One brief, up to three interns, no hire
Post the backlog task you keep not getting to. Up to three matched UK students deliver it in parallel, and you compare the results and keep what works.
What is a micro-internship?
A micro-internship is a short, paid, project-based placement: a defined deliverable, a fixed budget, and a one-to-four-week timeline. Up to three interns take on the same brief in a managed workspace, with a Project Manager on the plans that include one, so one dropout does not sink the work. It is not shadowing, and it is not a rolling internship you have to manage. You compare the parallel deliverables, keep what works, and the engagement ends on the date you agreed. You get the output and they get paid, verified experience.
Four steps, and what each costs you in time
Scope
~1 hour
Describe the deliverable, duration and budget band in our structured form. If you can say it in a sentence, it probably fits.
Or start from a pre-scoped briefMatch up to three, in parallel
days, not weeks
We shortlist students whose skills fit and place up to three on the same brief at once. You do not advertise the work or read through a CV pile, and if one student drops out the project carries on.
Managed delivery
Weekly check-in
Interns work in a managed workspace, with a Project Manager keeping things on track on the plans that include one. Your side of it is one short check-in a week.
Compare, choose, and hire if you like
no hire fee
Review the parallel deliverables side by side and sign off what you want. There is no conversion or placement fee if you keep anyone on afterwards.
Your side of it, and ours
A micro-internship is not an intern you now have to manage. Here is the whole of what we need from you, against everything that stays with us.
What we need from you
About an hour to scope it
One structured form: the deliverable, the duration, the budget band. We come back within one working day.
One short check-in a week
On a managed plan the Project Manager runs the work. You answer the questions the brief could not.
A decision at the end
Compare what came back, and sign off what you want to keep. That is one click.
Three things. Everything in the other column is ours.
What we handle
Scoping
Turning your description into a brief a student can deliver against: deliverable, timeline, success criteria.
Matching
Shortlisting from the student side. No advertising spend, no CV pile, no interview round for you to run.
The managed workspace
Up to three students on the brief in parallel, and on the managed plans a Project Manager keeping it on track rather than your inbox.
Agreements and paperwork
Ours. Nobody joins your payroll.
Paying the students
Inside the project cost, rather than arriving as a separate bill later.
The record
Your sign-off becomes the student's verified MicroSkill Passport entry.
Whole projects from as low as £349
A complete micro-internship, scoped, matched and delivered, starting at £349 and rising with how much of it you want us to run. The plans are in the pricing document, or we quote yours once we have seen the brief. The students are paid for every project. There are no subscriptions and no hire fees.
| Option | Cost | What it gets you |
|---|---|---|
| Job-board advert | £370–£435 | Applications you still have to sift, interview and manage |
| Recruiter (graduate hire) | £4,350+ | 15–25% of first-year salary, before the person has done a day's work |
| MicroInterns project | from £349 | A scoped deliverable, worked in parallel by matched students, plus a working interview if you want to hire |
We got a well-scoped piece of work delivered in weeks, without the overhead of a hire. The student was switched on and the process took very little of my time.
Honest answers, starting with your time
How much of my time does this take?
About an hour to scope the project, then one short check-in each week. MicroInterns handles matching, onboarding paperwork and payment, so the work happens without you managing another employee.
What does a micro-internship cost?
A whole project starts at £349 and rises with how much of it you want us to run, from one you steer yourself to one we manage end to end. The plans are in the pricing document on our pricing page. A single job-board advert costs £370–£435 and buys you applications you still have to sift. The student is paid for every project, and there are no hire fees if you later take them on.
What kind of work can I post?
Any well-scoped project that takes one to four weeks: market research, social media audits, data clean-ups, customer interviews, landing pages, funding research. If you can describe the deliverable in a sentence, it probably fits.
Why up to three interns on one brief?
Two reasons. If one student drops out, your project does not go with them. And you get more than one take on the deliverable to compare. They work in a managed workspace with a Project Manager, and you choose what to keep: hire none, one, or more, with no hire fee.
What if the work is not good enough?
Up to three interns work each brief in a managed workspace with a Project Manager and a weekly check-in, so problems surface in days and you are rarely left with nothing usable. If a match is not working, tell us and we will sort it. You are never left managing a struggling intern on your own.
Can I hire the student afterwards?
Yes, and startups often do. A micro-internship works as a paid working interview: by the time you make an offer you have seen the person deliver. There is no conversion or placement fee.