Questions to Ask About an Internship
Questions to ask about internships, grouped by the conversation you are in. The first four groups are for the employer once a particular internship is on the table: what the work is, who would train and supervise you and how you would be judged, pay and terms, and what happens when the term ends. The third runs from whether it is a paid internship at all to what to ask before starting: paperwork, checks and where to be on the first morning. After those come questions to ask companies about internships at a career fair or an info session, before you have applied, and questions for someone who did the internship last year.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The work
What does a typical day look like for an intern on this team?
Why ask it
Listen for verbs. "Pulls the weekly numbers, sits in on the client call, drafts the summary" is a day somebody has watched an intern have. If the answer is that no two days are alike, ask them to walk you through one day from the last intern's term.
What would my main responsibilities be?
Why ask it
Compare the answer with the posting, line by line if you kept a copy. Postings are often written months earlier or borrowed from another team, so the manager's version is the one to go by, and a duty that has quietly dropped off the list is worth asking about.
Would I own a specific project, or help out across whatever the team needs?
Why ask it
Owning a defined piece of work gives you something to describe in your next interview. Answers built around helping wherever needed often produce a term of small errands that are hard to point at afterwards.
What skills would I come away with by the end of the internship?
Why ask it
A useful answer names something you cannot do today: run a particular analysis, write for a client, use a specific tool under deadline. "Communication and teamwork" is true of any job with other people in it, so ask which task would teach the skill they mention.
What have past interns built that the team still uses?
Why ask it
A named thing, a dashboard, a script, a customer guide, is hard to invent on the spot. If nobody can think of one, ask what last year's intern handed over on the final day and where it is now.
What would I be working on in my first two weeks?
Why ask it
A concrete answer means someone planned for your arrival. "We will find something for you" usually means nobody has decided what the work is yet, and two weeks of shadowing while they do.
What tools or software would I be using, and do I need to know them before I start?
Why ask it
If they name something you have never opened, say so and ask how past interns picked it up. A team that teaches its tools will describe how. One that expects them on day one is telling you what to practise between now and then, or that the role suits someone further along.
How much of the job is routine work, like data entry, filing or scheduling?
Why ask it
Most internships have some, and a manager who puts a rough share on it is more believable than one who says there is none. What matters is whether the routine work sits beside a project or is the project.
Would my work go to real customers or colleagues, or stay inside the team as practice?
Why ask it
Work that somebody uses tends to get reviewed properly, which is how you find out what you got wrong. Practice material is not a bad sign in a regulated or client-facing business, but ask what you would have to show before being trusted with the real thing.
What do interns usually find hardest about this role?
Why ask it
It is often nothing technical: getting replies from busy people, not knowing when a piece of work counts as finished, a quiet office. Whatever they name, ask what helped the interns who got past it, because that is the part you can act on in your first month.
When is the team's busiest stretch during the term, and what would be expected of me then?
Why ask it
A launch, a quarter end or a filing deadline is often when interns either get real work or get forgotten. It is also when the hours stretch, so ask what the last intern did that week.
If I finish early, could I pick something else up?
Why ask it
On a team with real work the answer is often a list of things nobody has had time for. A firm no can mean access to systems or clients is tightly controlled, and that the last weeks of the term could be slow.
What happens to my project when I leave: who picks it up?
Why ask it
A named owner means the work was wanted before you arrived. If nobody would inherit it, the project was probably invented to keep an intern busy, and it is worth asking what you could build that someone would take over.
Is anything happening on the team I should know about before I accept: a reorganization, a launch, someone leaving?
Why ask it
An intern whose supervisor leaves in week two has a different placement from the one described in the interview. Few people volunteer this, but most will answer when asked directly, and a launch in the middle of your term can be good news.
Support and feedback
Who would I report to, and how often would we meet?
Why ask it
A manager who meets an intern every week can unblock you before much time is lost; with monthly check-ins a stalled project can sit for weeks. Ask who covers when they are away, since a summer internship often overlaps with a manager's own holiday.
What training or onboarding would I get before I am given real work?
Why ask it
A morning of accounts and safety videos is orientation. Training is someone showing you how this team does the work. Ask who runs it and how long it lasts; a first-time host may not have planned any, and then the useful follow-up is who you could sit beside for the first few days.
Is there anything I should read, learn or set up before the first day?
Why ask it
Save this for after the offer is settled. A specific answer, a tool to install, last quarter's report, a short course, buys you a quicker first week. "Just turn up" is fine too, though it is worth checking that a laptop and logins will be waiting when you do.
Would I be paired with a mentor, and is that someone other than my manager?
Why ask it
What makes a separate mentor useful is that they are not the one grading you, so the basic questions get asked. Find out how often pairs meet in practice. A name in the welcome email followed by one coffee in week one is mentoring on paper only.
Who would I be working with day to day, and how big is the team?
Why ask it
Your manager hands out the work, but hour to hour you learn from whoever is working alongside you. On a team of three you would probably see everything; on a team of thirty, ask which handful of people your project touches and whether any of them is new as well.
How would you describe the team's culture, and where do interns fit in it?
Why ask it
Adjectives like friendly and collaborative cost nothing, so ask for an example: where interns eat lunch, whether they speak in meetings, how someone last disagreed with a senior person. The second half of the question matters more, since a team can be warm to its staff and still treat interns as visitors.
How many interns would my manager be looking after at once?
Why ask it
One manager with five interns and a full workload of their own is running a class, and you would get a fifth of the attention. One intern each usually means the manager asked for you and has work waiting.
Are there other interns, and would we work together or separately?
Why ask it
A cohort gives you people to ask basic questions without embarrassment and a sense of what normal progress looks like. Being the only intern can mean unusual access to senior people, or it can mean nobody notices you are stuck.
Would I get to see what other teams are doing, and how does that happen?
Why ask it
Exposure tends to happen only when someone schedules it. Look for named mechanisms, a rotation, a shadow day, an open demo, rather than an assurance that people here are friendly and happy to chat.
Are there talks or events for interns, and do they happen during working hours?
Why ask it
Sessions with senior staff are worth having, and when they fall inside the working day the company is telling you they count as part of the job. Evening-only events are harder if you have a commute, a second job or someone to look after.
Is there someone outside my team I could go to if something went wrong?
Why ask it
A program coordinator or an HR contact gives you a route that does not run through the person the problem is with. In a small organization there may be nobody, and then it is worth knowing who at your school would step in.
What would a successful internship look like to you by the last week?
Why ask it
If they cannot describe an end state, there is nothing to evaluate you against and the final review comes down to impressions. A clear answer also gives you something to steer toward from week one.
Would the goals for my internship be written down, and could I help set them?
Why ask it
Written goals give you something to point at in the final review, and something to renegotiate if the project changes in week four. If the offer is to draft them together in the first week, take it: you get to add one thing you want to learn.
What does a good intern here do differently from an average one?
Why ask it
This gets the unwritten expectations said out loud: asking earlier, writing things down, shipping something small quickly. Managers usually have a clear answer and rarely volunteer it.
How would I get feedback, and would I hear anything before the final review?
Why ask it
Feedback that arrives only at the end removes any chance to correct course while it still counts. Ask specifically whether there is a midpoint conversation, because that is when a struggling internship can still be turned around.
What is one piece of feedback you gave a past intern that changed how they worked?
Why ask it
A manager who gives real feedback can produce an example without much thought. If all that comes back is that last year's intern was great, expect the same level of detail about your own work.
Is there a written evaluation at the end, and who gets to see it?
Why ask it
Some go to your school, some go into the file that decides return offers, and some exist only as a conversation. Ask whether you would see it before it is filed and whether you could respond to it.
Who besides my manager has a say in how I am assessed?
Why ask it
At larger employers a panel or a program lead often makes the final call, working from notes by people who met you twice. Knowing who they are tells you whose questions to answer well and which meetings are not optional.
Pay, terms and day one
Is the internship paid, and is it an hourly wage, a salary or a stipend?
Why ask it
Ask directly and early, because an unpaid or barely paid role may be unaffordable however good it is. An hourly wage and a flat stipend come out very differently in a week with a public holiday or a late night, so find out which it is and how often it is paid.
When would the first payment arrive, and how does it reach me?
Why ask it
Some payrolls run a cycle behind, so the first money may not land until several weeks after you start. If rent or a deposit falls due before then, say so now. Some employers can pay a relocation amount early and some cannot, and it is better to learn which while you can still plan around it.
Would I be on the payroll as an employee, or paid another way, such as a stipend through my school?
Why ask it
The route the money takes decides what is deducted from it and what you might have to file afterwards, and that differs by country and state. Ask the employer how they have set it up, then take the answer to your school or a tax help service and ask what it means for you.
Is the pay the same for every intern, or does it vary by year of study, team or location?
Why ask it
A set rate for each year of study means there is nothing to negotiate, which is useful to know before you try. Where the rate does vary, ask what moves it: an earlier internship or a relevant course sometimes counts, and nobody will apply it unless you mention it.
