At our fourth Coffee Hour of the semester, we heard from Jeffrey Moss and Michelle Aymold, the CEO and VP of Marketing at Parker Dewey. Parker Dewey is a platform that connects companies with college students and recent graduates through project-based Micro Internships where they can gain professional experience. One of Moss’s favorite success stories was a first generation college student who was rejected by career recruiters due to his GPA and lack of experience. This student was able to get micro internships via Parker Dewey’s partnership with the Dell Foundation, gaining confidence and recognition that led to many job offers when he graduated. Parker Dewey wants the internship search to be easy and stress-free for students by providing them with a platform to put their best foot forward and take ownership of their career search process.
The opportunities from Parker Dewey are a great way to hone professional skills, and many often lead to full time roles. The micro internship program can also be a great learning and exploratory program. Aymold said that they hear from a lot of students who do projects and instead of ending up in a job, they end up realizing what they don’t, which is a valuable lesson to learn early on (not to mention get paid in doing so). Another beneficial aspect of the Micro-Internship program is that you can choose to participate when you have time. And unlike some other freelance-type gigs, participants don’t have to bid on projects – you see what’s expected, the timeline, and the payment before you even apply.
Aymold also shared advice for students who are selected for a project through Parker Dewey: “One more tip I will share is the idea of over communicating once you’re selected. You probably don’t email your professor two weeks before a paper is due just to let them know you’re thinking about it, but with projects and remote work in general, I want to hear that a student is making progress on my project and doesn’t have any questions. Just a quick check-in is so meaningful to a busy professional who is not only relying on you to help with their work, but also interested in if you could be a fit in their team in the future.” This is great advice for anyone starting a project in a remote setting or hoping to impress a future boss!
We hope that learning about Parker Dewey will open new doors for Colgate women interested in business, and we thank Jeffrey Moss and Michelle Aymold for taking the time to speak with us! Parker Dewey is an incredible resource for anyone looking to gain professional experiences, identify their interests, and supplement their resumes with tangible and recent experiences.
Check out Parker Dewey and their micro-internship offerings at: https://www.parkerdewey.com/.
Colgate Women in Business 