10 Common Internship Questions In 2025 and How to Answer Them with Ease
So, you got invited to an internship interview. Exciting! A few weeks ago you were worried about not getting one. Now, here you are. Fist bump for an internship hunting well done!
Interviews can be scary even for experienced professionals. What more for a college student who’s just starting out right?
Here’s something that might calm your nerves and boost your confidence. Hiring managers have a different approach to the internship hiring process. They’re not expecting internship applicants to have the answers of a seasoned professional. What they're after is if you can think critically, solve problems, and are willing to learn. They already saw your potential. They know you are qualified. That’s why they wanted to schedule an interview with you in the first place.
While that’s reassuring, you wouldn’t want to leave a bad impression by coming in unprepared. Great to see you here reading up on how to answer common internship interview questions. Let’s dive right in. You got this!
1. Tell us about yourself.
Ahh, the warm-up question. Recruiters often start with this one to make you feel relaxed and comfortable. This is a familiar subject: you.
It’s tempting to talk about a hundred interesting things about yourself but remember to keep your answer ideally under two minutes and relevant to the position. Here are the main important points your answer should have:
- What is your degree? What year are you in?
- What career do you want to pursue?
- What are your best skills?
- Do you have relevant extracurricular activities?
You may add these optional talking points:
- Share an anecdote about what made you interested in this career path.
- Mention a hobby you enjoy in your free time. (Tip: Here’s a list of resume-worthy hobbies.)
Here’s a sample answer:
I’m Nate Jacobs. I’m a 3rd year marketing student majoring in advertising at the University of Delaware. I’ve always been interested in starting a career in the advertising industry. I grew up writing stories about the most mundane things. In high school, I came across the TV show Mad Men, and it just clicked! I think my writing and creativity have always been my strong suits, so I thought I could be a modern ad man.
I’m also a member of our university acapella group, the Golden Blues, and I’m currently in charge of our social media presence. A practice in promotions and copywriting, I’d say. And in my free time, I enjoy watching breakdowns and analysis of movies and shows I love.
2. Why have you applied for this internship?
Recruiters ask this to gauge your expectations, get more insight into your career goals, and check how interested you are in the position. Make sure to touch on those by following these talking points:
- Share something you find impressive about the company.
- How does that relate to your career goals?
- What skills or information do you want to learn from the internship?
Optional:
- Have you seen or heard positive reviews from former employees or interns?
- Expound on your relevant experiences.
Let’s use Nate’s advertising internship application as an example throughout the article, here’s a sample answer:
When I was researching the internship and the company, I was blown away by the scale, creativity, and diversity of your campaigns. As an aspiring copywriter, I want to observe firsthand what goes into that level of writing–the questions your team asks, the process from copy to art, and what works and what doesn’t. I strongly believe that having my internship here will give me the tools that I need to be a competent advertising professional. Working on our acapella group’s social media presence, I’m slowly building my copywriting skills. For example, I headed the promotion of our upcoming performance in October. I also reached out to some of your previous interns and heard about how excellent your program is.
3. Why do you want to work in this industry?
Now, the recruiter is starting to dig a little deeper. Take this question as a chance to demonstrate your knowledge of the industry and how you could be valuable to their team. Here’s a flow you can follow:
- Reinforce the skills that make you perfect for the internship.
- What is the outlook for this career?
- Do you have any interesting observations about the industry?
- Will you stay in this industry for more than a year? 5 years? Why?
Sample Answer:
Aside from wanting to hone my writing and creativity, I believe that advertising is becoming a future-proof industry. The growth of digital marketing proves that this line of work is only about to get stronger through the years. I also believe that with the shift in how campaigns are done today, there’s an opportunity to spread socially relevant messages. Something I am also passionate about. Ultimately, writing is really an extension of who I am. I enjoy doing it and I’d rather work a job I’d gladly do every day.
4. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
At this point, the recruiter is gauging if Nate’s skills match the position. He has already brushed on some of his hard skills: writing, and social media promotion. This is his window to elaborate on those and share some of his soft skills: communication, problem-solving, leadership, time management, etc. Here are some thought-starters:
- What skills and characteristics can you confidently say you’re good at?
- State projects or instances where you’ve demonstrated those skills and traits.
Nate can say:
A huge part of writing is research. Being a contributor to our college publication, my research skills are constantly tested. Right now, I’m working on an article about an alumnus of our acapella group. This brings me to my next strength–my time management skills. Balancing my studies and my extracurriculars, I’ve learned how to prioritize and work on multiple projects simultaneously.
When talking about your weaknesses, don’t mention qualities that’ll discourage them from taking you in. For example, you can’t say you’re lazy! Use these points as a guide:
- What are your biggest struggles?
