Internship programs are one of the most valuable resources for sourcing potential candidates, adding fresh perspectives to your team, and getting support on tasks. But is your program as strong and inclusive as it could be? 

This is where Micro-Internships come in. As a complement to—and not a replacement for—traditional internships, Micro-Internships help enhance existing internship programs, while also addressing some of the common challenges faced by organizations. Whether you have a well-established internship program already in place, or you’re looking to create a new one, Micro-Internships ensure that you’re reaching candidates from all backgrounds. 

Here’s how Micro-Internships help optimize traditional internship programs:

1.  Keeping candidates engaged. At the end of an internship program, it’s important to keep potential full-time candidates interested until graduation—and what better way to continue building those relationships through paid projects! In addition, for students who didn’t quite make the cut for a traditional internship, or who spent the summer elsewhere, Micro-Internships are an effective tool for keeping them engaged and excited about the prospect of joining your team in the future.

2. Ensuring accessibility. For student-athletes, working students, students who are parents, and many others, traditional summer internship programs aren’t feasible. As a flexible alternative, Micro-Internships can connect you with high-potential candidates for full-time internships down the road, like Fabian Reynoso-Ramirez, Illinois Institute of Technology, Class of 2016. “After I graduated, I had to help my family and ended up working at a restaurant,” said Fabian. “Trying to switch industries was hard, but after doing a few Micro-Internships, I was able to use that professional experience to land an internship, which led to a full-time career.”

3. Expanding reach. Students who are already excited about the opportunities at your organization will apply to your internship program—no matter how many emails you send, the number of times you visit campus, or the quality of your swag. But what about everyone else? The students who may not have heard of your organization. The students who know your brand, but don’t realize the breadth of opportunities. The students who want to live in your location upon graduation, but don’t attend your focus schools. While these students may not be ready or able to apply to your summer internship, the short-term nature of Micro-Internships can help them explore beyond their initial preferences—creating an opportunity for employers to showcase what it’s like to work at their organization. Micro-Internships can be particularly useful for first- and second-year students who are still in the exploratory phase, allowing employers to connect with promising talent that may have been overlooked otherwise.

4. Identifying students earlier. While many organizations focus on recruiting upper-level students, 77% of students begin thinking about their career plans during sophomore year or even earlier. That’s a huge untapped talent pool! Micro-Internships help employers build relationships with students earlier in their academic careers, creating low-risk opportunities to identify candidates for future summer internships or even full-time roles.

5. Creating a pipeline of talent, available year round. Running an internship program demands time and effort from managers—from training, to mentoring, to supporting students throughout their tenure. But that doesn’t mean the work stops for busy managers! Micro-Interns can help tackle your to-do list, without compromising your organization’s existing internship efforts or requiring intern intensive training. Say it’s the middle of your internship program, and new projects or initiatives have come up. Hire a Micro-Intern to help alleviate your to-do list!

6. Assessing talent based on skills. As a preliminary step, Micro-Internships can be used as a skills-based hiring assessment prior to the internship. And while you’re auditioning a candidate, they also have the opportunity to assess fit before committing to a full-time internship. This approach ensures that the interns you hire have a clear understanding of what to expect throughout the internship. Additionally, skills-based hiring assessments foster a more diverse talent pool, as candidates are selected based on core skills and potential rather than traditional qualifications.

Interested in learning more about how Micro-Internships offer a valuable complement to the traditional internship program? Schedule a call with our team.