes to achieve profitability goals... Show more	$26-50
   Internet Sales Representative	Internet Sales Representatives are employed by companies that conduct business on online platforms or with a sizable following in social media. They are in charge of communicating with clients and performing activities directly related to achieving the company's sales goals... Show more	$12-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Sales Intern
   • PowerPoint
   • CRM
   • Work Ethic
   • Salesforce
   • Sales Process
   • Client Relationships
   • Excellent Interpersonal
   • Strong Work Ethic
   • Digital Marketing
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Client Facing
   • Business Development

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Track leads and manage accounts with SalesForce.
   • Produce press releases and distribute via multiple platforms such as the company website, email, twitter, etc.
   • Generate content for YouTube videos and penned the channel s description.
   • Redesign the public website with a focus on SEO, CRM, usability, and social media.
   • Create value proposition presentation decks that outline return-on-investment (ROI) models, competitive analysis and case studies.
   • Audit and categorize their website's incoming links on excel, for search engine optimization purposes (SEO).

   More sales internship duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, sales interns' average salary in hawaii is 49% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level sales interns 44% less than senior-level sales interns.
   • Certifications. A sales 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 sales internship's salary.

   Average sales internship salary

   $16.57hourly

   $34,460 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level sales internship salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 22, 2025

   Average sales internship salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$45,508	$22
   2	Michigan	$44,774	$22
   3	Connecticut	$43,874	$21
   4	Washington	$43,748	$21
   5	New York	$42,511	$20
   6	Minnesota	$42,219	$20
   7	New Jersey	$41,883	$20
   8	Nebraska	$38,463	$18
   9	Oregon	$38,386	$18
   10	Pennsylvania	$38,161	$18
   11	California	$38,152	$18
   12	New Hampshire	$38,030	$18
   13	Ohio	$37,995	$18
   14	Indiana	$37,785	$18
   15	Colorado	$37,726	$18
   16	Illinois	$37,105	$18
   17	Kansas	$35,473	$17
   18	Nevada	$33,257	$16
   19	North Carolina	$33,239	$16
   20	Missouri	$32,336	$16

   Average sales internship salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	IBM	$74,157	$35.65	90
   2	HP	$67,529	$32.47	2
   3	Schneider Electric Industrial Services	$56,830	$27.32	10
   4	Splunk	$50,588	$24.32
   5	Alfa Laval	$49,280	$23.69	9
   6	Johnson Controls	$48,903	$23.51	135
   7	Steel Dynamics	$45,937	$22.09	22
   8	Intel	$45,692	$21.97
   9	Arrow Electronics	$45,290	$21.77	38
   10	Snowflake Computing	$45,276	$21.77	6
   11	Bosch USA	$43,528	$20.93	20
   12	Olympic Steel	$43,462	$20.90	4
   13	HSBC Bank	$43,344	$20.84	2
   14	AssetMark	$42,653	$20.51
   15	Phillips Chevy	$42,232	$20.30
   16	Formlabs	$42,120	$20.25	1
   17	Mars	$42,091	$20.24	3
   18	FactSet	$42,063	$20.22	4
   19	Siemens	$41,944	$20.17	9
   20	Eaton	$41,916	$20.15	10

4. Writing a sales internship job description

   A job description for a sales 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 sales internship job description:

   Sales internship job description example

   United States, Georgia, Atlanta
   
   Global Sales
   
   15-Sep-2022
   
   Ref #: 16984
   
   How you'll help us Keep Climbing (overview & key responsibilities)
   
   Summer interns will receive a high level view of the Global Sales Organization at Delta Air Lines working with the some of the following teams over the course of the summer including Sales Development, Corporate Sales, Sales Account Executives and etc. Responsibilities may range from assisting with formulating sales strategies and programs, building and maintaining key account relationships, participating in sales calls and meetings and etc.
   
   What you need to succeed (minimum qualifications)
   
   · Candidates must be a rising senior in an undergraduate program with a concentration in Business, Sales, or Marketing or another analytical discipline with a graduation date of December 2023, or Spring 2024
   
   + Able to travel as required.
   
   + Interpersonal, oral/written communication and presentation skills.
   
   + Should be proficient in MS Office applications, especially Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Access
   
   + Where permitted by applicable law, must have received or be willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by date of hire to be considered for U.S.-based job, if not currently employed by Delta Air Lines, Inc.
   
   What will give you a competitive edge (preferred qualifications)
   
   + Adaptability; must be able to function in a fast-paced work environment with competing priorities.
   
   + Must be a strong team player, detail oriented and perform well under pressure.
   
   + Candidate must convey professional image to all levels of employees.
   
   + Successful problem solver and critical thinker. Ability to work well independently with minimal supervision. Must be performing satisfactorily in currently position.
   
   Delta Air Lines, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer and provides reasonable accommodation in its application process for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans. If you are a qualified individual, you may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to access job openings through this site, apply for jobs through Delta's online system, or at any point in the selection process. To request a reasonable accommodation, please click here

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find sales interns for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any sales interns they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level sales interns with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your sales internship job on Zippia to find and recruit sales internship candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with sales internship candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   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 sales internship

   Once you've found the sales internship candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new sales 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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How much does it cost to hire a sales internship?