Student Success: From Micro-Intern to Co-Op
Emily is a senior at Ohio State University studying Chemical Engineering with a minor in Sustainable Agriculture. Having completed six Micro-Internships with the same company, she leveraged her experiences to help her land a longer term cooperative learning role as she looks ahead to finishing her degree and making the college to career transition.
We sat down with her to learn more about how she found out about Parker Dewey, how working remotely gave her valuable insights into her career goals and what she wished more companies knew about Micro-Internships through Parker Dewey.
Q: How did you hear about Parker Dewey?
Emily’s school promoted Micro-Internships through regular emails and campus advertisements. She also heard about the program through a family member, who worked at a company offering Micro-Internships for some smaller projects. Shortly after, she completed her profile and started applying for Micro-Internships.
Q: What advice would you have for other students considering Micro-Internships?
Emily acknowledges that the process of landing a Micro-Internship is competitive but urges other students not to become discouraged with the process. She recommends applying to a variety of roles with an open mind as opportunities can be found in unexpected roles.
Q: What was it like working remotely during your Micro-Internship?
The flexibility of remote work offered Emily the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience despite uncertain conditions brought on by the pandemic. Through her Micro-Internship, she compiled data that was used by teams throughout the country.
Q: What were your goals going into your Micro-Internship?
Positive feedback and time management were top of mind for Emily as she completed her Micro-Internships. An added bonus was that her experiences with her Micro-Internship helped prepare her for her future co-op position.
Q: What were your responsibilities?
Working for an engineering company, some of Emily’s responsibilities were to research publicly available laboratory information and build a database in Excel with that information.
Q: What was your relationships like with your manager?
Emily had weekly check-ins with her manager via Zoom where they would address any questions and make plans for the week ahead.
Q: Do you have any advice for companies who may be considering Micro-Internships?
According to Emily, Micro-Internships are a great way to get younger people involved with your company and expand your network. By tasking a student with smaller projects, companies can save the time of more senior employees while also working with different individuals who may or may not be the right fit long-term.
Emily is expected to graduate from Ohio State University in December of 2021.
Learn more about how Micro-Internships can help your teams grow!