Which staff benefits cover interns, such as a transit pass, meals or health cover?
Why ask it
Do not assume the list on the full-time postings applies to you, because interns often sit outside the staff plan. A travel pass or a subsidized lunch is small in any one week and adds up across a term, so count it when you compare two paid internships with similar wages.
What are the usual hours, and what happens when a deadline runs past them?
Why ask it
Hedging on hours often means an expectation of extra time near a launch, which is worth knowing before you plan a summer course or a second job. Whether those hours are paid depends on the employer and on local law, so ask how it works there.
If the internship is unpaid, what do interns get instead: expenses, credit, training?
Why ask it
The rules on unpaid internships differ by country and state, so ask how the organization has set its program up and check with your school's career office. Vague answers about what you get in return are a reason to keep looking.
Does the offer include anything toward housing, relocation or travel?
Why ask it
A housing stipend or a room in arranged accommodation can be worth more than a higher hourly rate in an expensive city. Ask whether it is paid up front or reimbursed later, since a deposit is usually due before the first paycheck.
How long does the internship last, and how firm are the start and end dates?
Why ask it
Term dates, exam periods and other offers rarely line up with an employer's standard program dates. Ask what the earliest start and the latest finish could be, and whether a shorter term would change the project or the pay.
Could I take a few days off for exams, graduation or a family event, and would they be paid?
Why ask it
Raise known dates before you accept, when they are a scheduling detail. Sprung in week three, the same request can read as a lack of commitment. Whether interns get paid leave varies by employer, so ask what the policy says.
Is the work in person, remote, or a mix, and can that change during the term?
Why ask it
Arrangements described loosely in interviews have a way of firming up after you have signed a lease. Ask what the expectation is in writing, especially if you would be relocating for the role.
Does my school need to be involved: a placement agreement, credit, or a set number of hours?
Why ask it
Find out what your course requires before you ask, because the employer will expect you to know. Listen for whether they have signed this kind of paperwork before, since a first-time legal review can take longer than the gap before your start date.
Do you take international students, and have you handled the work authorization before?
Why ask it
Who may work, and for how many hours, depends on the country and on your visa, so check with your school's international office as well as the employer. A company that has done it before will name the documents; one that has not may need weeks you do not have.
Is there a dress code, and is it different on days with clients or site visits?
Why ask it
It is easier to ask than to guess wrong on the first morning. If the answer involves a suit or safety boots, that is a cost to plan for before your first paycheck, and some employers provide the gear or pay you back for it.
What paperwork do you need from me before the first day, and what is the deadline for each piece?
Why ask it
A contract, proof of identity, bank details and a school agreement can each sit in a different person's queue, and one missing form can push a start date back. Ask for the whole list in a single email, so you are not hearing about a new form on the Friday before.
Is there a background check or any other clearance, and how long does it usually take?
Why ask it
Checks run on someone else's clock, and some roles cannot begin until the result is back. What an employer may check varies by country, state and industry, so ask how it works there and send in your part the week you accept.
Do I bring my own laptop and phone, or does the company provide them?
Why ask it
Smaller employers sometimes expect an intern's own machine, which matters if yours is old or shared with family. If work accounts would go on a personal device, ask what gets installed on it and what is removed on your last day.
How do interns usually get to the site: is there parking, a shuttle or a travel pass?
Why ask it
Make the journey once at the hour you would really be travelling, on a day that is not your first. A parking fee or a peak fare comes out of an intern wage every working day, so ask where past interns lived and what the trip cost them.
Is there a group chat or a contact list for this year's interns before we start?
Why ask it
Shared housing and shared commutes tend to get arranged there, along with the small things nobody wants to email a recruiter about. If no group exists, ask to be introduced to one other incoming intern.
Who should I contact between now and the start date if something changes?
Why ask it
The recruiter often steps back once the offer is signed, and the manager may never hear that your exam dates moved. One named person with an email address is enough, and write to them early if your own plans shift.
Where and when should I arrive on the first morning, and who do I ask for?
Why ask it
You want a building, a floor, a time and a name. A large site may not let you past reception without a host, and your manager could be in a meeting at nine, so take a phone number down as well.
Afterwards
Is there a chance of a full-time job at the end of the internship?
Why ask it
Start with the plain version, since not every internship is a route to a job. An employer that hires from its interns will describe how that works without being pushed. A small one taking its first intern may only be able to say it depends on next year's budget, which is an honest answer and a reason to value the term for the experience and the reference.
How many of last year's interns came back, and where did the rest go?
