Get paid, professional experience with Micro-Internships.
Cal students and recent graduates from all majors can execute short-term, paid, typically-remote, professional projects that allow you to build and demonstrate skills while exploring potential career paths.
These Micro-Internships can take place at any time of year, and are used by companies across the United States, ranging from those in the Fortune 100 to emerging start-ups.
Micro-Internships are facilitated via the Parker Dewey platform, which connects Cal students and recent graduates with organizations in need of support.
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How it Works
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These projects span all different types of industries, departments, and companies. All Micro-Internships are paid and they typically require between 10 and 40 hours of work in total.
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Micro-Internships tend to move quickly, so it's important to check the platform often and apply regularly. View Parker Dewey's Career Launcher Tutorial for more application tips.
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Selected Micro-Interns will be notified via email. It's normal to apply for up to 10 projects before being selected, so don't get discouraged and keep applying! Check out these Micro-Intern success stories for inspiration.
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Use our Micro-Internship Success Checklist and Post Micro-Internship Success Checklist to make the most of your experience. Your pay will be processed at the end of the month in which you complete your project.
Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility
Eligibility
Parker Dewey Micro-Internships are open to students and recent graduates who meet the following criteria:
- 18 or older
- Currently attending or have recently graduated from a US-based higher education institution
- Authorized to work in the United States or have a valid ITIN number
There is no official cutoff, but Parker Dewey is designed to help early career professionals launch their careers. For this reason, established professionals likely won’t find the projects as valuable as current students or more recent graduates do.
Because most companies are using the platform intentionally to engage early career talent, established professionals are also less likely to be selected for Micro-Internships unless their profile makes it clear that they’re transitioning into a new career field.
Projects completed through Parker Dewey are only available to U.S. citizens, those with a valid ITIN number, or international students with approved Curricular Practical Training (CPT), Optional Practical Training (OPT), or other work authorization.
If you are a current F-1/J1 international student, contact international student support staff at your institution to confirm your eligibility before applying to projects.
If selected for a Micro-Internship, it is your responsibility to ensure compliance with internship requirements and USCIS regulations.
Current students and alumni do not need to have DACA or TPS to apply to Micro-internships. All Micro-internships are structured as independent contract work, which means successful applicants would be hired by Parker Dewey as independent contractors.
Other Considerations:
You may use your work authorization or a valid ITIN to be paid as an independent contractor.
You may already have an ITIN if your parents ever filed income taxes and claimed you as a dependent. You can find out if you have an ITIN in your parents’ tax forms.
If you have an ITIN, make sure to find out if it has expired. If it has, you will need to renew it. Find information on ITIN expiration and renewal here.
If you do not have an ITIN, you can learn how to obtain one here: ITIN Guide or this video from Immigrants Rising.
It depends on the details of the Micro-Internship and your institutions. To learn more about credit-bearing internship requirements at your institution, consult Academic Services or your Career Center.
Individuals can add Parker Dewey to their safelist should they find messages being routed to their SPAM folder. The safelisting process differs between email providers. Refer to your email provider's associated help documentation for information on safelisting on your client of choice. Here are instructions from some of the most popular email providers:
Safelisting in Exchange 365 and Outlook 2016
Safelisting in Outlook Connected to Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 and 2010
Micro-Internship Details
Micro-Internship Details
To apply for these Micro-Internships, you must create a Career Launcher account on Parker Dewey. Once you've set up your profile, you'll be able to view and apply for available Micro-Internship projects.
If you'd like a review of tips for making your profile and applications stand out, check out Parker Dewey's Career Launcher Tutorial, review these strategies for acing short-answer application questions, or feel free to join Parker Dewey at one of their regularly scheduled FAQ webinars.
While some Micro-Internships might be on-site, most are remote, allowing you to complete them from anywhere as long as you have access to a reliable wi-fi connection.
Your Micro-Internship supervisor will be a professional at the company that has the project need, making this a great opportunity to expand your professional network! Once you've done a Micro-Internship, we encourage you to use these tips to make sure your Micro-Internship supervisor continues to be an active part of your network.
Parker Dewey is the employer of record for all Micro-Internships, meaning your pay will be processed by Parker Dewey. Pay is processed at the end of each month, so you should receive your pay at the start of the next month after your Micro-Internship has been marked complete. For more information, check out our Pay FAQs.
Because pay comes from Parker Dewey, no companies should ever request your social security number (SSN), individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), address, or any other details necessary to pay you for your Micro-Internship. If someone other than Parker Dewey asks you for these details, do not share them, and contact Parker Dewey support immediately at [email protected].
Congratulations! When you were selected, you should have received a kick-off email with details regarding next steps and resources, like our Micro-Internship Success Checklist.
If you see in the platform that you've been selected, but you did not receive the kick-off email, please reach out to [email protected] immediately to make sure your Micro-Internship is still available. Please also safelist future Parker Dewey emails by following the instructions below, depending on your email provider:
Safelisting in Exchange 365 and Outlook 2016
Safelisting in Outlook Connected to Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 and 2010
Yes! You are welcome to do as many Micro-Internships as your schedule allows. You can even take on multiple projects at the same time! That stated, if you are selected for multiple Micro-Internships but your schedule won't allow for you to do all of them, just let the Parker Dewey team know by responding to the email that notified you of your selection. It's important to think critically about your work, school, and personal commitments, and to communicate professionally as soon as you've been selected if you aren't capable of completing a project on time and to the best of your ability.
All Parker Dewey Micro-Interns are independent contractors of Parker Dewey, which is how this experience should be reflected on your resume and in your LinkedIn profile. Use this example to guide you. Make sure you only describe the company you did the Micro-Internship for, unless you have explicitly asked for and received permission to name them in the description of your Micro-Internship.