After Internship: 5 Steps Before Updating Resume

Your Internship Is Over: 5 Steps to Take Before You Touch Your Resume

You just submitted your final report, said your goodbyes, and secured a Letter of Recommendation (LOR). Your internship is officially over.

Now what?

For most interns, the end of the internship brings a mix of relief and uncertainty. You have a collection of experiences, a few new skills, and that LOR—but how do you assemble those “pieces” into a powerful story for your resume and interviews?

At GoCrackIt, we recently sat in on a 1:1 session with our Co-Founder, Suhruta Kulkarni, and a mentee who was trying to make a resume of her completed internship.

“I’m happy,” she said, “I have my LOR and I learned a ton. But I’m also looking at this box of random pieces. I have a branding report, a quick video I took, a B2B deal I tried to close, and a few courses I did sell. I just don’t know what to do with all of it.”

Here is the 5-step plan they built together.

1. Build the "Sheet" to See Your Full Value

The mentee’s first problem was simply remembering everything. She was focused on the big projects, but forgetting the small wins.

“I’m worried I’ll forget half the things I did, especially the small details,” said the mentee.

“You will,” the mentor said. “That’s why our first step, before you even touch your resume, is to create a ‘sheet.’ And I want it in a very specific format. Don’t just write a list; I want a one-page tabular format with three columns: Project or Task, Action Taken, and Key Result/Metric.“

The mentor continued, “List everything, even if it feels small. Put in the number of sales you made, the number of customers you met, the different types of courses you sold, that B2B deal you tried to close, and any LinkedIn posts you helped create. We need to see it all in one place before we can decide what’s important.”

2. Hunt for the "Hidden Metric"

The mentee was making her list of achievements but got stuck.
“I missed my main sales target. Should I even mention it?” she asked.

The mentor didn’t try to hide the failure. Instead, she looked for something better to talk about.
“What about the marketing activity you did at MG Road? How did that go?” she asked.

The mentee’s face lit up a little, but she still didn’t think it was special.
“Oh, that? It went okay. It was just one task for the week. We spoke to around six or seven people and opened four demat accounts.”

The mentor immediately stopped her.
“That’s amazing. You’re ignoring something important. You’re so focused on the target you missed that you’re not seeing what you actually achieved.”

She explained:
“That marketing activity is your real success. You showed that you can talk to people directly and still get more than a 60% conversion. You met six people and got four to sign up — that’s a strong, clear result. That’s the story you should highlight.”

3. Build Your e-Portfolio as Your "Evidence Locker"

Now that they had a strong narrative, the mentee had a new problem. “Great, but how do I prove it? The branding report I wrote wasn’t perfect, and the video of the marketing drive was just something I took on my phone.”

“That’s exactly what an e-portfolio is for,” the mentor replied. “Your institute has a system for this, right?”

“Yes, we have a portfolio system,” the mentee confirmed.

“Perfect. The goal is to have all your proof in one accessible place,” the mentor explained. “If you didn’t have an official system, a simple, organized Google Drive folder or a personal website would work just as well. I want you to upload everything there. That branding report, even if it’s not perfect, it shows your thought process. The video from the marketing drive, that’s hard proof you did the on-ground work. Any LinkedIn posts you helped create. And definitely upload the summary document we’re building from Step 1. It transforms your claim from ‘I did this’ to ‘Here’s the proof.'”

4. Write the Strategic LinkedIn Post

The mentee was feeling more confident, but when the mentor brought up LinkedIn, she hesitated. “Okay, I’m ready to post on LinkedIn… but I’m not sure. I haven’t received my final certificate yet, just the LOR. Should I wait?”

“The LOR is the main thing,” the mentor instructed, addressing this common problem. “Don’t wait for the certificate. You can prepare the post now and keep it ready.”

The mentor then laid out a clear, multi-step plan for the post:

“Here’s what you do: First, get permission from your manager to post about your work. That’s a crucial, professional step. Once you have that, write the post. It’s a strategic move. Thank your team, showcase how it was an exciting experience, and you will definitely mention that you received the Letter of Recommendation. That LOR is the headline. It’s the public signal to every recruiter that you were a top-tier performer. And make sure to tag everyone—your manager, your faculty.”

5. Make the "Uncomfortable Ask" (for the PPO)

The mentee now had her full action plan. She had her brag sheet, her reframed story, her portfolio, and her LinkedIn post drafted. The mentor had one last piece of advice.

“One last thing,” the mentor said. “Are they in a position to give you a PPO (Pre-Placement Offer)?”

The mentee’s response was immediate. “No, they aren’t giving any PPOs, actually.”

This is a common assumption interns make, and the mentor stopped her to give a practical, straightforward suggestion.

“Just talk to them anyway,” the mentor instructed. “Thank them for giving you the LOR, say that it would be very helpful for you if they could consider it, and then let’s see what happens. Right? Without asking, we won’t know.”

This is the final, crucial step: don’t let assumptions (about your performance or company policy) stop you from asking for what you want. The mentee, now armed with a clear plan, agreed. “Okay. I’ll talk to them.”

Meet the Mentor: Suhruta Kulkarni

The advice in this session comes from Suhruta Kulkarni, the Co-Founder of GoCrackIt. With a B.E. from VJTI and a PGP from IIM Ahmedabad, Suhruta’s career spans engineering at NTPC, investment banking at EY, and case research at IIM Bangalore. As an entrepreneur who has founded her own power advisory firm and now GoCrackIt, she has mentored over 3000+ students, specializing in helping them navigate the worlds of Finance, Startups, and Entrepreneurship.

Don't Just Finish Your Internship. Master It.

An internship is just a set of experiences. A mentored internship is a strong strategy because the skills, guidance, and experience you gain during it will support your career long after the internship ends.

The mentee came into the session with a “box of pieces” and left with a 5-step action plan and a powerful, coherent story to build her career on.

That’s the difference a mentor makes.

Ready to build your own career strategy? Connect with a top-tier industry mentor at GoCrackIt and get personalized, 1-on-1 guidance to turn your potential into a placement.

Your Internship Is Over: 5 Steps to Take Before You Touch Your Resume

1. Build the "Sheet" to See Your Full Value

2. Hunt for the "Hidden Metric"

3. Build Your e-Portfolio as Your "Evidence Locker"

4. Write the Strategic LinkedIn Post

5. Make the "Uncomfortable Ask" (for the PPO)

Meet the Mentor: Suhruta Kulkarni

Don't Just Finish Your Internship. Master It.

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