Why ask it
A team that has hosted interns before knows the answer, so watch how readily it comes. Names and destinations suggest a program that stays in touch with its interns. "Most of them did really well" may mean few offers were made, or that nobody kept track.
How do you decide who gets a return offer, and when is that decision made?
Why ask it
The timing matters as much as the criteria. If the decision depends on next year's headcount being approved, a strong internship may still end with nothing, and you will want to keep applying elsewhere in parallel.
Would a return offer be for this team, or for wherever the company has an opening?
Why ask it
Large programs often hire into a pool and place people later, so the team you liked may not be the one you come back to. If that matters to you, ask how much say returning interns get and when placements are decided.
If I did not get a return offer, would someone tell me why?
Why ask it
A program that explains its decisions will usually have told you about problems along the way too. Where the answer is that offers are simply confirmed or not, plan to ask your manager for an honest conversation before your last day.
Would having interned here change how I am treated if I apply for a full-time role later?
Why ask it
Some employers send former interns straight to a final round, and others make everyone start again from the online form. If it is the second, the internship is worth what you learn and who you meet, and nothing extra in the hiring process.
Do people intern here twice, and is the second time a different job?
Why ask it
This is the return-offer question for anyone more than a year from graduating. Ask whether a returner gets a new team or a bigger piece of work, or the same program again, because it changes what you could say about the second year.
Do managers here write references or recommendation letters for interns who do well?
Why ask it
Some employers only confirm dates and job title as a matter of policy, whatever your manager thinks of you. If that is the rule, ask whether a supervisor may act as a personal reference instead, and find out well before the last week, when the requests pile up.
Before you apply
Who do you usually take as interns: which years, and which subjects?
Why ask it
Some programs only take students one year from graduating, and asking saves you an application nobody would have read. If the answer is broad, ask who has done best there, which is often a narrower group than who is allowed to apply.
What skills or qualities matter most when you choose interns?
Why ask it
Recruiters hear this one a lot, so the first answer is often curiosity and enthusiasm. Follow with "what did the last intern you hired have that the others did not?" and you tend to get something usable: a class project, a part-time job, a clear reason for wanting this team.
When do applications open and close, and do you fill places as you go?
Why ask it
Where places are filled as applications arrive, a program can be full well before the closing date, so the date on the website is the last day and not the right one. Ask when most of last year's offers went out, then count backwards.
What are the steps between applying and an offer, and how long does each usually take?
Why ask it
Online test, recorded video, phone screen, assessment day: the mix differs by employer, and knowing it lets you prepare for the right thing and plan around exams. Ask the short form again at the end of any interview, what happens next and by when, so you are not left guessing afterwards.
What does a strong application look like to the people who read it?
Why ask it
Ask what they open first and what they skip. Some teams go straight to a project or a portfolio link and never read the cover letter, and that tells you where your evening should go.
How many interns do you take, and roughly how many people apply?
Why ask it
They may not give a number, but two places on one team and forty across the company are different things to apply for. A small intake usually means a team asked for an intern; a large one means a structured program and competition for the better projects.
Is there anything I could do this year that would make me a stronger candidate next time?
Why ask it
This is the question for a first or second year who is too early to apply. A good answer names something you can go and do, a class, a club, a small project, and it gives you a reason to write to the same person in twelve months.
What do you like most about working here, and what has kept you here?
Why ask it
People answer this one as themselves and not as the company, which is why it earns a place at a stand where most of what you hear is rehearsed. "The people" is a frequent first answer, so let the second half do the work: what has kept someone is usually more specific than what they like. A long pause tells you something too.
Did you start here as an intern, or did anyone on the team?
Why ask it
Someone who came up through the program describes it from the inside, usually without the brochure language. If a program has run for years and nobody on the team came through it, ask where the interns went.
Do you take interns outside the summer, part-time during term or for a whole semester?
Why ask it
Off-season places can draw fewer applicants, and a team that is not also hosting a summer cohort may have more time for you. Check with your school before you count on one, since a term away can move your graduation date.
If I apply after talking to you today, should I mention it somewhere?
Why ask it
Not every employer keeps track of who came to the stand. Where they do, there may be a sign-in sheet, a code or a name to put on the form, and it is much easier to ask now than to chase it by email.
Does everyone who applies hear back, or only the people you want to interview?
Why ask it
Where only the candidates they want to see get a reply, silence after a certain date is the answer. Ask what that date is, so you know when to stop waiting and whether a short follow-up would be welcome.
Ask a former intern
How did you get the internship: the online form, a referral, a career fair?
