Intern Series: Micro-Internships- What Are They and Are They Worth It?

Hi students, Coach Nadia here and I’m dropping into our Intern Series to talk a little bit about micro-internships. This is coming up a lot in the market right now leaving many students asking, what are micro-internships and are they worth it? Let’s get into it.

What Is A Micro-Internship?

As the name suggests, micro means small, so a micro-internship is a smaller version of a full semester or summer internship. It might be smaller in length, scope or commitment, however, that doesn’t mean the learning you gain from a micro-internship is any less valuable than a traditional internship.

How Does A Micro-Internship Differ From a Full-Time Internship?

For the most part, the only difference in a micro-experience compared to a full-time internship is length of time or scope depth. So for example, you might have a company simply needing 10 hours of social media management a week. This is fairly limited in length and scope depth.

The company doesn’t have enough work to give you full-time hours but it’s still a good opportunity to work in your field, so you may also consider stacking this micro-internship alongside classes, volunteer work or even other smaller micro-internships to build it up to 40 hours a week.

What should be similar to a full-time internship though is that the position:

Is paid
Related to your degree/major area of study
Has a professional mentor/supervisor
Gives you opportunities to grow and/or network
Helps move your resume forward to help you get a full-time job after school

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How Do Micro-Internships Help Me?

Well, firstly, making money never hurt anyone, so at minimum, you are getting paid! For many students, that is an absolute must if you are paying for school yourself. Secondly, when engaging in micro-internships related to your degree/major, you are gaining valuable skills in your field, networking opportunities and demonstrable evidence that someone is willing to pay you for what you know or can do as it relates to your career choice.

When employers review your resume for full-time jobs or full-time internships, these smaller experiences are viewed very favorably and could very well be the difference between getting an interview or not.

To get the most out of your micro-internship, it’s helpful to track your experience through a Professional Development Plan eBook, of which we just happen to have a free one available for download right now!

Are Micro-Internships Worth It?

Yes, here’s how:

On your resume: Any paid work experience is good work experience to put on your resume. Part-time or full-time, it doesn’t matter.
In your cover letter: Cover letters are a space in your application materials to show you are uniquely qualified for a position, so leveraging your micro-internship to communicate how qualified you are and examples of projects you successfully worked on are key.
In internship interviews: Just like cover letters, don’t by shy in talking about your micro-internship during interviews! This shows you took initiative and are driven to grow in your field.
In informational interviews: Networking is a huge boost to any job search and micro-internships give you a natural and organic group of professionals to interface with, learn from and yes, network with.
Get promoted: Many micro-internships are created because of an urgent business need, usually due to accelerated growth of an organization or program. In many cases, these micro-internships turn into full-time internships, which lead to full-time jobs. So think of micro-internships as simply one step in a larger hiring process!

It’s Not Too Late…

The beauty of micro-internships is you can squeeze them into your career plan at any point in high school or college years since they are shorter and more flexible than traditional, full-time internships. So always be on the look out for good, quality work experiences to help you advance your resume and career forward!

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Meet The Writer!

Hi! My name is Nadia Ibrahim-Taney and I help people design happy and fulfilling careers through authentic career coaching. My expertise includes career exploration guidance, resume writing, interview prep and LinkedIn profile optimization. My pronouns are She/ Her/ Hers and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I focus on how diverse identities impact and influence folks holistically and professionally. Please connect with me on LinkedIn or at Nadia@beyonddiscoverycoaching.com