The Real Internship Challenge: Too Many Applicants, Too Few Matches

It’s officially internship season, and if it feels like there are more candidates than ever, that’s because there are. According to recent data, 2025 internship applications are nearly twice as competitive as last year. Students are applying in record numbers, trying to land career-launching opportunities. But here’s the twist: many companies are still struggling to find candidates with the right skills and experiences for their specific roles—especially in high-demand industries, as outlined by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s recent analysis of ongoing labor shortages.

So how do we make sense of this paradox? More applications, but fewer perfect fits. More competition, but still gaps to fill.

What’s really going on?

In many ways, this ongoing challenge reflects a fundamental disconnect in early-career hiring:

• Students are applying broadly because they don’t know how to stand out—or what companies are really looking for.
• Hiring managers are overwhelmed by high application volumes but still struggling to identify candidates who align with specific project needs or cultural fit.
• Companies and candidates don’t have enough of the right information about each other early enough in the process.

What can companies do?

As application volumes keep rising and talent gaps persist, the companies that rethink how they assess candidates will be the ones that build stronger pipelines—and stronger teams. This is where the Parker Dewey platform can help:

• Quickly assess candidates through entry-level projects. No more guessing from a resume whether someone is the right fit. See their skills, communication, and work style in action.

• Expand access to talent you might otherwise miss, including students from different schools, backgrounds, and experiences who don’t always come through traditional pipelines.

• Fill real needs with real work. Instead of “busy work” internships, Micro-Internships focus on short-term projects that are valuable to your team and meaningful for candidates.

When companies integrate the Parker Dewey platform into their hiring strategies, they create a win-win: candidates gain clarity on what a role or company is really like, and employers gain insight into which candidates are the right ones to move forward—without committing to a full summer internship or full-time role before knowing if it's the right fit.

If you’re interested in how Parker Dewey can help you better connect with the right candidates (without sorting through 500 resumes), let’s chat.