Why ask it
How last year's interns got in tells you more than the careers page does. If several of them came through one professor or one campus event, that is where to put your effort.
What did you spend most of your days doing?
Why ask it
Ask about an ordinary Tuesday and not the highlight. The gap between this answer and the job posting is the thing only a former intern can give you, and most will describe it without being pushed.
What were the best and worst parts of the internship?
Why ask it
Asking for both at once makes the worst part easier to give. Notice whether the best part was the work or the things around it, such as the other interns, the city or the socials, and whether the worst part was one bad week or something built into the role.
How long was it before you had the access and the work to be useful?
Why ask it
Setup eats short internships: if the laptop, the logins and the first real task took three weeks, a ten-week term was really seven. Ask whether that was bad luck or how it goes every year.
When you were stuck, who actually helped?
Why ask it
The name is often not the manager's. Whether it was a teammate at the next desk, another intern or nobody says more about day-to-day supervision than anything you will hear in an interview.
Were the hours what you were told they would be?
Why ask it
A former intern has no reason to round down. If the hours ran long, find out whether it was one stretch before a deadline or every week, and whether anyone senior noticed.
What from the internship went on your resume, and what were you not allowed to mention?
Why ask it
One line they can talk about for five minutes is the outcome you are hoping for too. If the work was confidential, ask how they describe it now and who approved the wording, because you would need the same permission.
Did you get a return offer, and how did you find out?
Why ask it
It is a personal question, so give them room to pass. If they do answer, the how is as useful as the yes or no: a conversation with a manager in the final week is a different program from an email two months later.
What do you wish you had asked before you accepted?
Why ask it
Their answer is the question this list is missing for that employer. Write it down and put it to the recruiter or the manager in your next conversation.
Knowing what you know now, would you take the same internship again?
Why ask it
A quick yes is a recommendation. "It was good for my resume" is praise for the line on the page and not for the weeks themselves, so follow up with what they would pick instead if they were choosing today.
How to Ask About an Internship
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Match the question to the person
Career fairs and info sessions are for getting in
The person at the stand rarely knows what one team's intern project will be. They do know who gets hired, when applications open and what the readers look for, so use the Before you apply questions there and save the rest for an interview.
Recruiters know logistics
Pay, dates, hours, visa and housing support, and the steps left in the process are all things a recruiter can answer precisely. Ask them what your project would be and you will often get the wording of the job posting back.
The hiring manager knows the work
Save the questions about the project, the supervision, the first two weeks and the definition of success for whoever would manage you. How easily they answer tells you how much thought has gone into the role.
Former interns know what it was like
Ask the recruiter to put you in touch with someone who did the internship last year, or look for one through your school's career office or alumni network. People who have since left the company often answer more freely, and ten minutes is enough for the last group of questions on this page.
Your school knows the paperwork
Credit, placement agreements and work authorization involve your school as much as the employer. Ask the career office or the international office what they need before you raise it in an interview, so that you arrive with the form rather than a question about the form.
When to ask what
- Before you apply: who they take and what they look for, when applications open, the steps to an offer, and whether everyone hears back.
- Early interviews: what a typical day and the main responsibilities are, who you would report to, and whether the internship is paid at all.
- Later interviews: training, mentoring, feedback, what success looks like, return offers.
- After an offer: the pay in detail, hours, dates, housing, and anything you want in writing.
- Before starting the internship: the paperwork and its deadlines, any checks, the commute, and where to be on the first morning.
- Any stage: what past interns built that is still in use. It is a hard one to answer with brochure language.
- Before any conversation ends: when you would hear, and whether silence means no.
Common pitfalls
Choosing on brand name alone
A recognizable employer with no plan for you can leave you with less to say in your next interview than a small team where you finished something real. Put the same questions about the work to both before the name decides it.
Accepting perks as an answer
Free lunch, social events and merchandise are cheap to provide and tell you little about the work. When they dominate the pitch, ask again what you would be working on.
Judging a paid internship by the hourly rate
The rate is one line of several. When the first payment lands, whether extra hours count, and what the employer covers toward housing or travel can outweigh a small difference in the wage over a short term, so put those questions to both employers before you compare two offers.
Not asking about the return offer
Candidates often avoid this question because it feels presumptuous. Programs that exist to hire from tend to expect it, and the answer decides whether you keep applying elsewhere while you are there.
Taking the whole list into one conversation
Nobody has time for every question here. Pick three or four for each conversation, the ones whose answers would change your decision, and listen to the reply instead of looking down for the next line on your sheet.