- What are you doing to overcome them?
Nate can continue:
One of my weaknesses is public speaking. If it’s an interview with one person or two, it’s no problem at all. But if it's speaking in front of a crowd or presenting to the class, my nerves can get the best of me. But I’m working on it. I recently joined a public speaking group. I think that ties to one of my strengths as well–if I face a challenge, I proactively come up with a solution.
5. Tell us about a time you dealt with a difficult situation.
We’re now entering the realm of situational questions. These are asked to check how adaptable you are. How you approach challenges, failures, and mistakes tells the interviewer about your potential as an intern and if you will fit their culture.
Nate’s answer here can either further the skills he’s already mentioned or discuss another competency. Consider these pointers:
- Be specific. Tell a story.
- Always tie it back to the skills needed for the internship.
Nate can go:
One time, our editor-in-chief assigned me an article with a very tight deadline. Considering my school workload and the amount of time needed for the article, it just wasn’t feasible. What I did was, I pitched another article idea that would need less time to finish but still suited the issue we’re working on. It was approved, and I finished it in time for the release without compromising my school responsibilities.
6. Tell us about a project or accomplishment you’re most proud of.
Now, this is a question meant to see what lights you up. The floor is now yours to brag a little bit.
- Share something you are genuinely proud of. It doesn’t even have to be work-related. It could be a trip that’s very important to you, a time you did something good for someone, or even the little wins that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
- Be specific but always end with the why. Why is this a proud or notable moment?
Nate can share:
When I was 10, I made my mom read the very first story I wrote. I called it “Philippe Went To The Park.” It was about my cat running away to hang out with his stray cat friends. Of course, it wasn’t any good! But my mom said she loved it and paid me $2 for it. This is actually one of my go-to feel-good memories when I’m not feeling so confident about my writing. Reminds me of the good old times.
7. What is your ideal team?
You may encounter this question in many different ways. How are you as a member of a team? Tell me about a time you worked well as part of a team. The goal of this type of question is to understand how you work with others. The recruiter is checking if you’ll fit into their culture and if the management style will work for you.
- What qualities do you think make an effective group?
- Expound what that means to you or if you’ve done it with a team before.
Nate’s answer can look this:
I value actionable feedback and I want to actually get along with my teammates. In our publication, although we now do most of the work online, we hang out as a team when we can. We’re actually friends. We brainstorm and share ideas for upcoming issues. Our editors provide actionable feedback that makes sense. That’s a pretty solid team for me.
8. How would you handle conflict?
You’ll most likely get asked hypothetical questions. Let’s say the interviewer asked Nate what he’d do if a disagreement with a fellow intern got too heated. This is to check your core values, how you make decisions and resolve conflicts. Take note of these:
- Stay calm and try to understand your fellow intern’s perspective.
- Never resort to blaming or being disrespectful of your fellow intern.
- Think logically and give an actionable solution.
Nate can answer:
I will remain calm and assess the situation logically. If it’s over a project decision, I will acknowledge the merits of their opinion and come up with a compromise that benefits both of us. For example, if we’re working on a copy idea, we can present two options to our manager and go from there.
9. Where do you see yourself in five years?
Remember that you may be hired full-time after your internship. Your recruiter will want to know if your goals align well with the career path they have laid out for their interns. The key here is:
- Be honest about your plans.
- If you're unsure, say that!
Nate can share:
In five years, I’d like to be working as a senior copywriter in an advertising agency. Ideally, I have already worked on major advertising campaigns I’ll be proud of by then.
If unsure:
I’m currently interested in copywriting but I’m not closing my doors to other tracks. Five years from now? If I’m being honest, I am still unsure. Advertising is a big industry and I’m more focused on exploring my options at the moment.
10. Do you have any questions for us?
At the end of the interview, you’ll have the chance to ask the interviewer questions. You’re going against many other applicants and chances are, they’ll go with basic ones, or worse they won’t even consider asking any.
Having specific questions prepared will show you’ve done your research and make you a memorable interviewee. These could be about the internship, the team, your would-be manager, and the company culture–anything you may want clarity on. Here are some questions to ask during an internship interview:
- I was going through your __ and I found __. I’m curious to know __?
- What makes you stay in the company?
- What is the measure of success for interns?
- What are the top qualities you’re looking for in an intern?
- What’s one project you’re most proud of?
- How does the company deal with mistakes?
As you get closer to the moment of truth, the anticipation can start stressing you out. Breathe. You got this. Take inspiration from these sample interview answers and start drafting your own. Set a few hours daily to practice your delivery, and you’ll soon get the confidence to nail your internship interview.
For more information on how to prepare for an internship interview, check out these articles below: