Micro-Internship Program

A Micro-Internship is a short-term, paid, professional project that can be completed by a college student with minimal instruction.

These are important but low-risk tasks that aren’t the best use of your time.

Micro-Internship projects typically range between 10-60 hours in the total time commitment for an early-career candidate (someone with minimal or no prior industry experience).

Projects are typically due between 2-6 weeks from kickoff.

Beyond setting up a kickoff meeting to set your Micro-Intern up for success, how often you choose to check-in and the level of coaching you provide is up to you. 

Follow this flowchart to see if your project would be a good fit!

The best Micro-Internships are mutually beneficial!

You get work done that isn’t the best use of your time, while identifying and auditioning potential job candidates. College students and recent graduates launching their careers demonstrate skills, gain experience, and explore career paths so they can find the right fit.

Common example projects include research, data analysis, data clean-up, and content creation.

Though Micro-Interns are under NDA, we do not recommend projects that include sensitive data or full access to Xylem systems.

Scroll up for project examples by department or define your own!

Through our company-wide initiative, projects are currently fully funded, meaning there is no cost to your department and Micro-Interns are paid!

Projects are fixed-fee, so if the Micro-Intern you select needs to spend a bit more time learning while completing the project, that time won’t drive up the cost.

Likewise, if you find a Micro-Intern with a bit more experience than others, they won’t be penalized for completing the project faster than expected.

We recommend you set your project budget to equate to roughly $15-25 per hour based on the estimated time commitment.

Micro-Internships serve as both an alternative pathway into our organization, as well as a feeder into our other early-career talent programs.

After the project is finished, you’ll provide feedback directly on Parker Dewey that is shared with that student and our early-career recruiting team.

Want to keep working with your Micro-Intern, or recommend them for a current open position? We encourage it!

Through Micro-Internships, you’ll see a candidate’s current skills and potential in action, helping us identify top talent with the skills that matter most to our organization.

Micro-Internships can be either on-site or virtual, depending on the specific requirements of the project.

We recommend remote, as this provides more flexibility and accessibility, while expanding our potential talent pool.

The best Micro-Internships do not require hands-on management to be completed.

During the Micro-Internship, the project manager—whether a hiring manager, team lead, or another employee—can engage the student however is best including email, Zoom, etc.