What Are Micro-Internships? Project-Based Hiring

A Micro-Internship is a paid, professional project that a college student or recent grad completes for your team. You see how they communicate, solve problems, and deliver before you make any commitment. Use them to reach candidates you'd never meet through campus recruiting, to evaluate candidates for an open role, or to get real work done when your team is at capacity.

What Is a Micro-Internship?

A Micro-Internship is a paid, professional project (typically 10–40 hours of work) that an early-career professional completes on their own schedule. This model, pioneered by Parker Dewey in 2015, helps your team accomplish tasks while giving you a firsthand look at potential candidates’ skills.

It's a working interview. Candidates do the actual work, and you see the results before anyone commits.

• Projects typically last 2–4 weeks
• Paid opportunities for early-career professionals
• No onboarding, payroll, or HR setup required
• Available on-demand, whenever your team needs help
• Real work for your team, not a simulation or a test

Why Micro-Internships Work for Employers

Hiring early-career talent can be a challenge. Resumes don’t always tell the full story, and while internships can offer meaningful insight, they’re often seasonal and accessible only to a narrow pool of students. BRunning one means coordinating across teams, building feedback processes, and stitching together tools that don't talk to each other. Parker Dewey handles all of it: project design, sourcing, payroll, compliance, and the structured feedback you need to make a decision.

Real Work, Real Insight

See how candidates think, communicate, and execute before you make a hiring decision. Micro-Internships give you more than a GPA or cover letter ever could.

Reach Candidates You'd Otherwise Miss

Campus recruiting reaches the schools you can afford to visit. Micro-Internships reach students across the country, so a strong candidate at a school that isn't on your list can still find you.

Create a More Equitable Hiring Process

Micro-Internships expand access for students from all backgrounds, reducing barriers like geography, unpaid work, or personal networks. You gain a more diverse talent pipeline and stronger hires.

Pipeline Building Without the Pressure

Use Micro-Internships as an always-on recruiting strategy. Identify high-potential candidates and invite top performers to apply for full-time roles, while keeping up- and- comers engaged.

What Kinds of Projects Work Best?

The best Micro-Internships are mutually beneficial. Companies get work done while identifying and auditioning potential job candidates, and students demonstrate skills, gain experience, and explore career paths.

Sales & Marketing
Lead generation, social content, email campaigns

HR & Recruiting
Job description writing, diversity research, LinkedIn audits

Finance & Operations
Competitive analysis, cost comparisons, process documentation

Tech & Product
QA testing, user research, data entry or clean-up

See Example Projects

While we were focused on just getting some help on a project, we quickly realized that the student was incredible, and ultimately hired her as a summer intern. We saw her work ethic and skills, and got an inside track on hiring her.

Adam Hecktman,

Director of Technology & Civic Innovation,

Microsoft

This is the 'anti-staffing firm.' I set the price for the assignment, picked who I wanted, and when I decided to hire her, there were no fees.

Greg Watkins,

Talent Acquisition Manager,

MHolland

Parker Dewey has become invaluable in my prospecting and research - even sourcing a six-figure deal! As a sales executive, there are never enough hours in the day to execute time-intensive, high-value tasks. I'd recommend anyone in a sales-related capacity to leverage the highly motivated talent on Parker Dewey to get work done and crush quota.

Mike Hillock,

Account Executive,

HTX Services

Using Parker Dewey was so easy! I didn't need to spend time onboarding because the Career Launcher understood my project from their coursework. Getting them started was effortless.

Jason Lobel,

CEO,

Swift IQ

Not only did the Career Launcher shine, he excelled. He took the brand to a new level and challenged our group to think outside the box. Could not have been more pleased or grateful for the opportunity to work with this motivated individual. It's all about opportunity and Parker Dewey gives students exactly that. I look forward to our next project!

Andrew Albert,

Medical Director,

Advocate Health Care

While I love the mission, I also love how this makes my life easier.

Courtney Reilly,

Director of Special Projects,

LeapInnovations

The project was more than affordable and I couldn’t have been more impressed with the talent I was able to choose from to get the project complete.

Brian Bar,

Founder & CEO,

Victory Lap

We had a terrific experience with Parker Dewey and the intern we worked with was fantastic! The data she provided was beyond our expectations and she completed the work in a timely fashion. We are thoroughly impressed with the ease and process Parker Dewey offers and we will undoubtedly return with future opportunities for these stellar students. Thank you Parker Dewey for helping our company!

Laura Neiman,

President,

Neiman Brothers Company

See what candidates can do before you hire them.