LinkedIn: best way to handle listing an internship with two time periods as one position

Question

I was an intern May - August 2015 and I starting interning at the same place again last week. Is it unprofessional/deceiving to list the timeframe on my LinkedIn as May 2015 - present, even though I did not work there during August - December 2015? Is it not a big deal, or should I mention this is the job description? If so, how can I integrate the dates explanation into my description?

Answer 1

If you worked on the same project and LinkedIn doesn't give you the option of having multiple dates for the same position:

• Use the title to make clear that you were an intern: Chicken Plucker Intern
• List the full period, gap(s) included: May, 2015 to Present
• Use the position description to elaborate on the dates: (Position held intermittently May to August, 2015 and January, 2016 to Present.) Put this at the end of the description so the reader isn't thinking about the dates while reading about what you accomplished. What you did is more important than when you did it.

I've had the exact same same situation twice in my career (one during breaks and summers and another across two summers). Most people understand that internships are often interrupted by full-time study, especially when the dates fall within the time you were in college.

Answer 2

I am in the same stuck spot. I did my own consulting for five months in 2013, got hired by a company (not the one I consulted with) and now back to my own consulting. I do not want to keep making my LinkedIn look like I have "another job" every time I consult. LinkedIn needs to figure this out ... Especially with college students that return to summer/holiday work.